Notre Dame And Maine Skate To 4-4 Tie

Junior forward Mario Lucia scored the game-tying goal for the Fighting Irish
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 4:02  MNE1-0 EV Blaine Byron (10)Connor Leen/5
1st 7:13  NDM1-1 EV Anders Bjork (3)Vince Hinostroza/22, Luke Ripley/4
1st 8:04  NDM2-1 PP Jordan Gross (5)Andy Ryan/5, Vince Hinostroza/23
1st 10:39  MNE2-2 PP Will Merchant (3)Cédric Lacroix/4, Cam Brown/17
1st 13:17  NDM3-2 EV Peter Schneider (4)Justin Wade/5, Ali Thomas/2
2nd 4:04  MNE3-3 EV Brady Campbell (1)Stu Higgins/2, Eric Schurhamer/6
2nd 16:06  MNE4-3 EV Devin Shore (10)Mark Hamilton/4
2nd 19:01  NDM4-4 EV GT Mario Lucia (18)Vince Hinostroza/24, Anders Bjork/7
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd OT Final
Notre Dame  31004
Maine  22004
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd OT SOG
Notre Dame  869124
Maine  11188239
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Notre Dame (11-14-4)  1/3 5/10 0
Maine (10-16-3)  1/4 4/8 0
Notre Dame Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 OT Saves
Chad Katunar (T, 5-3-2)39:394 9160025
Cal Petersen25:000 008210
Empty Net0:210      
Maine Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 OT Saves
Sean Romeo13:173 40004
Matt Morris (T, 4-6-2)51:431 159116

ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine men's ice hockey team skated to a 4-4 draw with Notre Dame on Friday night at Alfond Arena. It was the third straight overtime game for the Black Bears.

Maine moves to 10-16-3 on the season and 5-8-2 in Hockey East play. Notre Dame sees its record move to 11-14-4 overall, 6-5-4 in conference play.

Maine opened the scoring 4:02 into the first period. Connor Leen (Chester, N.Y.) dropped the puck from Blaine Byron (Manotick, Ontario) who, in transition, wristed the puck past Notre Dame goalie Chad Katunar. For Byron, it was his 10th goal of the season.

Notre Dame tied the score at 1-1 just over three minutes later. Vince Hinostroza, who finished the game with three assists, passed the puck to Anders Bjork in the slot. He beat Maine goalie Sean Romeo (Cary. N.C.) stick side.

Jordan Gross gave the Irish a 2-1 lead at 8:04 of the first when he tipped an Andy Ryan shot past Romeo 36 seconds into the Irish power play. Hinostroza also assisted on the goal for Notre Dame.

In a first period that saw five goals scored, Maine evened things up just over two minutes later. Cam Brown (Natick, Mass.) had a shot from inside the blueline that Katunar stopped, but Cedric Laroix (Shefford, Quebec) was able to tip the puck to Will Merchant (Eagan, Minn.), who fired it into the back of net for his third goal of the season.

Peter Schneider then responded for Notre Dame when he got the puck in the corner, skated it out and fired it past Romeo. The Irish took the 3-2 lead into the first intermission.

Maine tied the game 4:04 into the second period. Eric Schurhamer (St Paul, Minn.) passed the puck to Stu Higgins (Troy, Mich.) from Maine's defensive zone. Higgins skated it up and had a shot that Katunar saved, but the rebound popped right back to Brady Campbell (Blenheim, Ontario), who was trailing the play. Campbell shot the puck just inside the goal post for his first career goal.

Maine took the lead once again at 16:06 of the second period. Mark Hamilton (Winthrop, Mass.) had a shot that Katunar saved, but Devin Shore (Ajax, Ontario) was able to get a stick on the rebound and fire it into the back of the net for his 10th goal of the season.

Notre Dame evened the score at 4-4 with 59 seconds remaining in the second period. Hinostroza had a shot that Maine goalie Matt Morris (Ridgewood, N.J.) saved, but Mario Lucia, stationed in the slot, got a stick on the puck for his 18th goal of the season.

Neither team was able to break the tie during the third period or the five minute overtime frame.

Maine finished the game with a 39-24 edge in shots on goal. The Black Bears were 1-for-4 on the power play, while Notre Dame finished the game 1-for-3.

Romeo made four saves in 13:17 for the Black Bears. Morris played 51:43 and stopped 16 of the 17 shots that he faced. He moves to 4-6-2 on the season. Chad Katunar made 25 saves in 39:39. He picks up the tie and moves to 5-3-2. Cal Peterson played the final 25:00 for the Irish and made 10 saves.

The two teams conclude their two-game weekend series on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Alfond Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.