Bears down Bulldogs in tourney opener

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Freshman sensation Paul Kariya scored two goals in the first period to pace the University of Maine Black Bears to a 3-1 hockey victory over Yale University here Friday night in the opening game of the Great Alaska Faceoff Tournament at the Carlson Center.

Host University of Alaska-Fairbanks faced Bowling Green in the late game Friday night.

The victory boosts the Bears, the No. 1 team in the nation, to 9-0-1 overall while the Bulldogs from New Haven, Conn., went to 3-1-1.

Kariya, a native of North Vancouver, British Columbia, posted his ninth and 10th goals of the season to go with 21 assists. Maine added an empty-net goal by Patrice Tardif, his fifth, with 34 seconds to go in the third period.

Shawn Walsh’s Black Bears will face Bowling Green of Ohio Friday night in their second tourney outing, also at 8:30 p.m., and will wind up the tourney Saturday night against host Alaska-Fairbanks in an 11:30 p.m. start.

UMaine wasted no time in opening the scoring, as Kariya connectedoff the opening faceoff with six seconds elapsed in the game, snapping a 20-foot wrist shot in the upper left corner over Todd Sullivan’s glove. Assists were credited to Cal Ingraham and Jim Montgomery.

Yale evened the game only a minute and nine seconds later as Steve Maltby found the net, beating Mike Dunham. Andy Weidenbach collected an assist on the tally.

Kariya concluded the first-period scoring at 7:00 on a UM power play as he took a rebound and tucked it between the goalie’s left skate and the post. Tardif and Matt Martin were credited with assists.

What had looked as though it might be a wide-open affair in the scoring department, quickly changed as no further scoring occurred in the next 52 minutes of the game until Tardif’s late goal. Tardif was a step over the red line when he blasted a 55-foot skap shot into the empty net.

Dunham, now 6-0-0 for the season, improved upon his 2.19 goals-against average as well as his .914 save percentage with 15 saves on 16 shots.

Sullivan of Yale faced 36 shots, turning away 33 as his record dipped to 3-1-0.

Bowling Green had a 4-7 record entering Thursday night’s late game. The Falcons will be led by leading scorer Sean Pronger, a right winger who had posted nine goals and five assists before Thursday. He was closely followed by center Brian Holzinger (8 & 5).

Will Clarke will be in net for the Falcons. He has a 2-5 record with a 4.07 goals-against average.

Black Bears 3, Bulldogs 1

Maine 2 0 1 – 3 Yale 1 0 0 – 1

First Period – 1. Maine, Kariya 9 (Ingraham, Montgomery) 0:06; 2. Yale, Maltby 2 (Weidenbach) 1:15; 3. Maine, Kariya 10 (Tardif, Martin) 7:00; Penalties – Yale, Emmons, interference, 5:38; Yale, Leroux, hitting from behind (5:00 major), 12:48; Yale, Duffy, high-sticking, 13:30; Maine, too many men on ice (served by Fenton), 17:04

Second Period – No scoring; Penalties – Maine, MacIsaac, tripping, 5:43; Yale, Kozic, hitting from behind, 8:37; Yale, Leroux, hitting from behind, 11:14; Yale, Cipolla, interference, 13:09; Maine, Weinrich, interference, 16:36

Third Period – 4. Maine, Tardif 5 (LaCouture, Fenton) 19:26; Penalties – Maine, Salfi, interference, 5:10

Shots on goal – Maine 16-6-14 – 36; Yale 5-6-5 – 16

Goaltenders – Maine, Mike Dunham; Yale, Todd Sullivan