Maine Faces BU in weekend series

PHOTO COURTESY CHRIS ROY

The University of Maine men’s ice hockey team skated to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Boston University on Saturday night in front of 5,350 fans at Alfond Arena. Will O’Neill (Salem, Mass.) and Joe Pereira scored first period goals and the goalie stole the show the remainder of the night. Maine moves to 11-7-6 on the season and 8-5-4 in Hockey East play. Boston University sees it record go to 12-7-7, 9-5-5 in conference play.

Maine wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Tanner House (Cochrane, Alberta) battled to get the puck to Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.). Flynn and a BU defender both pursued the puck, but Flynn was able to get it to Will O’Neill on the blueline. He fired the first shot of the game past BU goalie Kieran Millan just 21 seconds in. For O’Neill, it was his second goal of the season.

Minutes later on the power play, Maine tried to make a pass on the blueline that Boston University’s Chris Connolly picked off. He skated in on Maine goalie Martin Ouellette (St.-Hippolyte, Quebec) on a two-on-none breakaway. Connolly slide the puck to Joe Pereira who beat Ouellette. For Periera, it was his 11th goal of the season.

Maine had a commanding 20-2 edge in shots on goal in the first period and finished the game with a 42-20 advantage. Maine goalie Martin Ouellette and BU netminder Kieran Millan each made some outstanding saves in the game. Ouellette finished with 19 saves and moves to 3-2-2 on the season. Millan made 41 saves and moves to 9-5-7.

Maine finished the game 0-for-7 on the power play, while BU was scoreless on five chances. The Black Bears were able to kill off a five minute penalty, including nearly a two-minute five-on-three. Maine held BU scoreless in 11 power play opportunities on the weekend.

Saturday marked the 100th career game for Maine junior Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario). Flynn, who played in his 100th career game for Maine on Friday night, played in his 100th consecutive game on Saturday night.

The Black Bears return to action on Friday, Feb. 4 when they face off against the University of New Hampshire, for a two game series in Durham, N.H. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM and the game can be seen on NESN.

 - UNIVERSITY OF MAINE - 

MAINEiacs with another comeback win 5 - 2

For the second time this weekend, the Lewiston MAINEiacs fell behind early, before coming back to win a key divisional battle. The Chicoutimi Sagueneens took a 2-0 lead early in the second period, only to see the MAINEiacs score twice in the second and three times in the third period for a 5-2 victory in front of 1,941 fans at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

The Sagueneens opened the scoring in the latter stages of the first period. Guillaume Asselin skated in on a 2-on-1 rush, before blasting a slap shot through Nicholas Champion from the bottom of the right circle. 1:05 into the second period, Asselin struck again, wiring in a shot from an identical location.

Midway through the second period, the MAINEiacs got on the board, starting their comeback. Sam Henley attacked the offensive zone on a forecheck, freeing up the puck for Alex Zafiris. The rookie forward found Antoine Houde-Caron in the slot, who beat Francis Desrosiers high over the glove. With 1:56 left to go in the spirited middle frame, Lewiston knotted the score. Sam Carrier flipped the puck into the offensive zone, springing Stefan Fournier in alone. Fournier's backhander hit off of the post, off of Desrosiers, and in for the equalizer.

The home team continued to ride the momentum into the third period, taking their first lead of the afternoon at the 3:19 mark of the third period. Sam Carrier tossed the puck into the middle of the ice, allowing Cole Hawes to deflect a shot into the top part of the goal. Hawes' seventh tally of the season was also Lewiston's 1,000th in franchise history on home ice. The MAINEiacs maintained their one-goal lead until the final seven minutes of the game, when they eventually pulled away. Olivier Dame-Malka's wrist shot from the point put Lewiston ahead by two, before Matt Bissonnette converted off of a pass by Stefan Fournier for a 5-2 final score.

Nicholas Champion earned the win for the MAINEiacs, making 19 saves on 21 shots. Francis Desrosiers suffered the loss for Chicoutimi, stopping 28 of the 33 shots he faced.

The MAINEiacs will continue their homestand on Tuesday night at 7:00, when they play host to the Shawinigan Cataractes.

