ORONO, Me. - Chase Pearson's two goals helped the University of Maine men's ice hockey team defeat Hockey East Rival, UMass Lowell, 4-3, on Friday night at the Alfond Arena.
First Goal (1-0 UMass Lowell): Sam Knoblauch tried to work the puck along the boards deep into Maine's zone. Keith Muehlbauer shut down the attempt from the River Hawks' (3-4, 0-2-0 HE) forward. Knoblauch turned and passed the puck to a trailing Chase Blackmun. The freshman wasted little time as he one-timed a shot from the blue line. With the help of traffic in front of Jeremy Swayman, Blackmun's slap shot found the back of the net and give his squad a 1-0 lead 4:38 into the Hockey East contest.
Second Goal (2-0 UMass Lowell): After assisting on the River Hawks' first tallying of the night, Knoblauch scored their second. The freshman received a pass in the face-off circle from Charlie Levesque. Knoblauch's shot found its way under Swayman's pads only 00:18 into the second period.
Third Goal (2-1 UMass Lowell): Sam Becker reversed directions of the puck with a pass to Eduards Tralmaks. Tralmaks looked up and saw his linemate, Chase Pearson, breaking away from the UMass Lowell defense. Pearson was held by a defender but still scored. A penalty was called on the play as the junior pulled the Black Bears (3-3-1, 1-1-1 HE) to within one goal.
Fourth Goal (2-2): Tralmaks once again was responsible for the assist on Maine's goal. This time, the assist was set up by a shot from the forward. Pearson crashed the net and evened the score 4:02 into the second period.
Fifth Goal (3-2 Maine): The Maine power play cycled the puck around the blue line until a Tim Doherty pass found its way through the defense to a wide open Patrick Shea. Shea did not miss his opportunity to give the Black Bears their first lead of the game. 4:42 into the second frame and Maine held onto a one goal lead.
Sixth goal (4-2 Maine): Adam Dawe was looking for another assist as he passed the puck to a ready Brady Keeper who released a quick wrist shot that was saved by the UMass Lowell goaltender. Unfortunately for Tyler Wall, the save went directly to Tim Doherty who buried the puck.
Seventh goal (4-3 Maine): Lucas Condotta did all he could to bring his team back from a two goal deficit as he scored a goal with only 2:26 left in the game. The goal would be the last of the Hockey East match-up as the Black Bears would hold onto the 4-3 lead for their first conference win of the 2018-19 season.
Notes:
- Jeremy Swayman saved 27 shots, while his UMass Lowell counterpart, Tyler Wall, saved 23.
- The Black Bears went 2-4 on the power play, while killing all four of the River Hawk's chance.
- Maine continues to block double digit shots as they stopped 10 tonight.
Next:
The Black Bears return to the ice tomorrow night to do battle against the River Hawks once again. Puck drop is schedule for 7:35 pm, as the game is scheduled to be broadcast on WVII, WPME, and FOX COLLEGE SPORTS.
