ORONO, Me. - The University of Maine men's ice hockey team fell in a tough game against the No. 10/10 Quinnipiac Bobcats 7-2 on Friday night at the Alfond Arena.
First Goal: Thirty seconds into the game Quinnipiac jumped on a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Bobcat defenseman Chase Priskie had a takeaway along the blueline to make the pass with space. Odeen Tufto, who skated in close on Jeremy Swayman, deflected in a bouncing rebound before lifting it over his pad, giving the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
Second Goal: At 12:25 of the first, Odeen Tufto flipped in his second of the night, handling the initial shot that rolled through and flipped up on his cage, stuffing in the puck as it fell in the paint to give Quinnipiac a 2-0 lead.
Third Goal: At 2:55 of the second, Alex Whelan made it three nothing for the Bobcats. With traffic in front, Whelan pulled away in the slot and finished with a quick wrist shot for his fifth of the year.
Fourth Goal: Maine got its first goal of the night, on a quick break give-and-go between Chase Pearson and Mitchell Fossier which put the Black Bears on the board at 13:08 of the second.
Fifth Goal: On the power play, Quinnipiac's Odeen Tufto scored his third of the night in the dying seconds of the period, handling a pass from behind the net to finish it in the slot.
Sixth Goal: Quinnipiac extended its lead at 10:32 of the third as Ethan de Jong fired in on a on pass along the goal line Swayman couldn't see, stuffing it in to give the visitors a 5-1 lead.
Seventh Goal: On an odd play, Odeen Tufto walked in along the far faceoff circle with Wyatt Bongiovanni deflecting a shot in the slot as he was taken down by the defense, which gave the Bobcats a 6-1.
Eighth Goal: Maine's second goal of the night was a deflection in front by Ryan Smith, putting in Cameron Spicer's blueline shot to make it 6-2 Quinnipiac.
Ninth Goal: The final goal of the night was from Joe O'Connor with 00:27 seconds left in the game. Zach Mesta won the faceoff and passed it back to O'Connor, sitting at the top of the faceoff circle and fired in through traffic to make it 7-2 Bobcats.
Notes:
- The Black Bears' penalty kill was 3-for-4 on the night.
- Maine outshot Quinnipiac 35 to 29.
- The defense blocked nine shots, and centers won 39 total draws.
Next: The Black Bears return to the ice tomorrow night to host Quinnipiac for the second game of the weekend at 7:30 p.m.
