ESTERO, Fla. -- Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario) won the Shawn Walsh Memorial Most Valuable Player Award as the University of Maine won its fifth Florida College Classic on Friday night in Estero, Fla. with a 5-2 win over UMass. Abbott had a goal and four assists in the tournament. Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.), Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) and Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.) were all named to the Florida College Classic All-Tournament Team.
Maine stuck first when Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) netted his 11th goal of the season after receiving a pass from Spencer Abbott in transition and firing it past UMass goalie Kevin Boyle from the right face-off circle. Mike Cornell (Franklin, Mass.) also assisted on the goal.
Maine wasted no time adding to its lead. On the power play, Abbott fed Brian Flynn who beat Boyle for his eighth goal of the season. Matt Mangene (Miller Place, N.Y.) began the play to pick up the second assist on the goal.
UMass cut into the Maine lead at 7:36 of the second period when T.J. Syner beat Sullivan with a shot from the slot. Danny Hobbs and Branden Gravel each assisted on the goal.
Maine regained the two goal lead 2:01 later when Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine) scored on the power play from Adam Shemansky (Robbinsville, N.J.) and Kyle Beattie (Avondale, Ariz.). For Anthoine, it was his third goal in four Florida College Classic games in his career.
UMass answered back at 8:35 of the third period to once again pull to within one goal of the Black Bears. Connor Allen netted his fourth goal of the season for Conor Sheary and Steven Guzzo.
Again, the Black Bears were able to counter with a power play goal. Abbott passed to Mangene who had his shot go just inside the cross bar. O'Neill assisted on the play.
Maine put the game out of reach when Flynn scored his second of the game. With UMass having pulled its goaltender in favor of an extra attacker, Flynn gained control of the puck in the neutral zone and fired it into the open net. O'Neill and Cornell each assisted on the goal.
Maine outshot UMass 32-19 in the game. The Black Bears, who improve to 8-7-2 on the season, were 3-for-7 on the power play. UMass, who falls to 6-8-4, finished the game 0-for-5 with the man advantage.
Maine goalie Sullivan played outstanding all weekend. He made 17 saves on Friday night and improves to 7-4-2 on the season. Kevin Boyle made 27 saves for the Minutemen. He falls to 5-3-3.
Maine returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 4 when it hosts Vermont at 7 PM.