The Maine Black Bears rallied from a 3-1 deficit scoring two goals in the third period on Friday afternoon, forcing a 3-3 tie with the #6 University of Massachusetts Minutemen in a men’s hockey regular season finale at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. Maine would garner an extra point in the standings with a 2-1 shootout win.
Maine (3-10-2, 3-10-2 Hockey East) didn’t waste any time getting on the board first. Emil Westerlund scored his fourth goal of the season just 48 seconds into the contest. UMass though took over after that. Carson Gicewicz tied it at 3:08, and then the Minutemen took the lead on a goal by Ty Farmer at 8:09, and made it 3-1 on a marker by Marc Del Gaizo at 12:31. The score remained the same until the third period. Adrien Bisson scored his first goal of the year at 11:54 on a rebound on the powerplay to cut the deficit in half, and then Eduards Tralmaks would send the game to overtime with the equalizer on a slap shot from the blue line at 15:46. Tralmaks had returned to the lineup after missing the last four games. The Black Bears had a chance in the extra session on the powerplay two minutes in, but couldn’t convert and the game officially ended in a 3-3 tie. Maine would get goals by Donavan Villeneuve-Ho and freshman Lynden Breen for the shootout win.
Victor Ostman made 30 saves in net on the afternoon for Maine. Veli-Mati Tiuraniemi had two assists, while Adam Dawe, Simon Butala, John Mulera, and Breen all had one assist each. Filip Lindberg made 16 saves for UMass. Gicewicz had one goal and one assist to lead the Minutemen, who end their regular season at 13-5-4, 13-5-4 HE. The Black Bears are expected to face UNH in a quarterfinal Hockey East playoff game on Wednesday at the Whittemore Center in Durham. Maine would be the home team and a time is to be announced.
