Trio of Black Bears Named Semi-Finalists For Walter Brown Award

ORONO, Maine -- University of Maine men's ice hockey seniors Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) along with junior Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) were named semi-finalists for the 2012 Walter Brown Award. There were 21 semi-finalists named to the Walter Brown Award, which is presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.

Maine and Boston College and the lone schools with three semi-finalists. The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston will announce the finalists and the winner of the 60th Walter Brown Award in March.

Flynn ranks second on the team in scoring with 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points. He has played in an impressive 141 consecutive games for the Black Bears and has 65 goals and 83 assists for 148 career points. He is two points shy of becoming the 14th player in Maine history to amass 150 career points.

Flynn has been named Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Week this season and also a Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winner. He ranks sixth in the nation in points with 40 and sixth in points per game, averaging 1.38 per contest.

O'Neill has a goal and 24 assists on the season. He has played in 130 career games and is seven points shy of the 100-point plateau. O'Neill ranks seventh in the nation in points per game by a defenseman, averaging 0.86 per game.

Diamond has a team-high 18 goals and 13 assists for 31 points on the season. He was named Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Week on Jan. 9 and also earned Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Month honors for January.

Diamond is fifth in the nation in goals per game, averaging 0.69 per contest. He ranks tied for eighth in the nation in power play goals with eight.

Maine, 17-9-3 on the season and 12-8-2 in Hockey East play, is ranked 11th in the nation in each of the two national polls released each Monday. The Black Bears are eighth in the latest pairwise rankings.

Maine returns home to host UMass this weekend. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM on Fri., Feb. 17 and Sat., Feb. 18.


--University of Maine Athletic Department

Black Bears Complete Sweep of BU with 3-1 Win

Boston, Mass. -- The University of Maine men's ice hockey team completed the weekend sweep of second-ranked Boston University on Saturday night with a 3-1 win. Nick Pryor (Woodbury, Minn.) netted his first collegiate goal in the second period and it proved to be the game-winner. Maine improves to 14-8-3 on the season with the win and 11-7-2 in Hockey East play. Boston University falls to 15-8-1, 12-6-1 in conference play. Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.) made a career-high 38 save in the game.

The Black Bears have now swept #3 Boston College and #2 Boston University on back-to-back weekends.

Maine dominated play in the first period, but was unable to solve BU goalie Kieran Millan until just seven seconds remained in the frame. Mark Nemec (Rouses Point, N.Y.) had a shot that Jon Swavely (Reading, Pa.) was able to tip to John Parker (Green Point, N.J.). Parker fired the puck past Millan for his third goal of the season. Maine finished with a 21-8 edge in shots in the first period.

Boston University tied the game at 1-1 just 2:41 into the second period when Garrett Noonan tipped a Adam Clendening shot past Maine goalie Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.) on the power play. It was the ninth goal of the season for Noonan. Alex Chiasson also assisted on the goal for BU.

Maine took the lead at 6:00 of the second period when Pryor scored his first collegiate goal. Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) won a face-off back in the slot. Pryor then took a few strides and blasted a slap shot that deflected off the post and into the back of the net.

The game remained tied until the Black Bears added an empty-net goal at 19:55. Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) dug the puck out of traffic and found Matt Mangene (Miller Place, N.Y.) in the neutral zone. He fired the puck into the empty net for his ninth goal of the season, giving Maine the 3-1 win.

Boston University outshot Maine 39-37 in the game. The Black Bears finished the game 1-for-8 on the power play, while BU was 1-for-5.

Maine goalie Dan Sullivan was outstanding, stopping 38 of the 39 shots that he faced in the game. He made 18 saves in the second period and all 12 in the third. He improves to 13-5-3 on the season. Kieran Millan made 34 saves for BU. He falls to 13-8-1.

The Black Bears return to action on Friday, Feb. 3 when they host Alabama-Huntsville.


--University of Maine Athletic Department

Black Bears Double Up #2 BU, 4-2

Boston, Mass. -- Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario) and Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine) each had a goal and an assist as the University of Maine men's ice hockey team knocked off second-ranked Boston University on Friday night in front of over 5,066 fans at Agganis Arena. The Black Bears improves to 13-8-3 on the season with the win and 10-7-2 in Hockey East play. BU, who had not lost since falling to Notre Dame on Dec. 31, falls to 15-7-1 overall, 12-5-1 in conference play.