- Lewiston MAINEiacs -

Pirates harpoon the Whale

Derek Whitmore scored on the power play with 7.5 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Portland Pirates to a 3-2 win over the Connecticut Whale in an American Hockey League game played tonight in front of 10,872 at the XL Center.

Nick Crawford and Matt Ellis also scored for the Pirates, who improved to 29-14-4-1 with the win.

Jeremy Williams and Brodie Dupont scored for the Whale, who lost their third straight to sink to 22-20-2-5.

The Pirates got off to a quick start as Crawford scored three minutes into the game to give the visitors an early advantage. The lead was short-lived as just over two minutes later Jeremy Williams tied it to leave the two teams even at one after one.

There was no scoring in the second. Ellis scored on the power play in the opening minute of the third period to restore Portland’s one-goal lead. Dupont answered with a power-play goal of his own with just under eight minutes left in regulation to set the stage for Whitmore.

The Whale out shot the Pirates 38-24 in the game as David Leggio posted his fourth consecutive victory.

The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game were 1. Whitmore, 2. Leggio and 3. Dupont

--PIRATES COMMUNICATIONS--

UMaine goes 0-fer on power play, knots Terriers

The University of Maine men’s ice hockey team skated to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Boston University on Saturday night in front of 5,350 fans at Alfond Arena. Will O’Neill (Salem, Mass.) and Joe Pereira scored first period goals and
the goalie stole the show the remainder of the night. Maine moves to 11-7-6 on the season and 8-5-4 in Hockey East play. Boston University sees it record go to 12-7-7, 9-5-5 in conference play.

Maine wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Tanner House (Cochrane, Alberta) battled to get the puck to Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.). Flynn and a BU defender both pursued the puck, but Flynn was able to get it to Will O’Neill on the blueline.
He fired the first shot of the game past BU goalie Kieran Millan just 21 seconds in. For O’Neill, it was his second goal of the season.

Minutes later on the power play, Maine tried to make a pass on the blueline that Boston University’s Chris Connolly picked off. He skated in on Maine goalie Martin Ouellette (St.-Hippolyte, Quebec) on a two-on-none breakaway. Connolly slide the puck
to Joe Pereira who beat Ouellette. For Periera, it was his 11th goal of the season.

Maine had a commanding 20-2 edge in shots on goal in the first period and finished the game with a 42-20 advantage. Maine goalie Martin Ouellette and BU netminder Kieran Millan each made some outstanding saves in the game. Ouellette finished with 19
saves and moves to 3-2-2 on the season. Millan made 41 saves and moves to 9-5-7.

Maine finished the game 0-for-7 on the power play, while BU was scoreless on five chances. The Black Bears were able to kill off a five minute penalty, including nearly a two-minute five-on-three. Maine held BU scoreless in 11 power play
opportunities on the weekend.

Saturday marked the 100th career game for Maine junior Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario). Flynn, who played in his 100th career game for Maine on Friday night, played in his 100th consecutive game on Saturday night.

The Black Bears return to action on Friday, Feb. 4 when they face off against the University of New Hampshire, for a two game series in Durham, N.H. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM and the game can be seen on NESN.

Pirates decommission Admirals

Jhonas Enroth and the Portland defense held the top offense in the league to a single score as the Portland Pirates defeated the Norfolk Admirals 2-1 in an American Hockey League game played this evening in front of 3,285 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Derek Whitmore and Mark Mancari provided the scoring for Portland with a goal apiece, and Jhonas Enroth stopped 27 shots as the Pirates improved their Atlantic Division best record to 28-13-4-1. Portland now stands at 17-3-3-1 at home, and won the season series over Norfolk 3-0-0-1.

Johan Harju netted the only Norfolk goal of the night as they lost their second straight while dropping to 24-12-7-2 on the season.

Whitmore got the hosts on the board at 16:23 of the first period, capitalizing on a crossing pass from T.J. Brennan. At the 12:53 mark of the second period, Mancari beat Mike Smith on a breakaway to raise his league leading goal total to 27 and extend the Portland lead to 2-0. Norfolk managed to cut the lead in half with just under eight minutes remaining in the final period on Harju’s tally, but Enroth stood tall the rest of the way in protecting the one-goal advantage.

