A road-weary University of Maine hockey team that has already played games in California, Michigan and New York, will return to Orono with a 4-1 record Monday following a sweep of ECAC teams Union, 4-1, and Colgate, 3-2, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, respectively.

The Black Bears will host the University of New Hampshire in their mutual Hockey East openers on Friday and Saturday nights at Alfond Arena.

The Bears spotted Union and Colgate leads before rallying over the weekend.

They scored four unanswered goals after Union had opened the scoring in the first period and then overcame a pair of one-goal deficits to beat Colgate.

On Sunday at Hamilton, N.Y., sophomore right wing Shawn Wansborough’s second power-play goal of the game, coming 1:11 into the third period, supplied Maine with its game-winner over Colgate.

Wansborough pounced on the rebound of a Scott Parmentier shot and flipped it past Colgate goalie Dan Brenzavich.

It was his fourth goal of the season and two of them have been game-winners. He also scored the third-period game-winner in the 4-3 win over Michigan State in the Great Western Bank Freeze-Out championship game in Anaheim, Calif.

Wansborough has now registered at least a point in all five games so far this season. He has three assists to go with his four goals. Linemate Brad Purdie, the center, has also scored in all five with six assists. The third member of the line, left wing Parmentier, has picked up a point in four of the five games. Parmentier has four goals and two assists.

Maine senior goalie Blair Allison who, by his own admission, had struggled so far this year, turned in a solid 31-save performance to backstop the win.

Allison made an outstanding save on Brad Dexter’s point-blank potential equalizer on the power play with seven minutes remaining.

Allison, an All-American a year ago, stopped all 15 shots he faced in the third period as the Bears had to kill off three penalties.

Allison had allowed 14 goals on only 71 shots entering the game for a lowly save percentage of .803.

Jack McIntosh’s five-on-three power-play goal staked Colgate to an early first-period lead, but Wansborough tied it up on the power play 3:34 later as he scored off a scramble in front.

Scott Steeves gave the Red Raiders another one-goal lead in the second period, but Tim Lovell knotted it up for the Bears on the power play later in the period.

Lovell’s blast came only 10 seconds into the power play.

Jeff Tory and Parmentier each picked up two assists for the Bears.

Colgate goalie Brenzavich finished with 33 stops and defenseman McIntosh had an assist to go with his goal.

The Black Bears’ three power-play goals came on nine chances. Maine’s penalty killers allowed just the one five-on-three goal. Colgate also had nine power-play opportunities.

Maine killed off 15 of 16 power plays in the wins over Colgate and Union.

On Saturday at Schenectady, N.Y., freshman defenseman David Cullen’s first collegiate goal came at an opportune time.

Cullen’s wrist shot from the high slot broke a 1-1 tie at 3:11 into the second period and sent the Black Bears on their way to their 4-1second period and sent the Black Bears on their way to their 4-1 win over Union at Achilles Rink.

Cullen’s goal came two minutes after Maine’s Dan Shermerhorn had tied the game while the Bears were enjoying a two-man advantage.

Parmentier made it 3-1 later in the second period and freshman Steve Kariya’s first collegiate goal capped the scoring in the third period.

Brent Ozarowski had staked the Dutchmen to a 1-0 lead with the only goal of the first period.

Lovell and Jeff Libby assisted on Cullen’s game-winner.

“Tim carried the puck into the offensive zone and set up,” explained Cullen. “I was late jumping into the play. Timmy made a great pass.

“I didn’t have much time to shoot. There was a backchecker right behind me. I took a low wrist shot that made its way through. I think it hit one of their defenseman’s legs and went through the goalie’s legs,” added Cullen.

Cullen, a 6-foot-1, 185-pounder from St. Catherines, Ontario, said scoring a game-winner was exciting.

“Any time you can contribute to help the team get a win, it feels good,” said Cullen.

Senior goalie Blair Marsh, making his first start since March 12, 1994, registered 34 saves including one off a Charlie Moxham breakaway early in the third period.

“He played a great game,” said Cullen.

Union goalie Trevor Koenig stopped 49 shots.

Junior right wing Barry Clukey had two assists.

Black Bears 4, Dutchmen 1 (Saturday Night)

Maine 0 3 1 – 4 Union 1 0 0 – 1

First period – 1. Union, Ozarowski 2 (Satterlund, Antoine), 5:44. Penalties – Maine, Parmentier, holding, 1:29; Maine, Purdie, hitting from behind, 10:24; Union, Buchanan, hitting from behind, 12:04; Union, Boyd, delay of game, 13:48; Union, Moody, interference, 14:30; Maine, Lovell, hitting after the whistle, 16:50; Maine, Libby, interference, 18:14.

Second period – 2. Maine, Shermerhorn 3 (Roenick, Clukey), 1:11; 3. Maine, Cullen 1 (Lovell, Libby), 3:11; 4. Maine, Parmentier 4 (Wansborough, Purdie), 9:47. Penalties – Union, Monteith, hooking, :20; Union, Buchanan, hooking, 1:01; Union, Simonton, holding, 3:38; Union, Buchanan, interference, 6:23; Maine, Frenette, tripping, 11:22; Maine, Shermerhorn, slashing, 12:24; Maine, White, cross checking, 14:18.

Third period – 5. Maine, Kariya 1 (Clukey), 10:25. Penalties – Union, Sicinski, tripping, 1:01; Union, bench minor for too many men on the ice (served by Ozarowski), 4:29; Union, Monteith, roughing, 15:54; Union, Reckin, slashing, 17:15.

Shots on goal: Maine 14-19-20 – 53; Union 9-13-13 – 35

Goaltenders: Maine, Blair Marsh; Union, Trevor Koenig

Attendance: 2483

Black Bears 3, Red Raiders 2

(Sunday Night) Maine 1 1 1 – 3 Colgate 1 1 0 – 2

First period – 1. Colgate, McIntosh 1 (Loftsgard, Debusschere), 5:09 (5-3 pp); 2. Maine, Wansborough 3 (Purdie, Parmentier), 8:34. Penalties – Maine, Wansborough, interference, 3:38; Maine, Mansoff, interference, 4:01; Colgate, Parmenter, holding, 7:18; Maine, Wansborough, elbowing, 11:15; Maine, Roenick, holding, 13:34; Colgate, Baaki, hooking, 16:29; Colgate, Parmenter, checking from behind, 17:49

Second period – 3. Colgate, Steeves 1 (Baaki, McIntosh), 9:05; 4. Maine, Lovell 3 (Tory), 10:38 (pp). Penalties – Colgate, Cronan, interference, 1:26; Colgate, Parmenter, interference, 5:10; Colgate, Cronan, holding, 10:28; Maine, Lovell, interference, 11:43; Colgate, Burgess, interference, 15:29; Maine, Clark, roughing, 16:07; Colgate, Loftsgard, checking from behind, 19:37

Third period – 5. Maine, Wansborough 4 (Parmentier, Clukey), 1:11 (pp). Penalties – Maine, Mansoff, holding, 4:08; Colgate, Harder, tripping, 4:29; Maine, Mahoney, holding, 11:37; Maine, Tory, holding, 16:35.

Shots on goal: Maine 16-11-9 – 36; Colgate 12-6-15 – 33

Goaltenders: Maine, Blair Allison; Colgate, Dan Brenzavich

Attendance: 2132