ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine men's ice hockey team was defeated by the University of Connecticut Huskies, 3-2, on Friday night in the Alfond Arena.
First Goal (UConn 1-0): Carter Turnbull had his shot saved by Jeremy Swayman. The Huskies' forward had a great opportunity saved by the Maine netminder. Unfortunately, the rebound was deflected to Jake Flynn. The D-man had a wide open net and gave UConn a very early 1-0 lead.
Second Goal (UConn 2-0 ): The Huskies took a 2-0 lead just under 12 minutes into the first period. Turnbull and Benjamin Freeman once again combined to set up the Huskies' goal. This time it was Alexander Payusov who was the recipient of the top line's assists. With eight minutes remaining in the opening frame, UConn held a 2-0 lead.
Third Goal (UConn 2-1): The Black Bears cut the lead in half with a Tim Doherty power play goal eight minutes into the second period. Mitchell Fossier played the puck over to Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi. The junior defender found a wide open Tim Doherty who buried the man-advantage goal. Maine trailed by only one just over halfway through the second period.
Fourth Goal (2-2): Samuel Rennaker tied the Hockey East contest at two with a goal that he tipped home. Eduards Tralmaks battled for the puck and dished it to Jakub Sirota. Sirota wired the puck from the blue line into traffic. Rennaker managed to get his stick onto the puck and re-directed it into the back of the UConn net. At the end of two periods, the game was tied at two.
Fifth Goal (UConn 3-2): Freeman continued his hot night with a goal 11:53 into the third period. Payusov made a tremendous play behind the Maine net which allowed Freeman to find some space. The Huskies' first line was responsible for their third goal of the evening.
The 3-2 score would stand as UConn defeated Maine on Friday night in the Alfond Arena.
Notes:
- Jeremy Swayman finished with 33 saves for the Black Bears, while Tomas Vomacka tallied 24 for the Huskies.
- Maine went 1-3 on the power play, as UConn was 0-3 on their man advantages.
- The Black Bears blocked 14 shots as a team.
Next:
The two teams will do battle once again tomorrow, February 15th. Puck drop for the final game of the series is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