The Admirals out-shot the Pirates 28-21 as Mike Smith’s record dropped to 0-2-0 and Enroth improved to 16-12-1 on the season.

The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the game were all from Portland: 1. Enroth, 2. Brennan and 3. Mancari.

This weekend the Pirates will be on the road for two divisional matchups. Friday night they will be down in Providence taking on the Bruins at the Dunkin Donuts Center at 7:05 p.m., and will continue on the road to Connecticut to take on the Whale at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The games can be heard live on 95.5 News Talk WLOB or on-line at www.portlandpirates.com beginning with the pre-game show 15 minutes prior to the opening faceoff.

Mancari named Reebok AHL Player of the Week

The American Hockey League announced today that Portland Pirates right wing Mark Mancari has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 23, 2011. In four games, Mancari scored eight goals and added two assists for 10 points while posting a plus-7 rating for the Pirates.

Mancari scored a goal in a 5-3 loss at Worcester on Wednesday, then potted a goal and recorded two assists in a 5-2 win over the Sharks on Friday. He scored three more times on Saturday as Portland earned a 5-2 victory over Providence, and notched his second consecutive hat trick to help the Pirates rally for a 5-4 shootout win in Worcester on Sunday, moving Portland back into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

In recognition of his achievement, Mancari will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Pirates home game.

A 25-year-old native of London, Ont., Mancari has taken over the AHL lead with 26 goals and ranks third with 51 points in 42 games for Portland, including 12-7-19 during his current 11-game scoring streak. The sixth-year pro has totaled 145 goals and 203 assists for 348 points in 404 career AHL games and has added six points in 19 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, including one assist in three games this season.

--AHL COMMUNICATIONS--

UMaine ties Northeastern

The University of Maine men's ice hockey team battled back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the third period, but in the end, skated to a 3-3 draw at Northeastern on Saturday night. Maine moves to 11-6-5 on the season and 8-4-3 in Hockey East play. Northeastern moves to 7-10-5 overall and 6-7-4 in conference play. Maine was led by senior captain Tanner House (Cochrane, Alberta) who had a pair of goals in the game.

Maine and Northeastern battled through a scoreless first period. The Black Bears finished the period with a 9-5 edge in shots on goal.

Northeastern took a 1-0 lead just 54 second into the second period with a power play goal. Wade MacLeod had a shot from the right face-off circle that Maine goalie Shawn Sirman (Blezard Valley, Ontario) stopped, but the rebound lay in the crease before Anthony Bitetto fired it into the goal. For Bitetto, it was his second goal of the season. Tyler McNeely also assisted on the goal. The Huskies added to their lead less than two minutes later. Rob Dongara left a drop pass for Mike McLaughlin.

McLaughlin rifled a shot past Sirman from the right face-off circle, extending Northeastern's lead to 2-0. Brodie Reid also picked up an assist on the goal.

Maine pulled to within one goal at 16:15 of the second period when Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) tipped a Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) shot past Northeastern goalie Chris Rawlings on the power play. Robby Dee (Plymouth, Minn.) began the play with the initial shot on goal. It did not take Maine long to tie up the game when Tanner House tipped a Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario) shot from the blueline past Rawlings at 17:10. For House, it was his seventh goal of the season.

The Black Bears took their first lead of the game when House scored his second of the game. Two players collided in the neutral zone, leaving the puck up for grabs. A Northeastern player and House both rushed the puck. House was able to gain control of it and one-time a shot past Rawlings, giving Maine a 3-2 lead. For House, it was his eighth goal of the season.

Wade MacLeod tied the game at 3-3 for Northeastern with just 2:36 remaining in regulation when he beat Sirman. Bitetto also assisted in the goal.

Maine goalie Sirman made 19 saves in the game. He moves to 3-0-3 on the season. Rawlings stopped 34 shots in goal for the Huskies. He moves to 6-8-5.

Maine finished the game with a 37-22 edge in shots on goal. The Black Bears were 2-for-5 on the power play, while Northeastern was 2-for-7.

The Black Bears return to action on Friday, Jan. 28 when they host Boston University in the first of a two-game series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM. Tickets are available by calling the Maine ticket office at 207-581-BEAR or 1-800-756-TEAM.


-U-M-