LOWELL, Mass. – It is always nice to earn a come-from-behind victory, especially on the road.

The resilient and youthful University of Maine hockey team overcame four one-goal deficits Saturday night and used third-period goals by freshman defenseman Tim Maxwell and junior center Derek Damon to beat UMass Lowell 5-4 in front of 3,361 at the Tsongas Arena.

Maine improved to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in Hockey East while UMass Lowell fell to 4-3 and 0-3, respectively.

The River Hawks took a 4-3 lead into the third period but Maxwell’s power-play goal 2:04 into the final period tied it and Damon notched the winner with 6:51 remaining.

UMass Lowell had been 3-0 when leading after two periods.

John Ronan, Wes Clark and Damon had answered River Hawk goals by Ben Walter and Jason Tejchma (2) before Danny O’Brien’s power-play goal with 2:46 left in the second period established a 4-3 lead.

Freshmen Clark and Maxwell scored their first collegiate goals.

“This was a very important win,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “Getting that goal early in the third period gave us momentum.”

Maine outshot UMass Lowell 12-3 in the third period and attempted 22 shots to UML’s seven thanks to four power plays and the performance of its five freshman skaters, who combined for two goals and four assists.

“I was very pleased with our freshmen. They all played well. And we need them,” said Whitehead, referring to Maxwell (1 goal, 2 assists), Clark (1 goal), Billy Ryan (1 assist), Bret Tyler (1 assist) and Keenan Hopson. Hopson didn’t have any points but played a sound two-way game and was effective on the power play.

Maxwell’s tying goal was created by sophomore center Mike Hamilton, who atoned for a penalty that resulted in O’Brien’s goal with a precision cross-ice pass to Maxwell cruising in from the left point.

“Their weak-side forward collapsed in toward the net and that gave me a lot of time,” said Maxwell. “I had time to wait for the goalie [freshman Peter Vetri] to come across and I shot it to the other side.”

Maxwell’s 20-foot wrister beat Vetri to the glove side.

“It was a miscommunication on the penalty kill,” said UML coach Blaise MacDonald.

Damon’s fourth goal in three games involved linemates Billy Ryan and Greg Moore. Ryan fed the puck across to Moore breaking down the right wing and he took a quick wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

“One of their defensemen deflected Greg’s shot wide but it came right out to me [off the boards behind the net] and I had a wide-open net,” said Damon who was positioned in the left circle.

The victory, according to Damon, sends a message to the rest of Hockey East “that we’re for real and we’re going to do some damage.”

MacDonald said his team played “very well for the first 40 minutes but we couldn’t break the game open. Maine is opportunistic and when they get a glimmer of light, they take advantage of it.”

“I don’t want to take any credit away from Maine but we came out flat in the third period,” said UML right wing and tri-captain O’Brien.

Walter opened the scoring when he darted down the left wing and had his short wrister deflect off Mike Lundin’s stick over his brother Matt’s shoulder into the far corner.

Ronan answered with a perfectly placed wrister into the far corner but Tejchma answered with a snap shot from the left circle that trickled in off the glove of Matt Lundin, who was then replaced by junior Jimmy Howard.

Freshman Clark swept home a Brent Shepheard rebound to tie it but the wide-open Tejchma regained the lead 1:37 later off a crisp pass from Andrew Martin as he flipped a 12-footer into the far corner past the helpless Howard.

Damon’s blocker-side power- play goal from the high slot tied it. However, O’Brien answered by skating left to right across the low slot, corralling a Cleve Kinley wrister and tucking it neatly inside the post to Howard’s left.

Howard finished with 13 saves, Lundin had four and Vetri finished with 23.

Maine went 2-for-5 on the power play, its first game with more than one PPG since the 4-3 overtime loss to North Dakota in its second game (Oct. 8).

Referee Tim Benedetto, in his 13th year in Hockey East, suffered a knee injury in a collision with Clark in the third period and had to leave. Linesmen Jack Millea and Chris Federico finished the game.

Maine senior Ben Murphy also sustained a knee injury in the third period, a minor sprain, and didn’t return.

BLACK BEARS 5, RIVER HAWKS 4

Maine (7-6) 2 1 2 – 5

UMass Lowell (4-3) 3 1 0 – 4

First period – 1. UML, Walter 8 (Godoy, Pence), 3:31; 2. Maine, Ronan 3 (Tyler), 5:39; 3. UML, Tejchma 1 (Robins, Farrell), 8:03; 4. Maine, Clark 1 (Maxwell), 16:15; 5. UML, Tejchma (Martin, Robins), 17:52. Penalties: Maine, Shepheard, boarding, 5:55; Maine, Soares, elbowing, 19:04

Second period – 6. Maine, Damon 8 (Maxwell), 10:53 (pp); 7. UML, O’Brien 2 (Kinley, Godoy), 17:14 (pp). Penalties: Maine, Maxwell, obstruction-hooking, 4:33; UML, Gauthier, holding the stick, 9:58; Maine, Hamilton, roughing-contact to the head, 16:06

Third period – 8. Maine, Maxwell 1 (Hamilton, Shepheard), 2:04 (pp); 9. Maine, Damon 9 (Moore, Ryan), 13:09. Penalties: UML, Tormey, high-sticking, 1:15; UML, McCabe, tripping, 6:09; UML, Farrell, roughing-contact to the head, 15:13; UML, McCabe, interference, 18:35

Shots on goal: Maine 11-5-12-28; UML 10-8-3-21

Goaltenders: Maine, Ma. Lundin (6 shots-4 saves), Howard (8:49 of 1st, 15-13); UML, Vetri (28-23)

Power-play opportunities: Maine 2-5; UML 1-4

High-percentage scoring chances: Maine 9-7-7-23; UML 7-7-2-16

Attendance: 3,361