DULUTH, Minn. - The University of Maine men's hockey team was defeated by the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, 3-2, on Saturday night. The Bulldogs took advantage of two second period goals to hold off the Black Bears.
First Goal:(1-0 Duluth): Eduards Tralmaks was called for a penalty 2:50 into the first period. Minnesota Duluth immediately took advantage. Riley Tufte fired a one-timer from the top of the fair side face-off circle that found its way to the back of the Maine net. The Bulldogs grabbed a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup wristed a shot from the face-off circle that deflected off of the crossbar then hit the side post. The puck bounced underneath the Minnesota Duluth goaltender as play was called to a stop. After a quick review, the no-goal was confirmed. Maine trailed 1-0 after one period of action.
Second Goal: (2-0 Duluth): Scott Perunovich intercepted a Maine neutral zone pass and reserved directions to an unmarked Noah Cates. Cates unloaded from just inside the blue line and gave his team a 2-0 advantage 5:35 into the second period.
Third Goal: (3-0 Duluth): Jeremy Swayman made a flurry of stops that led to a scrum behind the net. The puck looked to be on its way out of the Maine zone, but Cole Koepke gathered, turn, and buried a goal.
Fourth Goal: (3-1 Duluth): Rob Michel scored a power play goal at the 17:39 mark for the Black Bears. Eduards Tralmaks cycled the puck to Mitchell Fossier, who found Michel waiting for a pass. The senior defenseman one-timed the shot from inside the blue line. The goal was the last of the second period as Maine trailed 3-1 entering the third period.
Fifth Goal: (3-2 Duluth): 2:21 into the third period, Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup scored a goal on the doorstep of the Minnesota Duluth goal. Chase Pearson managed to corral the puck behind the net and fed a streaking Schmidt-Svejstrup. The freshman simply re-directed the pass into the open goal. The Black Bears were down 3-2 with 17:39 to go in the game.
Maine pulled Swayman was less than a minute left in the game to apply more pressure in the offensive zone. Fossier had a shot saved then reviewed by the referees. The Black Bears were unable to find the game tying goal and lost to Minnesota Duluth, 3-2.
Notes:
- Jeremy Swayman finished the game with 41 saves, the most since he saved 45 shots against Quinnipiac on December 9, 2017.
- The Black Bears went 1-3 on the power play, while the Bulldogs went 1-5. Maine managed to kill two minutes of a 5-3 advantage for Duluth.
- Maine finished the game with 19 total blocked shots.
Next:
The Black Bears will travel to Storrs, Conn. next Friday, October 26, to take on the University of Connecticut Huskies. Puck drop for the Hockey East contest is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
