ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine men's ice hockey completed the sweep of Merrimack College with a 3-2 victory on Saturday night in the Alfond Arena.
First Goal (Maine 1-0): Cameron Spicer's first goal of the 2019-20 season gave Maine the lead late in the first period. It was the only goal of the opening 20:00. Eduards Tralmaks cycled the puck out to the blue line. Spicer fired a shot into a group of Black Bear and Merrimack players. AJ Drobot shielded the Warriors' netminder enough to allow the defenseman's shot to find the back of the net. Maine held a 1-0 lead after one.
Second Goal (1-1): Merrimack continued their success on the power play and tied the Hockey East matchup at one early in the second period. Mac Welsher gathered and wrapped the puck around the back of the net. With Jeremy Swayman trying to cover the open part of the net, Welsher found space under the netminder's pad. The tie game would not last long.
Third Goal (Maine 2-1): JD Greenway redirected the puck towards the neutral zone. Tim Doherty led a 2-on-1 rush with Mitchell Fossier. Doherty completed a simple pass to Fossier who buried the easy goal.
Fourth Goal (Maine 3-1): With the face-off in Merrimack's end, Eduards Tralmaks and AJ Drobot made quick work of the Warriors defense. Tralmaks dug the puck out of the corner and found Drobot. The freshman managed to lift the puck over Huhtamaa pads and into the net. The Black Bears led 3-1 after two periods.
Fifth Goal (Maine 3-2): Seconds into the third period, Zach Uens scored the Warriors second power play goal of the evening. With traffic in front of the Maine net, Swayman was unable to see the shot. Merrimack pulled to within one goal early in the third period.
Maine fought off two penalties and a 6-on-4 opportunity in the final minutes to clinch the 3-2 victory.
Notes:
- Jeremy Swayman finished with 33 saves for the Black Bears, while Jere Huhtamaa tallied 25 for the Warriors.
- Maine went 0-1 on the power play, as Merrimack was 2-7 on their man advantages.
- The Black Bears blocked five shots as a team.
Next:
Maine will return to the ice next Friday, February 7th when they host Northeastern. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
