Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Black Bears earn another crucial win

Maine bounces back from a loss to Providence, beating the Hockey East leaders.

By Kevin Thomas kthomas@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

LOWELL, Mass. - One reason the University of Massachusetts-Lowell leads Hockey East and was No. 1 in the national Pairwise rankings is goalie Doug Carr's magnificent play.

On Saturday night, Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said his goalie, Dan Sullivan, had to be just as good.

He was better.

Sullivan made 35 saves in a 2-1 victory over UMass-Lowell at Tsongas Arena.

Matt Mangene scored the winner on a power play late in the second period.

Kyle Beattie assisted on the winner and also scored.

Sullivan stopped a breakaway in the second period, made a sliding pad save in the closing seconds and gloved the last shot at the buzzer.

"I certainly have been impressed with Doug Carr, and I thought Sully rose to that challenge," Whitehead said. "It was an opportunity for him to show he can go toe-to-toe with the top guy in our league.

"He made some big stops."

Maine, which dropped a 4-3 decision to Providence on Friday, is 17-9-3 overall and 12-8-2 in Hockey East, and moved into a fourth-place tie with Merrimack.

"We didn't come to play for a full 60 minutes (Friday night)," Mangene said. "To come in here (and win) against the No. 1 Pairwise team is big."

The Black Bears entered the game tied for ninth in the national Pairwise rankings, which are based on record and strength of schedule.

UMass-Lowell (19-8, 14-7) had the territorial advantage early and was supported by strong defensive play and Carr (32 saves).

But Maine and Sullivan fended off the charge.

"Their goalie played really well," said Lowell forward David Vallorani, who was stoned by Sullivan on the breakaway. "I saw 5-hole and he took it away right away."

Beattie gave Maine a 1-0 first-period lead. He stole the puck at the River Hawks' blue line and brought it into the slot. With teammate Adam Shemansky alone outside the crease, Carr had two concerns. Beattie shot it by him at 16:45.

"Shemansky was right off to the side and I think that threw the goalie off," Beattie said.

In the second period, UMass-Lowell tied it at 15:22 on Colin Wright's goal.

"I think I did a good job to forget about it," Sullivan said. "Our defense played well, and our forwards were coming back, playing defense first. That really paid off for us."

Maine wrested away the momentum and got a power play near the end of the period.

Using their second unit, the Black Bears kept possession in the UMass-Lowell end. Beattie threaded a pass to Mangene at the back door for a one-timer at 18:37.

"A great pass," Mangene said.

Both teams had chances in the third period, but Maine tightened its defense.

"They took away the middle of the ice and it was hard to get it in deep," Vallorani said.

Carr was pulled with 67 seconds left, but Sullivan withstood the attack.

"A great bounce-back game for us," Whitehead said.

The Black Bears return to Orono to play two games against eighth-place Massachusetts next weekend at Alfond Arena. Maine tied the Minutemen in a November game in Amherst, then beat UMass 5-2 in a December tournament.

Staff writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: KevinThomasPPH