New Hampshire took a 2-0 lead at Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday, but Maine did the rest of the work from there.
The Black Bears (4-12-1) scored five unanswered goals in a 5-2 victory over the Wildcats (4-10-1). All five goals were scored by different skaters.
UNH got on the board early, as junior forward Collin MacDonald scored just 4:58 into the opening period. Freshman forward Shane Eiserman notched another one for the Wildcats early in the second.
But that would be the last anyone heard from UNH.
Sophomore forward Blaine Byron got the Black Bears going midway through the second frame, and Nolan Vesey added the equalizer less than two and a half minutes later. Freshman defenseman Malcolm Hayes scored the go-ahead goal before the end of the second period, but Maine wasn’t done making its presence known.
Will Merchant and Ben Hutton kept the rally going with goals in the third. Junior forward Devin Shore had three assists for the Black Bears.
Wildcats goaltender Adam Clark had 29 saves despite the loss.
The Black Bears and Wildcats meet again Saturday in Maine, finishing out their two-game home-and-home series at 7 p.m.
Around the League
Vermont 2, St. Lawrence 1: Neither team scored throughout the second and third periods, but the No. 10 Catamounts (12-3-1) managed to skate to a 2-1 win over the Saints (8-7-1). Sophomore forward Mike Stenerson got Vermont on the board 8:18 into the first frame, and Anthony Petruzzelli added another just over two minutes later. St. Lawrence mustered up a goal by the end of the period, but that was the last puck to hit the net in the contest.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@MaineIceHockey
