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CANTON, N.Y. – The University of Maine men’s hockey team won only one game a year ago when trailing after two periods.
The Black Bears have already matched that total this season.
Freshman right wing Keith Johnson’s goal with 4:57 remaining capped a two-goal third period rally that gave the Bears a 3-2 victory over St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena Friday night.
Maine, ranked fifth in the country, improved to 4-0, while St. Lawrence fell to 1-3-2. The teams play again tonight at 7.
Maine trailed 2-1 after two periods, but Greg Moore tied the game on the power play 1:28 into the final period.
Maine was 1-9-1 when it trailed after two periods last season.
First period power-play goals by John Zeiler and T.J. Trevelyan sandwiched an even-strength breakaway by Maine’s Ben Murphy to give the Saints their 2-1 lead.
It was Maine’s first deficit of the season.
After a scoreless second period, Michel Leveille set up Moore in the right circle by and he beat Saints goalie Kevin Ackley.
“Michel faked toward the net and saw Greg on the other side of the rink. He made a long cross-ice pass, and Greg one-timed it,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead.
Johnson provided the game-winner with a wrist shot from the high slot for his third goal in two games.
“There was a loose puck near the blue line. One of their players dove for it but couldn’t get it,” said Johnson. “I picked it up, came towards the middle, and there was a lot of commotion in front, so I just threw it on net and it wound up in the back of the net. I think it went blocker side.”
“There were a lot of bodies in front so I knew if I got it on net, there was a chance the goalie would be screened,” Johnson added.
Jimmy Howard made 22 saves while picking up the win in front of several family members and friends from hometown Ogdensburg, N.Y., which is 18 miles from Canton.
“I was real happy for Jimmy because he was playing in front of so many family members and friends. He made some big stops down the stretch for us,” said Whitehead, whose Bears had to kill a late penalty.
Ackley finished with 35 stops and played “great,” according to Whitehead.
“Obviously, this was a good comeback for us,” said Whitehead. “It was a very hard-fought game.”
The Maine coach felt his team got outworked in the first period and deserved to be trailing.
“Our guys expected it to come easy in the first period. In the second period, we competed very hard, but didn’t show a lot of composure. In the third period, we finally combined both effort and composure and that made the difference for us,” said Whitehead.
“We regrouped after the first period and played a lot better in the second and third periods,” concurred Johnson.
Johnson and Murphy were double-shifting to compensate for the loss of freshman left wing Luciano Aquino, who suffered a minor shoulder injury in the second period.
“Murphy and Johnson played real well. [John] Ronan competed real hard and [defenseman] Prestin Ryan was excellent,” said Whitehead.
BLACK BEARS 3, SAINTS 2
Maine (4-0) 1 0 2 ? 3
St. Lawrence (1-3-2) 2 0 0 ? 2
First period ? 1. SLU, Zeiler 2 (Peverley, Glenn), 3:34 (pp); 2. Maine, Murphy 1 (Penner, Ryan), 10:39; 3. SLU, Trevelyan 3 (Bagnall, Peverley), 17:26 (pp). Penalties: Maine, Mushaluk, obstruction-interference, 2:37; SLU, FitzRandolph, holding, 13:25; Maine, Jackson, holding, 16:57; SLU, Peverley, tripping, 18:03.
Second period ? No scoring. Penalties: Maine, Ryan, roughing, 5:13; Maine, Jankus, roughing, 13:49; SLU, Sandrzyk, roughing, 13:49; SLU, Bagnall, interference, 18:04; Maine, Mushaluk, obstruction-interference, 18:04; SLU, Peverley, hooking, 19:12.
Third period ? 4. Maine, Moore 2 (Leveille, Barnes), 1:28 (pp); 5. Maine, Johnson 3 (Jankus), 15:03. Penalties: SLU, Zeiler, obstruction-interference, :10; Maine, Penner, roughing the goalie, 1:43; Maine, Damon, interference, 17:04.
Shots on goal: Maine 11-12-15?38; SLU 6-13-5?24
Goaltenders: Maine, Howard (24 shots-22 saves); SLU, Ackley (38-35)
Power-play opportunities: Maine 1-5; SLU 2-5
Attendance: 2,750
Merrimack 4, NU 2
BOSTON – Nick Pomponio unleashed a slap shot in the second period that gave Merrimack College a lead it wouldn’t relinquish as Merrimack defeated Northeastern University 4-2 in a Hockey East game Friday night.
Marco Rosa, Steve Crusco, and Rob LaLonde also scored for Merrimack (2-2-0, 1-1-0 Hockey East).
Notre Dame 1, BC 0
BOSTON – Mike Walsh’s goal at 14:56 of the third period snapped a scoreless tie and lifted Notre Dame to a 1-0 non-league victory over Boston College Friday night.
The goal was the second of the season for Walsh. Senior captain Aaron Gill assisted on the score.
The victory raised Notre Dame’s record to 3-2-0, while Boston College dropped to 3-2-1 with the loss.
Boston College outshot Notre Dame, 27-18, but could not beat Irish freshman goalie David Brown. Matti Kaltiainen made 17 stops in the Boston College net.
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