BU took a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 17:56 of the opening frame. Chris Connolly and Wade Megan teamed up to find Alex Chiasson in the right face-off circle. He skated a stride and then fired a shot past Maine goalie Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.), giving BU the 1-0 lead.

Maine tied the game at 5:15 of the second period with a power play goal of their own. Mark Anthoine got the puck to Adam Shemansky (Robbinsville, N.J.) in the slot. Nearing the end of the power play, Shemansky had his shot on goal that beat BU goalie Kieran Millan.

Maine goalie Sullivan then robbed BU's Adam Clendening who had a clean breakaway to keep the game tied 1-1.

Maine took a 2-1 lead when Mark Nemec (Rouses Point, N.Y.) threaded a perfect pass to John Parker (Green Brook, N.J.) in transition. Parker fired a shot that went past Millan and into the back of the net. For Parker, it was his second goal of the season. Ryan Hegarty (Arlington, Mass.) also assisted on the goal for the Black Bears. As soon as Parker scored, the lights above the ice went off and the game was delayed for approximately 20 minute delay.

BU tied the game at 2-2 when Ross Gaudet collected the puck on the goal line and banked the puck off Sullivan and into the back of the net.

Maine took a 3-2 lead at 10:08 of the third period when Spencer Abbott got a pass from Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) from the bottom of the circle. Abbott skated a few strides towards the blueline and fired a shot that Mark Anthoine tipped past BU goalie Kieran Millan. For Anthoine, it was his ninth goal of the season and eighth on the power play.

BU pulled their goalie with just under 2:00 left in regulation. A BU defender shot the puck from the point and Abbott blocked it. He then collected the puck, skated down the ice and fired the puck into the empty-net, giving Maine the 4-2 lead.

BU outshot Maine 30-25 in the game. The Black Bears finished 2-for-4 on the power play, while BU scored on its lone power play opportunity.

Maine goalie Dan Sullivan was outstanding, making 28 saves in goal. He made several brilliant stops for the Black Bears. He improves to 12-5-3 on the season. Kieran Millan made 21 saves in goal for the Terriers. He falls to 13-7-1.

The two teams will finish their two-game weekend series on Saturday, Jan. 28. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM from Agganis Arena. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.


--University of Maine Athletic Department

Black Bears Knock Off #3 Eagles

ORONO, Maine -- Matt Mangene (Miller Place, N.Y.) scored 3:42 into overtime as the University of Maine men's ice hockey team defeated #3 Boston College 4-3 on Friday night at Alfond Arena. He received a pass from Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine) and had his shot find the right corner of the goal, giving Maine the win. Adam Shemansky (Robbinsville, N.J.) had a pair of goals for the Black Bears in the win. Maine improves to 11-8-3 on the season and 8-7-2 in Hockey East play. Boston College falls to 14-9-1 overall, 10-6-1.



Boston College opened the scoring at 3:20 of the first period when Bill Arnold scored his 12th goal of the season on the power play from Kevin Hayes and former Biddeford star Brian Dumoulin.



Maine knotted the score at 1-1 when Ryan Hegarty (Arlington, Mass.) and Kyle Beattie (Avondale, Ariz.) teamed up to find Shemansky. He had his shot from the wall beat Boston College goalie Chris Venti at 8:52 of the first period. For Shemansky, it was his seventh goal of the season.



Maine took its first lead of the game when Beattie eluded his defender in neutral ice, skated in on a two-on-one and fired a wrist shot past Venti just 2:19 into the second period. For Beattie, it was his third goal of the season. John Parker (Green Brook, N.J.) and Nick Pryor (Woodbury, Minn.) each assisted on the goal.



Boston College tied the game at 2-2 when Dumoulin faked a shot before finding Barry Almeida alone in the slot. Almeida beat Maine goalie Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.) for his 11th goal of the season at 15:48 of the second period. Pat Mullane also picked up an assist on the goal.



Dumoulin then scored his fourth goal of the season when he cleaned up the rebound of a Johnny Gaudreau shot that was left in the crease at 4:03 of the third period.



