Darling, Flynn help Bears edge BC

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ORONO – It’s way too early to say a young University of Maine men’s hockey team has come of age.

But Sunday’s 2-1 victory over defending national champion Boston College will certainly give them something to build off.

Freshman Scott Darling made 24 saves and his roommate, freshman left wing Brian Flynn, scored the game-winner with 1:34 remaining as the Bears snapped a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2) at the hands of the Eagles.

Maine improved to 4-3 overall with its third straight win. The Bears are 1-2 in Hockey East. BC fell to 5-3 and 3-2, respectively.

Chris Hahn’s power-play goal, his fourth goal in three games, staked the Bears to a 1-0 lead 6:53 into the second period but senior right wing Benn Ferriero tied it up 53 seconds into the third period.

The Bears killed off all six BC power plays including one with just four minutes left in regulation.

Twenty-nine seconds after killing off the penalty, Maine sophomore defenseman Mike Banwell received a pass from Jeff Dimmen and took an angled shot from the outer half of the right faceoff circle.

“I saw a lane right to the net so I ripped it as had as I could to try to generate a rebound,” said Banwell.

BC goalie John Muse made the save but the rebound came out to Flynn positioned in the middle of the low slot.

“I saw the puck and took a whack at it,” said Flynn. “I saw the [far] side of the net open so I gave it a shot.”

Flynn’s shot sailed over Muse’s blocker into the far corner.

“I lost my stick on the side, I gave up a rebound right in front and [Flynn] knocked it in,” said Muse. ” It was a good play by him staying in front and getting the rebound.”

“[Flynn] has been strong for us. He doesn’t play like a freshman,” said senior Hahn. “He gets into the right spots and scores big goals.”

Darling, meanwhile, made eight Grade-A (high-percentage) saves among his 24 and started the game with a gem as he kicked out BC goal-scoring leader Brock Bradford’s one-timer off a pass from Ferriero on a shorthanded two-on-one.

“That’s as good a save as I’ve seen in a long time,” said Hahn. “You don’t want to get down 1-0 to a team like BC.”

“He made timely saves for them. I didn’t think he was going to get across on that one,” said BC captain Bradford.

“That gave me a lot of confidence,” said Darling. “Everything went the right way for us today. This is the biggest win of my career. The penalty-killers did a great job all day. They had at least three clearances on every power play not to mention the amount of shots they blocked.”

Maine, which blocked 13 shots, including several on the penalty-kill, dominated the first period to the tune of a 15-5 shots-on-goal advantage but Muse made several important saves to keep it scoreless.

Hahn broke the tie in the middle period when Josh Van Dyk’s wrister from the left point deflected off a body in front over to him and he deposited it into the short-side corner.

Ferriero tied it seven seconds after Maine killed off a BC power play when he darted to the net and swatted home his own rebound from just beyond the crease.

“We played well. We brought our best effort and it showed in the score,” said Flynn.

Boston College coach Jerry York said the Black Bears earned the win.

“They out-competed us, especially in the first period,” said York. “They deserved to win the game, no question.”

BC junior center Ben Smith said Darling impressed him.

“I had never heard of him. I’d never seen him play before. But he’s certainly a good goaltender,” said Smith.

Muse made 22 saves including four Grade-As.

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BLACK BEARS 2, EAGLES 1

Boston College (5-3-0) 0 0 1 – 1

Maine (4-3-0) 0 1 1 – 2

First period – No scoring. Penalties: Maine, Banwell, slashing, 0:51; BC, Gibbons, interference, 5:42; BC, Petrecki, contact to head elbowing, 12:45; Maine, Abbott, hitting after whistle, 13:30; BC, Hayes, hitting after whistle, 13:30; BC, Aiello, contact to head roughing, 15:19.

Second period – 1. Maine, Hahn 4 (Van Dyk, Danis-Pepin), 6:53 (pp). Penalties: Maine, Randall, hitting from behind, 0:51; BC, Ferriero, holding, 6:53; BC, Whitney, slashing, 8:18; Maine, Danis-Pepin, holding, 15:10; Maine, Nyquist, contact to head high-sticking, 18:45.

Third period – 2. BC, Ferriero 1 (Gibbons, Smith), 0:53, 3. Maine, Flynn 2 (Banwell, Dimmen), 18:26. Penalties: Maine, Danis-Pepin, cross-checking, 7:45; BC, Petrecki, interference, 11:08; Maine, Nyquist, tripping, 15:57.

Shots on goal: BC 5-9-11-25; Maine 15-2-7-24

Goaltenders: BC, Muse (24 shots-22 saves); Maine, Darling (25-24)

Power-play opportunities: BC 0 of 6; Maine 1 of 6

High-percentage scoring chances: BC 5-4-6-15; Maine 8-3-4-15

Attendance: 4,635