Bears show old form, pound UMass Bears to play Friars Sunday

loading...

ORONO – The University of Maine has had its problems at Alfond Arena this season as the Black Bears entered Friday night’s Hockey East game against UMass with a 4-4 home record.

But they looked like the team that went 17-1-1 at home a year ago as senior right wing John Ronan and sophomore right wing Brent Shepheard scored a pair of goals apiece to lead them to a convincing 6-2 triumph.

The Bears thoroughly dominated all three zones, outshooting UMass 37-12, including a 16-1 third-period advantage. Maine improved to 8-6 overall, 4-3 in Hockey East. UMass fell to 6-5-1 and 3-3-1, respectively.

Shepheard and UMass freshman left wing P.J. Fenton swapped first-period goals before Fenton made it 2-1 1:54 into the second period when his centering pass deflected in off the stick of Maine’s Derek Damon.

But the Bears scored the final five goals as Ronan, Josh Soares and Keenan Hopson answered in the second period before Ronan and Shepheard added insurance goals in the third.

“This was good to see,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “Our guys were determined to outwork them and, for the most part, they did. We generated a lot more chances. We wanted to get a minimum of 30 shots and we did that and we also got to the third circle (an area in front of the net at the top of the crease).”

UMass coach Don Cahoon said the turning point occurred “when they dropped the puck [for the opening faceoff].

“We had a real bad performance. Not to take anything away from Maine. They played great. They were on the balls of their feet and they won the loose pucks. Our goaltending was average, our defensemen were average to below average and our forwards were pathetic” said Cahoon.

“We played a great defensive game. This was our best game of the year,” said Maine junior goalie Jimmy Howard, who finished with 10 saves.

Ronan began the string of five unanswered goals 2:03 after Fenton had given UMass its short-lived lead.

Jon Jankus tipped the puck through a UMass player’s legs to Ronan, who had a two-on-one with Soares.

“Their defenseman came toward me so I was looking to pass it to Josh but then he backed off so I shot it,” said Ronan who rifled an 18-foot wrist shot into the short-side corner over the glove of UMass goalie Gabe Winer, who had won three of his last four starts at Alfond Arena.

Soares gave Maine the lead 4:09 later after Winer turned the puck over by banking it off the boards into a cluster of Bears, including Ronan and Jankus.

Ronan tapped it to Jankus who blazed a slap shot from the right circle into the chest of Winer.

“The puck dropped down his arm and I took it on the backhand and chipped it over him just inside the far post,” said Soares.

Freshman left wing Hopson and freshman defenseman Bret Tyler teamed up on the next goal as Tyler carried the puck through the neutral zone and pushed it ahead to Hopson, who maneuvered around a defenseman and tucked a backhander inside the far post to Winer’s right.

Ronan expanded the lead to 5-2 early in the third period when he parked himself at the top of the crease, spun off a check and tucked a rebound inside the post to the left of replacement goalie Tim Warner.

Shepheard’s second goal came off another rebound as he jammed the puck home after Warner had made a save on a blast from 2003-2004 Hockey East Rookie of the Year Michel Leveille, who was appearing in his first game after missing the previous six with a separated shoulder.

“That one was gift-wrapped,” said Shepheard whose goal was his fourth in four games.

Shepheard staked the Bears to a 1-0 lead 8:21 into the game as he wound up with the puck at the top of the left circle following an extensive battle along the boards and wristed the puck over the stick-side shoulder of Winer and into the far corner.

Maine began dominating play and had the next nine shots on goal before Fenton equalized by tapping the rebound of a Matt Anderson wrister into the half-empty net. Anderson had used his speed to beat Tyler wide and Howard was forced to hug the near post to kick out his wrister.

“This was our most thorough game,” said junior center Jankus. “We were all over them.”

Maine will travel to Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center for a 2 p.m. Sunday Hockey East game against Providence College.

BLACK BEARS 6, MINUTEMEN 2

Massachusetts (6-5-1) 1 1 0 – 2

Maine (8-6) 1 3 2 – 6

First period – 1. Maine, Shepheard 5 (Hopson, Leveille), 8:21; 2. UMass, Fenton 7 (Anderson), 16:41. Penalties: UMass, Kostka, interference, 13:13; Maine, Damon, tripping, 18:29

Second period – 3. UMass, Fenton 8 (Demianiuk), 1:54; 4. Maine, Ronan 4 (Tyler, Jankus), 3:57; 5. Maine, Soares 3 (Jankus, Maxwell), 7:47; 6. Maine, Hopson 2 (Tyler), 16:29. Penalties: UMass, Vitek, obstruction tripping, 8:08

Third period – 7. Maine, Ronan 5 (Soares, Maxwell), 1:54; 8. Maine, Shepheard 6 (Leveille, Maxwell), 16:32 (pp). Penalties: Maine, Shepheard, roughing, 6:05; UMass, Aduba, roughing, 6:05; UMass, Leaderer, holding the stick, 15:14; UMass, Jacobs, contact to the head, 17:20; Maine, Shepheard, roughing, 18:26; UMass, Jacobs, roughing, 18:26

Shots on goal: UMass 3-8-1-12; Maine 10-11-16-37

Goaltenders: UMass, Winer (21 shots-17 saves), Warner (0:00 of third, 16-14); Maine, Howard (12-10)

Power plays: UMass 0-1, Maine 1-4

High-percentage scoring chances: UMass 5-5-0-10; Maine 8-9-9-26

Attendance: 5,641