ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine men's ice hockey team shutout Vermont 1-0 on Saturday night at Alfond Arena. Maine's lone goal from Wes Clark in the first period along with 31 saves by Dave Wilson in his second career start gave the Black Bears the win. The Black Bears are now 19-8-2 overall and 12-8-1 in Hockey East while Vermont is 15-11-4 overall and 10-7-4 in conference play.

Maine opened the game with two quick shots from Josh Soares (Hamilton, Ontario). Maine continued to pepper Vermont goalie Mike Spillane with shots in the first ten minutes of the game. The Black Bears got on the board when Mike Lundin (Apple Valley, Minn.) passed the puck to Travis Ramsey (Lakewood, Calif.), who put a shot on net. The rebound came out to the left of Spillane, and Wes Clark (Oakville, Ontario) was there to bury the puck at 12:22. Simon Danis-Pepin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec) had two shots saved at the fourteen minute mark, and Maine had a sixteen to seven lead on shots in the first period.

In the second period, Keenan Hopson (Prince George, British Columbia) had a shot go just wide of the net two minutes into the period. The Catamounts had the first power play chance of the game, but were unable to generate any shots on goal. Maine then had their first power play of the night, and Keith Johnson (Windsor, Conn.) was able to take a shot that was saved by Spillane. Vermont had a ten to nine lead on shots in the second period.

our minutes into the third period, Tony Morrone (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had the first shot on net for either team. Vermont then countered with the next six shots, including one by Corey Carlson, that were saved by Dave Wilson (Toronto, Ontario). At the nine minute mark, Chris Hahn (Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan) chipped the puck into the zone and the rebound off the boards almost got past Spillane. Both teams continued to get good looks at the net as time in the period wound down, but both goalies stopped the shots. With 1:36 remaining in the game, Vermont pulled Spillane for an extra skater, but did not get a shot on net. With just 18 seconds remaining in the game, Maine tied up the puck in the Vermont zone and it got rough, as a total of 14 penalties for 34 minutes were handed out. After the penalties, Maine won the face-off and were able to seal the victory.

In goal, Maine's Dave Wilson had the shutout with 31 saves. For Vermont, Mike Spillane had one goals against and 30 saves. Maine had eight penalties for 19 minutes and Vermont had eight penalties for 19 minutes. On power plays, Maine was 0-1 and Vermont was 0-1. For the game, Maine and Vermont were tied with 31 shots.

The Black Bears will be at Boston College on Thursday and Friday for a two-game series. Maine will return home on February 23 and 24 to face Merrimack. For tickets or more information on University of Maine athletics, visit www.GoBlackBears.com or call 581-BEAR.