BURLINGTON, Vt. - The University of Maine men's ice hockey team defeated the University of Vermont Catamounts, 5-1, on Saturday evening at the Gutterson Fieldhouse.
It was the first sweep for the Black Bears since the 2019-20 season, when the feat was completed in Conte Arena against the Boston College Eagles. Both of the wins three years ago came in the five minute overtime period.
First Goal (1-0 Maine): The Black Bears struck for the first goal of the night at the 8:31 mark of the first period. Grayson Arnott fired a shot that made its way through traffic and into the Vermont net. Samuel Duerr flipped the puck across the blue line to Arnott. The defensive duo teamed up to give Maine a 1-0 lead.
Second Goal (2-0 Maine): Donavan Villeneuve-Houle scored his second goal from virtually the same location in as many nights. Killian Kiecker-Olson feathered a pass to Houle, who did the rest. The junior's shot was in the back of the net before the UVM goaltender could react. Maine held a two goal lead early in the second period.
Third Goal (2-1 Maine): Casually flipping a puck from center ice into the Maine end, Carter Long scored the first goal of the evening for the home squad. The bounding puck took a late detour, bounced quickly to the left of Victor Ostman, and ended in the Maine net. The one goal advantage would soon grow.
Fourth Goal (3-1 Maine): As evident from the Arnott goal, the Black Bears' put an emphasis on redirecting shots in front of the opponent's net. Jakub Sirota let go of a shot from the blue line that found Ben Poisson's stick. The senior forward got enough of his tape on the puck. At the 7:49 mark of the second period, Maine held a 3-1 lead.
Fifth Goal (4-1 Maine): Just over four minutes of game time later, Poisson scored his second goal of the night. Nolan Renwick secured a rebound and fought to give the puck to his special teams partner. Poisson's shot snuck just below the bar, leaving no chance for the Catamounts' netminder.
Sixth Goal (5-1 Maine): Adding some insurance for UMaine, Jakub Sirota found his second goal of the year with a slap shot from the blue line. Lynden Breen fished the puck from the corner and played it to Sirota. The captain fired and lit the lamp. It was the final goal of the night as the Black Bears completed the sweep with a 5-1 victory.
Notes: Victor Ostman saved 18 shots in net for the Black Bears, while Gabe Carriere and Oska Autio combined to stop 26 shots between the pipes for Vermont.
Maine went 1 for 3 on the power play, as the Catamounts were 0-4 on its player advantages.
Next: The Black Bears return to the ice next Saturday, December 10. Face-off in the Alfond against Canisius is scheduled for 2:05 pm.
