MAINE SCORES SIX GOALS IN SECOND PERIOD TO TOPPLE MASSACHUSETTS, 8-4
Senior forward Mark Anthoine has two goals and two assists for Black Bears

Senior forward Mark Anthoine had two goals and two assists for the Black Bears

ORONO- Black Bear rookies combined for four goals and eight assists to lead the University of Maine men's ice hockey team to an 8-4 win over UMass on Saturday night at Alfond Arena. The Black Bears exploded for six goals in the second period. Senior Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine) had two goals and two assists, while rookies Cam Brown (Natick, Mass.) and Blaine Byron (Manotick, Ontario) each registered their first career goals and also dished out three assists in the win.

UMass got on the board first with a shot-handed goal by Troy Power 2:43 into the opening period. Steven Iacobellis and Ben Gallacher each assisted on the opening period. The Minutemen took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Maine came out flying in the second period and scored seven of the next eight goals. Josh Henke (Trenton, Mich.) knotted the score at 1-1 when he received a pass from Ben Hutton (Prescott, Ontario) just 1:33 into the period and fired it into the back of the goal for his first collegiate goal. Anthoine picked up the second assist on the goal.

Michael Pereira put the Minutemen ahead once again at 6:39 with a power play goal from Joel Hanley and rookie goalie Alex Wakaluk, making his collegiate debut.

Maine evened the score with some crisp passes in the offensive zone. Brown and Byron teamed up to find Morgan who beat Wakaluk for his first collegiate goal at 9:06. Cam Brown then notched his first career goal when he received a pass from Byron just over two minutes later. Dan Renouf (Pickering, Ontario) each assisted on the goal, which put the Black Bears ahead for good.

Linemate Byron notched his first career goal at 13:59 when he received a pass from Brown and fired it past Wakaluk. Brice O'Connor (Londonderry, N.H.) notched an assist on the goal as well.

Anthoine notched a power play goal with just 51 seconds remaining in the second period when he scored on the rebound of a Byron shot. Brown also assisted on the goal. Maine capped the scoring in the second period with a goal with just five seconds remaining. Henke passed to Jake Rutt (Scarborough, Maine) on the blueline who unleashed a shot that went past Wakaluk.

Maine opened the scoring in the third period with a short-handed goal when Steven Swavely (Reading, Pa.) stole the puck and broke into alone on UMass goalie Steve Mastalerz, who replaced Wakaluk to start the third period.

UMass added a pair of power play goals in the span of three minutes later in the third to bring the game to 7-4. Power scored his second of the night from Iacobellis and Steven Guzzo. Michael Pereira got his second of the night at 12:27 when he got a pass from Joey Hanley and beat Maine goalie Martin Ouellette (St.-Hippolyte, Quebec).

Headed to the power play, UMass pulled Mastalerz in favor of an extra attacker late in the game. Maine used it to its advantage to score a short-handed empty-net tally. After making a save, Ouellette passed the puck to Conor Riley (Massena, N.Y.). He found Anthoine, who shot the puck from the defensive zone into the open net. It was his team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Maine and UMass finished with 32 shots apiece. Maine finished 2-for-5 on the power play with a pair of short-handed goals, while UMass was 3-for-6 with one short-handed tally.

Ouellette made 28 saves and moves to 3-2-0 on the season. Wakaluk made 17 saves in 40 minutes, while Mastalerz finished with seven saves in 18:31.

The two teams face off against each other again next weekend with a pair of Hockey East Conference games in Amherst, Mass. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM on Friday, Nov. 1.