At Magness Arena in Denver on Friday night- Thomas Pichette scored two third period goals, including the game winner, as #15 Maine men’s hockey began the second half of the season with an impressive 5-2 win over #6 Denver.
Lukas Peterson got Maine off to a good start with his third goal of the season to break a scoreless tie 3:41 into the second period. Sully Scholle made it 2-0 at 8:44 finishing a 3 on 1 breakout with a wristshot from the right circle after a Denver turnover near center ice. A key moment in the stanza is when Oskar Komarov was given a five minute major for crosschecking, but the Pioneers were unable to capitalize. Pichette found the back of the net for the first time off an assist from Justin Poirier for a 3-0 advantage. The eventual game winner came at 5:12 of the third. Pichette scored again at 9:35 sandwiched around Denver goals by Boston Buckberger and Kristian Epperson. The Pioneers would pull their goaltender for an extra attacker with just over five minutes left. Brandon Holt capped off the scoring and the road victory with a tally that went the length of the ice and into the empty cage at 19:01.
Pichette also added an assist to his two goal night in the win for Maine. Holt had a goal and an assist. Poirier, Komarov, Owen Fowler, Will Gerrior, and Max Scott all had one assist each. Albin Boija had 29 saves in net. The Black Bears went 0-1 on the powerplay. Maine wins their fourth straight game in a row in improving to 12-7-1. Buckberger had a goal and an assist for Denver (12-7-1), while Kyle Chyzowski had two assists. The Pioneers went 1-3 on their powerplay and got 29 stops from Quentin Miller in between the pipes. It is the first time that DU has lost to a ranked opponent this season. The teams will finish off the two games series on Saturday night at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
Photos courtesy of UMaine Athletics
