ORONO, Maine - Despite a strong comeback attempt in the third period, the University of Maine men's ice hockey team was defeated 6-5 by Boston University on Friday night at Alfond Arena. Maine's Josh Soares and Boston University's Pete MacArthur both had hat-tricks in the game. Boston University had a 6-2 lead in the third period, but three goals in the third period gave Maine a chance at the end. The Black Bears are now 14-4-2 overall and 7-4-1 in Hockey East while Boston University is 9-4-6 overall and 6-3-5 in conference play.

In the first period, Maine had control of the puck early. The Black Bears had a five-on-three power play for 1:03, but could not score despite several strong chances. Maine kept firing the puck at John Curry, taking the first 15 shots in the game before Brent Shepheard (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia) finally put one past Curry at 14:48. Shepheard was assisted on the power play goal by Bret Tyler (Maynard, Mass.) and Josh Soares (Hamilton, Ontario). It did not take long for the Terriers to score, as Pete MacArthur scored just fifteen seconds later on Boston University's first shot of the game. The goal at 15:03 was assisted by Brandon Yip. The Terriers took a 2-1 lead at 19:16 when Brian Strait scored with assists from Kenny Roche and Bryan Ewing. Maine had a dominate fifteen to five lead on shots in the period.

Boston University added to the lead at 3:06 in the second period with a goal by Pete MacArthur, who was assisted by Brandon Yip. The Terriers went up 4-1 when Pete MacArthur scored his third goal of the game on an unassisted shorthanded goal at 7:00. The Black Bears got back on the board when Josh Soares scored his first goal of the night at 8:22. The power play goal was assisted by Teddy Purcell (St. John's, Newfoundland) and Mike Lundin (Apple Valley, Minn.). But the Terriers added a power play goal of their own at 14:50 in the second when Jason Lawrence scored with assists from Bryan Ewing and Kevin Schaeffer. Maine had a 16 to ten lead on shots in the second period.

Maine entered the third period down 5-2, and Boston University quickly made it 6-2 when Bryan Ewing scored at 1:27 with assists from Kenny Roche and Jason Lawrence. Maine head coach Tim Whitehead pulled Ben Bishop (Des Peres, Mo.) after the goal and Dave Wilson (Caledon East, Ontario) came into the game at 1:27. The Black Bears began the comeback attempt at 7:08, when a shot by Keith Johnson (Windsor, Conn.) was saved by Curry, but the rebound went into the net off the back of a Boston University player. Then, Josh Soares scored his second goal of the game at 10:28 with assists from Keith Johnson and Keenan Hopson (Prince George, British Columbia). Maine cut the lead to 6-5 when Josh Soares added a third goal of the night at 16:16. He was assisted on the goal by Bret Tyler (Maynard, Mass.) and Wes Clark (Oakville, Ontario). Maine kept the offensive intensity up as time wound down in the period, coming up with several strong scoring chances, including one shot by Josh Soares that went wide. With 40 seconds left, Maine pulled Dave Wilson for an extra skater. With the man advantage, Maine generated several shots, but could not tie the game. The Black Bears had a 14 to five lead on shots in the third period.

In goal, Maine's Ben Bishop had six goals against and 11 saves, while Dave Wilson did not allow a goal with three saves. For Boston University, John Curry had five goals against and a career-high 40 saves. Maine had 5 penalties for 10 minutes and Boston University had 6 penalties for 12 minutes. On power plays, Maine was 3-6 and Boston University was 1-5. For the game, Maine outshot the Terriers 45 to 20.

The hat-trick for Josh Soares was his second this season. The Black Bears complete the weekend series against Boston University on January 13 at Alfond Arena. For tickets or more information on University of Maine athletics, visit www.GoBlackBears.com or call 581-BEAR.