Maine then tied the game when Shemansky scored his second of the night when the Black Bears were skating with a five-on-three advantage. Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) had a shot that found Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) on the left post. He deflected the puck to Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) and then to Shemansky who swiped it into the back of the goal at 14:49 of the third.



Neither team was able to break the deadlock the remainder of regulation. In overtime, Mark Nemec (Rouses Point, N.Y.) deflected the puck to Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine) in neutral ice. Anthoine then left a drop pass for Mangene who fired a shot into the upper right corner of the goal, giving the Black Bears the victory. For Mangene, it was his fifth goal of the season.



Maine goalie Dan Sullivan was outstanding, making 33 saves in goal. He improves to 10-5-3 on the season. Chris Venti made 29 saves for the Eagles. He falls to 1-1-0.



Maine is 3-0-3 in overtime this season. Boston College finished the game with a 36-33 edge in shots. The Black Bears were 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Eagles finished the game 2-for-4.



Maine and Boston College finish their two-game Hockey East weekend series with a game on Saturday afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 PM.


--University of Maine Athletic Department

MESN - Black Bears Joey Diamond named HEPOTW

University of Maine junior forward Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) was named the Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Week on Monday. It is the second week in a row that a Black Bears earned the honor, as Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario) was honored last week. Diamond led the Black Bears to a pair of wins on the week.

Diamond scored three goals and added two assists as Maine swept games against Vermont and New Hampshire in the 2012 Sun Life Frozen Fenway. On Wednesday against Vermont, Diamond scored the game-winning goal at 13:25 of the second period on the power play. He also assisted on Brian Flynn's (Lynnfield, Mass.) game-winning goal.

On Saturday, Diamond had a pair of power play goals in Maine's 5-4 win over New Hampshire at Fenway Park. He then had a shot that Brian Flynn tipped past UNH goalie Casey DeSmith for the game-winning goal in overtime.

Diamond leads the team in goals with 14 and has 10 assists for 24 points. He is tied for the team-lead in power play goals with seven and has one game-winner.

In addition, Maine was named the Hockey East Co-Team of the Week with UMass.

Diamond and the Black Bears return to action on Friday, Jan. 13 when they travel to Merrimack for a battle with the Warriors. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM on Friday and 5 PM on Saturday.

-University of Maine-

Black Bears Claw Past Catamounts 3-1

ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine men's ice hockey team, which has now won six of its last seven games, defeated Vermont 3-1 on Wednesday night at Alfond Arena. Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) each led the Black Bears offense with a goal and an assist. Maine improves to 9-7-2 on the season with the win and 6-6-1 in Hockey East play. Vermont falls to 4-14-1 on the campaign, 1-10-1 in conference play.



Vermont jumped out to a 1-0 lead 14:36 into the first period when Drew MacKenzie shot a puck through the crease. Sebastian Stalberg was able to get a stick on the puck and beat Maine goalie Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.). Kyle Reynolds also assisted on power play goal which gave Vermont the 1-0 lead.



Maine tied the game with a power play goal of its own. Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) had the puck just inside the blueline. He found reigning Hockey East Player of the Week and Month Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario) who held the puck before finding Adam Shemansky (Robbinsville, N.J.) on the left post. Shemansky tipped the puck past Vermont goalie Rob Madore to tie the game at 1-1. For Shemansky, it was his sixth goal of the season.



Maine took a 2-1 lead at 13:25 of the second period with its second power play goal of the game. Brian Flynn got the puck to Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine), who shot it at the goal. Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) battled for the puck in the crease and beat Madore for his team-leading 12th goal of the season.



Maine iced the game at 18:44 with an empty net goal. Diamond was able to gain control of the puck from a Catamount defender. He passed to Flynn who fired the puck into the empty net. For Flynn, it was his 10th goal of the season.



Maine outshot Vermont 43-26 in the game. The Black Bears were 2-for-8 on the power play, while Vermont finished 1-for-6.



Maine goalie Dan Sullivan made 25 saves in goal, including stopping two breakaways. He improves to 8-4-2 on the season. Rob Madore stopped 40 shots for the Catamounts. He falls to 3-11-1 on the season.



Maine returns to action on Saturday, Jan., 7 when it faces arch rival New Hampshire in a historic game at 2012 Sun Life Frozen Fenway.


--Information Courtesy of University of Maine Athletic Department