After 65 minutes, nothing could be decided between the University of Maine and the University of New Hampshire, as the Hockey East rivals danced to a 4-4 tie.
With the tie, UMaine will enter the Hockey East tournament as the No. 8 seed and face either Providence College, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell or Boston College.
Both UNH and UMaine had opportunities in the first period, but it was the Wildcats that were the only team able to capitalize, scoring with 4 minutes remaining in the period.
After obtaining the puck in the neutral zone, UNH freshman Maxim Gaudreault skated up the left side of the ice before finding senior center Scott Pavelski with a centering pass. Pavelski one-timed it past a sprawling Martin Ouellette.
Unlike the previous night when the second period saw a lull in the action, both UNH and UMaine turned up the offense in the middle period, combining for four goals in the period.
With 6 minutes left in the period, the Wildcats doubled their lead when Gaudreault beat Ouellette, giving UNH a 2-0 lead. Just over a minute later, UMaine senior forward Joey Diamond controlled the puck in the offensive zone before maneuvering to the point and firing a shot past sophomore goalie Casey DeSmith.
It took UNH just 30 seconds to regain the two-goal lead, as sophomore center Grayson Downing scored his 13th goal of the season, shutting down any potential momentum the Black Bears had.
UMaine was able to keep the game close going into the third period, with senior forward Adam Shemansky deflecting fellow senior Klas Leidermark’s shot past DeSmith.
It took 6 minutes into the third period before the Black Bears leveled the score, as Diamond connected for his third multi-goal game of the season. Less than 2 minutes later, UMaine took its first lead of the game as freshman forward Will Merchant scored his third goal of the season. After winning the faceoff, a crowd formed in front of DeSmith, partially obstructing his view of the puck, which snuck by him by way of Merchant.
On the ensuing face off, Leidermark was called for a hooking penalty, but the Black Bears managed to kill off the power play, preserving its slim lead.
UNH eventually evened the score, tying things up with less than 4 minutes remaining in regulation, as junior defender Eric Knodel slapped the puck past Ouellette for the power-play goal.
The Wildcats controlled most of the play in the extra time, but couldn’t find the net as the two teams skated to a 4-4 tie.