UMass ties up Bears> Goalie keeps Minutemen even

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AMHERST, Mass. – The Ambush in Amherst nearly became the Embarrassment in the Berkshires.

Senior captains David Cullen and Steve Kariya produced a third-period power-play goal with 13:58 left as the University of Maine salvaged one point in its weekend series against the University of Massachusetts with a 1-1 Hockey East overtime tie Saturday night.

Cullen scored the goal, his fifth of the season, and it snapped a scoreless string of 104 minutes and 20 seconds for the Black Bears.

UMass, picked to finish last in Hockey East by the league’s coaches, had beaten Maine, ranked fourth in the nation, 2-1 on Friday night.

After outshooting the Minutemen 45-14 on Friday, the Bears had a 44-19 shot advantage on Saturday but were again frustrated by sophomore goalie Markus Helanen and his defense-minded, in-your-face teammates.

The Minutemen are now 2-4-1 overall, 2-2-1 in Hockey East.

The Bears, 5-1-1 and 2-1-1, were also a bit unlucky as Dan Kerluke hit the post with five minutes left in regulation and Jason Vitorino grazed a shot off the outside of the post in overtime.

“They were a very disciplined team,” said Kariya. “They didn’t allow us any odd-man rushes and they clogged up the neutral zone and the front of the net. Any time there was a rebound, there were three white shirts around it.”

Maine coach Shawn Walsh said his team should have scored more than two goals since it had 89 shots in two games.

“We should have won the game. We played fine. The puck just didn’t go in the net,” he said.

Walsh also praised UMass for playing intelligently and making themselves a difficult team to play against and he called Helanen “the most improved player in this league up to this point.”

UMass used a passive 1-4 forecheck and always had three or four men in the neutral zone impeding Maine’s rushes. When Maine had pressure in the offensive zone, the Minutemen protected the front of the net with numbers.

Junior defenseman Dean Stork had given UMass a 1-0 lead with 4:18 left in the second period by finishing off a two-on-one with Jeff Turner on a four-on-four situation.

“This was probably the biggest weekend we’ve had since restarting the program in 1993-94,” said UMass coach Joe Mallen. “To take three out of four points against the fourth-ranked team in the country is a great feat.

“I thought we played a very courageous game tonight,” added Mallen.

UMass was extremely effective keeping Maine’s scoring chances on the perimeter through the first two periods but the Bears stormed the Minuteman net in the third and were finally rewarded with Cullen’s equalizer.

Kariya wheeled out of the right corner with the puck and saw Cullen gliding in from the right point.

“They were playing so tight in front, the points were open. David made a nice shot,” said Kariya.

Cullen said he put his 25-foot snap shot “low and to the far corner.”

Maine had traffic in front and Helanen said he was partially screened on the play.

“Everything happened fast. It was a good shot,” said Helanen.

Freshman goalie Mike Morrison made 18 saves for the Bears and had little chance to stop Stork’s goal.

“I tried to cover the low side of the net but he put it over my glove. I just missed it. It was a great shot. It was a goal-scorer’s goal,” said Morrison.

Helanen finished with 23 Grade-A saves among his 43 while Morrison had 11 among his 18 including two in the final five minutes of regulation off Turner and Jeff Blanchard.

Black Bears 1, Minutemen 1 (Saturday Night, Overtime)

Maine (5-1-1) 0 0 1 0 – 1 UMass (2-4-1) 0 1 0 0 – 1

First period – No scoring. Penalties: UMass, Crumb, boarding, 1:49; Maine, Walsh, holding the stick, 15:43; UMass, Brannen, cross checking, 16:14.

Second period – 1. UMass, Stork 1 (Turner, Blanchard), 15:42. Penalties: UMass, Blanchard, hooking, 1:04; Maine, Ek, 8:08; holding, 8:08; Maine, Vitorino, interference, 10:45; UMass, Soderholm, hitting after the whistle, 14:50; Maine, Walsh, hitting after the whistle, 14:50; Maine, Metcalf, unsportsmanlike conduct, 20:00; UMass, Wallis, unsportsmanlike conduct, 20:00.

Third period – 2. Maine, Cullen 5 (Kariya), 6:02, pp. Penalties: UMass, Wallis, holding, 5:21; Maine, Kariya, hitting after the whistle, 8:41; UMass, Brannen, hitting after the whistle, 8:41; UMass, King, holding the stick, 11:37.

Shots on goal: Maine 11-14-15-4 – 44; UMass 6-8-5-0 – 19

Goaltenders: Maine, Mike Morrison (19 shots-18 saves); Markus Helanen (44-43)

High percentage scoring attempts: Maine 8-7-15-1 – 31; UMass 5-5-6-0 – 16

Power-play opportunities: Maine 1-5, UMass 0-3

Attendance: 2,501