by: Jacob Posik
Last season, the Maine Black Bears hockey team played the defending National Champions, the Union College Dutchmen, in its home opener. That weekend series was a shellacking for the Black Bears, falling in those contests by scores of 3-0 and 5-2 respectively.
What a difference one year can make, as this year they managed a tie Friday before falling 2-0 Saturday.
Maine ties Union in 1-1 in overtime
With first-year goaltender Rob McGovern (0-0-2) manning the crease on Friday night at Messa Rink, Maine tied Union 1-1 in overtime before dropping its first game of the season 2-0 on Saturday.
McGovern looked as good against Union as he did last week in his collegiate debut, when he backstopped the Black Bears to a tie 1-1 against who is now the top ranked team in the nation, North Dakota.
In his second straight start, McGovern stopped 28 of the 29 pucks he faced, giving Maine the opportunity it needed to come out of the weekend with points. He also ended Maine’s two game streak of relinquishing a power play goal. McGovern and the Black Bears defense thwarted all five of the Dutchmen’s opportunities on the man advantage.
However, McGovern was matched by third-year netminder Alex Sakellaropoulos who made 32 saves for Union.
The scoreless tie came to an end in the middle period. Union first-year forward Brendan Taylor tallied the first collegiate goal of his career on a pass from third-year forward Eli Lichtenwald 4:27 into the period.
Second-year forward Tyler Hynes found Lichtenwald in the offensive zone, who made a sharp pass across the slot to Taylor. Taylor sent a wrist shot at McGovern that beat him to the right side of the net, giving Union a 1-0 advantage. Maine outshot Union in the period 15-12 but couldn’t beat Sakellaropoulos.
With just 5:56 remaining in regulation, Black Bears third-year forward Brian Morgan found twine. Third-year defender Eric Schurhamer sent a pass to fourth-year forward Andrew Tegeler as Maine set up in Union’s defensive zone. Tegeler crossed the puck to the right circle where Morgan connected, beating Sakellaropoulos and knotting the score at 1-1.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the final period or overtime.
Maine outshot Union in the contest 33-29, the most explosive offensive output we’ve seen from the Black Bears thus far. Despite excellent penalty killing, the other half of Maine’s special teams couldn’t produce, failing to convert on any of its six power play opportunities.
Dutchmen hand Black Bears first loss of the season
After three straight ties to heavily favored opponents, Maine fell for the first time this season after dropping a 2-0 contest on Saturday. Union first-year goalie Jake Kupsky shut out Maine in his collegiate debut.
Third-year netminder Matt Morris (0-1-1) backstopped the Black Bears through two scoreless periods before giving up two goals in the final period.
Union’s offensive attack was relentless throughout, beginning the contest by registering 11 shots on goal in the first period to Maine’s four. The Dutchmen tallied another 11 in the second period, but the Black Bears defense, led by Morris, was able to keep Union off the board.
Fourth-year defender Sebastien Gingras broke the scoreless tie 5:56 into the third period. Taylor found Hines in the offensive zone as he made a cut into the slot from behind the Maine net. Hines sent a pass to the right point, where Gingras found the puck and sent a slap shot through traffic that found the back of the net. The goal was reviewed for potential goalie interference, but the goal was allowed and the Dutchmen took a 1-0 lead.
Third-year forward Mike Vecchione, who tallied five points against Maine last season, doubled the Union advantage with five minutes remaining in the contest to give the Dutchmen the 2-0 victory.
Battling for possession at his own end of the ice, Gingras collected the puck and found Vecchione open with space along the right boards. Vecchione took the puck from end to end and sniped a shot from the right circle that beat Morris, sealing the shutout victory for Union.
Maine tallied 12 shots in the final period, but Kupsky and the Dutchmen defense played well enough to keep the Black Bears off the board.
Union outshot Maine 33-26 in the contest. Both teams failed to tally a power play goal again, making both teams scoreless with a man advantage on the weekend.
After the weekend series, Maine’s record moves to 0-1-3 while Union improves to 2-0-2 on the season.
Maine travels on Tuesday to face the No. 17 Quinnipiac Bobcats. The Bobcats are 3-0, coming off victories over Holy Cross and Arizona State. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.