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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – University of Maine sophomore center Tommy Reimann couldn’t get to the man he was supposed to be checking: Merrimack College senior center Vincent Clevenger.
There was 5:39 left in regulation of a 1-1 tie and Clevenger had a ton of net to shoot at when he corralled a rebound to the right of sprawled Maine goalie Matt Yeats.
Reimann decided to do the next best thing.
“I went to the net and tried to play goalie. Luckily, his [Clevenger’s] shot hit me and didn’t go in,” said Reimann, who had the puck strike him in the groin area and then drop straight down where Yeats managed to covert it up for a face-off.
Reimann’s play helped the Bears earn a 1-1 tie and close within one point of sewing up home ice for the Hockey East quarterfinals. Maine, which hosts second-place Providence for two next weekend, could finish anywhere from second to fifth. Only two Maine losses and BU wins over Merrimack and Boston College would prevent Maine from getting home ice.
John Pyliotis’ power-play goal 11:01 into the second period staked Merrimack to a 1-0 lead as his centering pass on a two-on-one hit Maine defenseman A.J. Begg’s leg and bounced past Yeats.
Bear freshman right wing Todd Jackson equalized 38 seconds later, snapping a 23-game goal-scoring drought.
The Bears, tied for third with New Hampshire, are 15-10-7 overall and 10-7-5 in Hockey East, while eighth-place Merrimack is 13-18-4 (6-14-3) and one point ahead of UMass for the last playoff spot.
Saturday’s game featured the goaltending of Merrimack’s Tom Welby, who celebrated Seniors Night with a 32-save performance, and Maine’s Yeats, who kicked out 22 shots one night after being yanked after two periods.
Welby made 20-Grade A stops and Yeats had 12.
“I was a little bit surprised I got the start. Coach [Shawn Walsh] said he wanted me to bounce back and he put pressure on me,” said Yeats, who allowed four goals on just 16 shots the previous night before being pulled in favor of Mike Morrison.
“I challenged him in front of the team Saturday morning to pick up his game,” said Walsh.
“I played pretty well. I was able to read most of the plays. I was in pretty good position on most of the shots,” said Yeats.
Welby said he fed off the emotion of Seniors Night and the playoff berth race and that it was the most pressure he has felt in his four years at Merrimack.
“I was happy I was able to put in a solid effort and help the team. The defense was phenomenal. I saw most of the shots and they didn’t have many second shots. That enabled me to control my rebounds,” said Welby.
Walsh said Welby played “very well” and he thought his Bears turned in an extremely good performance.
“It was a good tie for both teams. We had the better of the chances but Merrimack played well,” said Walsh.
In addition to his goal, Jackson and linemates Robert Liscak and Kevin Clauson limited the high-powered Merrimack line of Marco Rosa between Nick Parillo and Anthony Aquino to no points and three shots on goal. The Liscak line produced six shots.
Pyliotis also saw some duty on that line replacing Rosa.
“We tried to play extra physical on [41-point man] Aquino; get right up on them [to prevent them from generating speed] and keep the puck low in the offensive zone,” said Jackson.
Jackson’s goal came off a faceoff to the right of Welby.
“One of their guys was sitting on the puck and when he shifted his weight, the puck squirted out. I tried to go upstairs with it because I knew their goalie liked to go down,” said Jackson, who put it over Welby’s glove shoulder.
“I should have stayed up but he made a good shot,” said Welby, who made a couple of good overtime saves on Mike Schutte’s roller off a partial break-in and Francis Nault’s point-blank attempt after he sliced across the crease from right to left.
One of Yeats’ best saves came in the third period off Pyliotis, who reached a bouncing puck and chipped it menacingly toward the upper left corner.
“I got a piece of it with my glove and it just went over the net,” said Yeats.
Black Bears 1, Warriors 1 (OT)
Maine (15-10-7) 0 1 0 0 ? 1
Merrimack (13-18-4) 0 1 0 0 ? 1
First period ? No scoring. Penalties: Merr., Eyster, holding, 2:12; Maine, Kerluke, interference, 4:42; Maine, Schutte, slashing, 10:58; Merr., State, hitting after the whistle, 10:58; Merr., Welby, slashing (served by Eyster), 17:54
Second period ? 1. Merr., Pyliotis 7 (Gray, Moon), 11:01 (pp); 2. Maine, Jackson 3 (Liscak), 11:39. Penalties: Merr., Gray, roughing, 0:19; Maine, Trattnig, holding, 9:57; Merr., Eyster, interference, 17:09
Third period ? No scoring. Penalties: none
Overtime ? No scoring. Penalties: Maine, Begg, double minor for roughing, 0:45; Merr., Aquino, double minor for roughing, 0:45; Maine, Richardson, hitting after the whistle, 4:43; Merr., Parillo, hitting after the whistle, 4:43
Shots on goal: Maine 11-15-5-3?33; Merrimack 6-6-10-1?23
Goaltenders: Maine, Yeats (23 shots-22 saves); Merrimack, Welby (33-32)
Power-play opportunities: Maine 0 of 4; Merrimack 1 of 2
High-percentage scoring chances: Maine 7-11-11-3?32; Merrimack 4-7-7-2?20
Attendance: 3,289
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