ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine men's ice hockey team defeated the #15/#17 Northeastern University Huskies in a shoot-out, 2-0, on Friday evening in the Alfond Arena.
The first period was skated to a scoreless tie. Maine fired six shots on goal, while Victor Ostman made 14 saves in the first 20:00.
Maine's penalty kill unit was perfect in the second period. After 40:00 minutes in the Alfond, #15/#17 Northeastern held a slight lead in shots on goal, 20-15, while the Black Bears had three power play opportunities.
First Goal (1-0 #15/#17 Northeastern): Riley Hughes scored the first goal of the third period. Matt Demelis passed the puck through the Maine end to R. Hughes who backhanded the puck into the Maine net. The lead would double in less than two minutes.
Second Goal (2-0 #15/#17 Northeastern): After forcing a turnover behind Ostman, Jakov Novak stuffed the puck into the Black Bears' net. At the 3:38 mark of the third period, Maine trailed 2-0.
Third Goal (2-1 #15/#17 Northeastern): While on their sixth power play opportunity of the evening, the Black Bears pulled to within one goal. Thomas Freel was blocking the goalkeeper as Killian Kiecker-Olson gained possession of the puck. The freshman fired a puck through traffic, off the crossbar, and into the Huskies' net. Maine was not finished.
Fourth Goal (2-2): Donavan VIlleneuve-Houle tied the Friday night Hockey East contest with a short-handed goal at 2:34 mark of the third period. Didrik Henbrant started the rush. Houle's shot was tipped by a Huskie defender and into the net. The junior's goal sent the Alfond into a frenzy and the game into overtime.
After the 5:00 overtime period was played to a scoreless tie, Killian Kiecker-Olson and Ben Poisson scored in the shoot-out to defeat the Huskies, 2-0. The game officially ends in a tie, but the shoot-out win will add an extra point to the Black Bears conference total.
Notes:
Victor Ostman saved 26 shots in net for the Black Bears. Devon Levi recorded 24 saves between the pipes for Northeastern.
Maine went 1 for 6 on the power play, as the Huskies were 0-5 on its player advantages.
Next:
The two squads finish the Hockey East series tomorrow, Saturday, October 29th. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
