AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Maine hockey team did exactly what it was expected to do Friday night at the spacious Mullins Center.

Coach Shawn Walsh’s Black Bears utilized their superior speed and poised playmaking, taking advantage of Massachusetts’ Olympic-size rink, to post an easy 7-2 Hockey East victory over the Minutemen.

The Black Bears pushed their record to 22-1-6 overall and 10-0-6 in the league. UMass fell to 4-17-2 and 2-12, respectively. Maine and UMass face off again tonight at 7 p.m.

The Bears notched two power-play goals in five chances and also managed a shorthanded goal in what was never a close game.

“It magnifies our quickness, certainly,” Walsh said of the big rink, which is the same length as Alfond Arena, but 15 feet wider. “Guys like (Jamie) Thompson on that one goal, (on) a great play by Tory. We try to recruit speed, and I think our guys enjoy playing on the big sheet.”

Sophomore right winger Brad Mahoney, who had scored only one goal in 24 games this season, scored two in the first period to give Maine a lead it would not relinquish. Mahoney and linemates Jeff Libby and Tony Tempestilli utilized the extra space in the corners.

It didn’t take the Bears long to get the feel of the larger ice sheet. Maine scored twice in the game’s first 6:26. Scott Parmentier scored the first goal at the 5:27 mark with Maine on the power play. Parmentier scooped up the rebound of Jacque Rodrigue’s midpoint blast and fired it home.

Mahoney made it a 2-0 contest 59 seconds later. Tempestilli pinned his man on the boards behind the net and got the puck free to Mahoney, who moved around the left post and slid a shot through Dave Kilduff’s pads.

“Jeff coming on the line really opens things up because he’s big,” Mahoney said. “It’s a big ice surface, so there’s a lot of room behind the net and that’s mostly where the goals came from. I give a lot of credit to Tony and Jeff.”

Mahoney and Tempestilli teamed up again on the Bears’ third goal as Tempestilli battled to keep the puck alive in the low slot. Mahoney picked it up and had his first shot turned away by Kilduff, but snapped the rebound into the net before the UMass goalie could recover.

“We have more space to work in the corners, that’s for sure,” Tempestilli said. “The more space we have, the better it is. I was looking for Libby, but he was covered, so I just got it to Mahoney.”

Maine had a comfortable 3-0 lead with 8:24 still left in the period.

“It was nice to get a lift from those guys,” Walsh said of the fourth line. “We put them together last week and they’ve gotten three goals in two games. They’ve worked hard and they’re playing pretty well as a line.”

To the Minutemen’s credit, the hosts came up with several decent scoring chances, despite being outshot 43-26.

The most notable of the first period was a 2-on-1 opportunity by Rob Bonneau, who was robbed by Blair Allison on a quick left-pad save with 6:54 remaining. Allison established himself with several tough saves in the period.

UMass scored off the opening faceoff of the second period to remind the Bears it wasn’t going to be automatic over the final 40 minutes. Sal Manganaro skated around the net to Allison’s right and scored inside the opposite post with nine seconds gone.

Black Bears 7, Minutemen 2

Maine 3 3 1 – 7 Massachusetts 0 2 0 – 2

First Period – 1. Maine, Parmentier 9 (Rodrigue), 5:27; 2. Maine, Mahoney 2 (Tempestilli), 6:26; 3. Maine, Mahoney 3 (Tempestilli), 11:36; Penalties: UMass, Evans, tripping, 4:54; Maine, Roenick, interference, 11:55; UMass, Manganaro, slashing, 16:11; Maine, Lovell, slashing, 16:11; Maine, Shermerhorn, interference, 17:29

Second Period – 4. UMass, Manganaro 9 (Bonneau, Perry), :09; 5. Maine, Lovell 13 (Imes, Shermerhorn), 5:32; 6. Maine, Tory 6 (Shermerhorn), 7:42; 7. UMass, Manganaro 10 (Gaffney, Bonneau), 9:15; 8. Maine, Purdie 17 (Dekker, Parmentier), 11:51; Penalties: UMass, Evans, holding, 1:45; UMass, Rissling, holding, 5:05; Maine, Rodrigue, high-sticking, 7:25; Maine, Cardinal, hooking, 18:52

Third Period – 9. Maine, Thompson 9 (Tory), 3:30; Penalties: UMass, Rissling, interference, 3:47; Maine, Mahoney, interference, 9:53; UMass, Wright, interference, 10:37; UMass, Norton, tripping, 13:48; Maine, Tempestilli, slashing, 16:31; UMass, Norton, late hit, 19:00; Maine, Frenette, late hit. 19:00

Shots on goal: Maine 14-17-12-43; UMass 8-10-8-26

Goaltenders: Maine, Blair Allison, Blair Marsh; UMass, Dave Kilduff, Brian Regan