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

Black Bears Clobber Clarkson 6-1

ESTERO, Fla. -- Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario) each had a goal and two assists to lead the University of Maine men's ice hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Clarkson in the first game of the Florida College Classic on Thursday afternoon in Estero, Fla. Maine will face the winner of the Cornell vs. UMass game in the Championship game on Friday night at 7:30 PM.



Maine struck first when Flynn scored his seven goal of the season at 8:25 of the first period when he received a pass from Abbott and shot the puck past Clarkson goalie Cody Rosen on the left goal post. Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) also assisted on the goal. Ryan Hegarty (Arlington, Mass.) extended Maine's lead to when his shot from the blueline found the upper corner of the net. Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Flynn both assisted on the goal.



Maine made it 3-0 at 18:47 when Hegarty got the puck to Flynn. He passed to Abbott who shot from the top of the circle, beating Rosen for his 11th goal of the season at 18:47. The Black Bears took the 3-0 lead into the first intermission.



The Black Bears made it 4-0 at 7:30 of the second period with a goal in transition. Brice O'Connor (Londonderry, N.H.), who now has points in four straight games, began the play when he gained control of the puck in the defensive zone. He found Kyle Beattie (Avondale, Ariz.) who skated the puck up the ice. Adam Shemansky (Robbinsville, N.J.) finished the play with his fifth goal of the season.



Maine tallied a shorthanded goal at 10:09 when Mike Cornell (Franklin, Mass.) found Matt Mangene (Miller Place, N.Y.) who skated the puck up the ice. Mangene had a shot that Richie LeVeau saved, but the rebound when to Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine) who fired the puck into the back of the net.



Maine took a 5-0 lead into the second intermission. The second period was marred with 26 penalties for 84 minutes.



Diamond added a power play goal at 3:18 of the third period as the Black Bears extended their lead to 6-0. O'Neill began the play and found Shemansky. He then passed to Diamond just outside the crease. Diamond capitalized with his 10th goal of the season.



Clarkson got on the board at 9:36 when Louke Oakley tipped a Alex Boak shot past Maine goalie Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.) to break up his shutout bid. Joe Zarbo also assisted on the goal.



Maine outshot Clarkson 36-19 in the game. The Black Bears finished 2-for-7 on the power play, while Clarkson was scoreless in seven chances.



Maine goalie Sullivan was impressive, stopped 18 of the 19 shots that he faced. He improves to 6-4-2 on the season. Cody Rosen made 15 saves in 27:30. He falls to 0-1-0 on the season. Richie LeVeau made 15 saves in 32:32.



Maine returns to action on Friday, Dec. 30 when it plays for the Florida College Classic title. Puck drop will be at 7:30 PM against either UMass or Cornell.

--Information Courtesy of the University of Maine Athletic Department

Pirates Down P-Bruins 6-3

The Portland Pirates finished off a five-game homestand with a 6-3 win over the Providence Bruins at the Cumberland County Civic Center Wednesday night. It was only the Pirates second victory in their last 6 games.

Brett MacLean started off the scoring 8 minutes into the game with his 12th goal of the season. MacLean would push it to 2-0 later in the period on a power play goal. That would be the first of three goals in two minutes, as Carter Camper scored for the P-Bruins and Dean Arsene would tally his 2nd goal of the season as the Pirates led 3-1 after 1 period.

The 2 teams would trade goals in the second period, as Ethan Werek scored early in the period for the Pirates, and Kevin Miller scored late for the P-Bruins.

Josh Hennessy scored a power play just 2:18 into the third period to cut the Portland lead to 4-3. Matt Watkins scored with 7:27 left to give the Pirates some breathing room, and Brock Trotter scored an empty-netter to finish off the scoring.

MacLean and Trotter each had 3 points for the Pirates, while Justin Pogge stopped 26 of 29 shots in net.

The Pirates take a short road trip to face the Adirondack Phantoms on Friday before coming back home for their annual New Year's Eve game on Saturday, against Worcester Sharks. That game has a special start time of 5:30.

Pirates training camp gets a full stock of players #portlandpirates #coyotes

The Phoenix Coyotes announces players assigned to  Portland Pirates Train Camp are as follows;

Goaltender: Marc Cheverie
Forwards: Mathieu Beaudoin, Spencer Bennett, Evan Bloodoff, Alexandre Bolduc, Marc Cheverie, Darian Dziurzynski, Brett Hextall, Ryan Hollweg, Colin Long, Donny Maloney, Brendan Shinnimin, Jordan Szwarz, Matt Watkins and Ethan Werek
Defensemen: Mathieu Brodeur, Nick Ross, Garrett Stafford, Michael Stone

Pirates sign former Hobey Baker Winner Duncan

The Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League in conjunction with their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, announced today that they have signed forward Ryan Duncan to an AHL deal.

Duncan (7/14/85, 5’8” 175 lbs.) spent the previous two seasons competing in the Austrian Elite League for EC Red Bull Salzburg where he compiled 111 points (43-68-111) in 99 games. Following a four-year collegiate career at the University of North Dakota, Duncan made his American Hockey League debut during the 2008-2009 season, skating in two games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. At the conclusion of his sophomore season at North Dakota in 2006-2007, where he totaled 57 points (31-26-57) in 43 games, the Calgary, Alberta native was rewarded with the Hobey Baker Award, joining fellow Coyotes prospect Andy Miele (2011) as a recipient of the top honor in collegiate hockey.

The Pirates will open their 19th season of competition on the road against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday, October 8th at 7 p.m. The high-flying action will open at home for the 34th season of AHL action at the Cumberland County Civic Center, on Saturday, October 15th when the Manchester Monarchs visit in a 7 p.m. start.

--PIRATES PRESS RELEASE--