PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's hockey team was defeated by No. 9 Maine, 5-0, Saturday night in a Hockey East game played at Schneider Arena. Maine freshman goalie Martin Ouellette stopped all 32 shots he faced to earn his first collegiate shutout.
Maine (7-3-4, 5-2-2 Hockey East) jumped out to a 1-0 first period as Joey Diamond scored his eighth goal of the season at 12:16. Diamond was in alone against PC junior goalie Alex Beaudry (Cumberland, Ont.) and fired a wrist shot from a tough angle that deflected off a PC played and into the net.
In the second period, Providence (6-6-4, 3-4-4 Hockey East) outshot Maine, 11-4, but it was the Black Bears who scored late in the period to increase their lead to 2-0. Spencer Abbott skated in on a breakaway before lifting a back hander into the net at 17:02.
Gustav Nyquist scored 38 seconds into the third period as the Black Bears had a three-goal cushion. Maine then added two more goals to seal the win and end its three-game winless streak. The loss marked the first home defeat for the Friars this season.
The two teams each finished with 32 shots as PC junior Andy Balysky (Randolph, N.J.) had four shots to lead the way for the Friars.
The Friars are back in action on Tuesday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m. when they travel to Brown University for the Annual Mayor's Cup. Maine will return to home ice on Friday, November 10 when it hosts New Hampshire at Alfond Arena.