NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. – University of Maine freshman right winger Teddy Purcell and the Black Bear power play were instrumental in their Florida College Classic championship last weekend.

They were the story again Friday night as Purcell’s power- play goal with 3:38 remaining gave the Black Bears a hard-fought 4-2 victory over the River Hawks at the Chelmsford Forum.

Keith Johnson iced the win with an empty-net goal, extending his goal-scoring streak to three games.

Purcell, the Hockey East Rookie of the Month for December, accepted a pass from Mike Lundin, skated down the right wing in a one-on-one with UML defenseman Nick Schaus and took a wrist shot from just inside the right circle that squeezed between the legs of UML goalie Vinny Monaco.

It was Purcell’s second goal of the game and his fifth in his last three games. He had three goals and an assist to earn the Most Valuable Player Award in the Florida College Classic.

“I was just hoping to create a rebound for Brent [Shepheard] or [Keith] Johnson,” said Purcell. “I knew they were going to the net.”

Monaco said Purcell “caught me off-guard.

“At first I thought he was going to shoot it and then I thought he was going to pass it,” said Monaco. “I should have been down on my knees. It squirted through.”

Johnson added an empty-net goal after stealing the puck from Cleve Kinley.

Maine extended its unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1). The Black Bears, ranked third in the country are 13-3-2 overall, 6-3-1 in Hockey East.

Maine has now beaten the River Hawks 13 straight times.

The River Hawks had their winless streak extended to 12 games (0-10-2). They are now 3-12-5 and 2-7-2, respectively.

The teams will conclude their season series today at 3 p.m.

Maine goalie Ben Bishop was superb as the River Hawks carried the play for most of the game and outshot Maine 28-23. He finished with 26 saves including 12 Grade-A (high-percentage) stops.

Monaco was forced to make just four Grade-A stops among his 19.

“They outworked us and outplayed us. They deserved a better fate,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “Ben was phenomenal.”

The River Hawks kept their legs moving and maneuvered the puck quickly to take advantage of the small ice sheet (185 by 85 feet). Maine’s Alfond Arena is 200-by-85. The River Hawks also shot the puck whenever they got the opportunity and were able to sustain the forecheck much longer than Maine.

Maine overhandled the puck and that enabled the speedy River Hawks to get their sticks and bodies in the passing and shooting lanes.

UMass Lowell’s J.R. Bria and Maine’s Josh Soares (power play) swapped first-period goals. Purcell scored a highlight-reel goal in the second period when he pounced on a loose puck pried free by Michel Leveille, put a nifty toe-drag move on Monaco and pulled it around him before roofing a backhander.

Jason Bergeron equalized on the power play 8:40 into the third period.

UMass Lowell senior defenseman Bria staked the River Hawks to a 1-0 lead 5:53 into the game with a weird goal from beyond the blue line.

Bishop thought Bria was going to dump the puck in down the right-wing boards and started behind the net to play it.

Instead, Bria took a wrist shot that nestled into the far corner before Bishop could scramble over to deflect it away.

Bishop credited Bria for making a “good play” and said that goal gave him extra motivation.

“That fired me up more than usual. I wanted to keep the team in it,” said Bishop.

The youthful River Hawks, with 10 freshmen and four sophomores in the lineup, continued to take the play to the Bears for most of the period but Bishop kept the deficit at one with several difficult saves until Soares tied it up with 33 seconds left in the period.

Soares backchecked relentlessly in the UML zone and stole the puck from a UML defenseman from behind by lifting his stick.

Soares, who gained the puck along the left-wing boards, sliced across the net front and beat Monaco to the far post before tucking a backhander home.

BLACK BEARS 4, RIVER HAWKS 2

Maine (13-3-2) 1 1 2 – 4

UMass Lowell (3-12-5) 1 0 1 – 2

First period – 1. UML, Bria 2 (Kinley, Schaser), 5:53; 2. Maine, Soares 9 (una.), 19:27 (pp). Penalties: Maine, Hopson, hitting from behind, 7:39; UML, Tejchma, hitting after whistle, 15:28; Maine, Hamilton, hitting after whistle, 15:28; UML, Hall, holding, 18:13; UML, Hall, interference, 19:45.

Second period – 3. Maine, Purcell 9 (Leveille), 5:17. Penalties: Maine, Shepheard, unsportsmanlike conduct (diving), 7:59; UML, Hall, hooking, 7:59; Maine, Plaszcz, interference, 13:15.

Third period – 4. UML, Bergeron 5 (Hall, Falite), 8:40 (pp). 5. Maine, Purcell 10 (Lundin, Bishop), 16:32 (pp). 6. Maine, Johnson (una.), 19:30 (en). Penalties: UML, Monroe, tripping, 2:38; Maine, Tyler, contact-to-head roughing, 8:17; UML, Tejchma, hooking, 14:34.

Shots on goal: Maine 7-6-10-23; UML 8-12-8-28

Goaltenders: Maine, Bishop (28 shots-26 saves); UML, Monaco (23-19)

Power-play opportunities: Maine 2 of 4; UML 1 of 3

High-percentage scoring chances: Maine 2-5-4-11; UML 6-9-6-21

Attendance: 3,107