Harrison Rees scored with just 21 seconds left in overtime Saturday night, as the University of Connecticut Huskies finished off a two game weekend sweep over the Maine Black Bears with a 3-2 men’s Hockey East victory at Alfond Arena in Orono.
The guests scored first when Ryan Tverberg notched his third goal of the weekend just one second after a UConn powerplay expired at the 19:00 mark of the first period to make it 1-0. Maine got the equalizer early in the second when Donovan Villeneuve-Houle scored his first career goal at 1:27 on a wrist shot from near the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Rees gave the Huskies the lead right back just 2:03 later with his first of the night. The Black Bears were very resilient all weekend, and Villeneuve-Houle continued that when he evened things again just 33 seconds after the Rees tally. Both teams had excellent Grade A opportunities in the latter half of the second period and into the third as well, but both goalies in Victor Ostman for Maine and Darion Hanson for UConn kept it tied to the end of regulation. Rees finished off the best chance either team had in the overtime on assists from Marc Gatcomb and Hudson Schandor to help give the Huskies their sixth win of the season improving to 6-3-0, 4-1-0 in Hockey East.
Ostman made 41 saves in the loss for Maine. John Mulera and Keenan Suthers each had two assists each. The Black Bears went 0-2 on the powerplay. Hanson made 23 saves in the win for UConn, with Gatcomb and Schandor both adding two assists a piece. Maine is now 0-7-1, 0-4-0 in Hockey East and is at home once again next Friday and Saturday when they welcome in Merrimack for a two game conference series.
