Maine 4, Icecats 2
No. 9 Maine scored three unanswered goals in the third period, turning a one-goal deficit into a 4-2 win over No. 1 New Hampshire at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Josh Soares, Matt Duffy and Keith Johnson each scored in the final stanza to help the Black Bears hand the Wildcats just their third league loss of the season.
MAINE (17-7-4) 1-0-3 -- 4
UNH (19-5-1) 1-1-0 -- 2
Matt Fornataro put the 'Cats on top just 7:36 into action when he jammed home a loose rebound allowed by Ben Bishop at the left post. UNH generated the opportunity with an aggressive forecheck that eventually yielded a shot from the right wall. It was tipped by Trevor Smith on the way to the cage, and by the time it reached Bishop it was bouncing too much, and his difficulty in handling it led to the chance for Fornataro.
Maine's Mike Hamilton retaliated about six minutes later by fighting past Kevin Kapstad to move in alone on Kevin Regan, then roofed the rubber over the left shoulder of the already-shifting goaltender as he cut across the crease.
UNH got a gift from Bishop for the tiebreaker, as Greg Collins's far-from-sizzling blast from the high slot sneaked between the goalie's left arm and his ribs with 3:19 to play in the second. After he'd taken the puck out of his own zone and through neutral territory, the shot seemed almost an afterthought for Collins as he looked to change lines -- but it found the twine, anyway.
The Wildcats took that lead to the third, but just 92 seconds into the stanza, Michele Leveille found Josh Soares streaking up the seam, connected on a pass, and Soares did the rest by putting the puck through Regan's five-hole.
Maine took its first lead of the night with 5:35 to go, 15 seconds after the start of a power play because of a cross-check call on Collins. Matt Duffy settled the puck in the left circle before firing over Regan's shoulder.
Keith Johnson added the empty-netter with 24.7 ticks to go.
GAME NOTES
- Kevin Regan stopped 31 shots for UNH, while Ben Bishop had 27 saves for Maine.
- UNH's Mike Radja was back in the lineup for the first time since spraining a knee ligament on Dec. 30 -- but because Brett Hemingway was out with a groin injury, UNH's top line was not reunited.
- Umile said after the game that Hemingway's return for Saturday's game is not probable.
- Without Hemingway for the first time this season, UNH's lineup looked like this:
Micflikier-Radja-Ciocco
Pollastrone-Smith-Fornataro
Collins-Fortney-Butler
Rossman-LeBlanc-Vinz - Collins's goal was his second of the season, and though it was the line's only offense, the trio of he, Bobby Butler and Thomas Fortney were probably the 'Cats best on the night. UNH's top line struggled without Hemingway and with two guys still recovering from injuries.
- Though they're just 6-5-0 at home, the Black Bears are now 11-2-1 on the road or at a neutral site.
- The loss dropped UNH from sole possession of first place in the PairWise Rankings to a tie for the top spot with Minnesota and St. Cloud State. Maine, meanwhile, moved to fifth, and across Hockey East Vermont is 10th, BU is 13th, BC is 17th and UMass is 19th.
- In the league, UNH maintains a two-point lead over BU with three games in hand. Maine is sixth, but trails third-place Vermont by just three points.
- The three goals allowed by Regan mark the most he's allowed since Dec. 29 (a 5-2 loss to Cornell), and just the third time he's given up that many since Nov. 11. Prior to then he'd surrendered at least three scores in five of seven starts.
- Umile was especially unhappy with UNH's defense on the first two Maine goals in particular.
- Micflikier was seen wincing on the ice at one point in the second period, grabbing at his left shoulder as he did.
POST-GAME AUDIO
