ORONO — When the University of Maine men’s hockey team endured its eight-win season last year, coaches kept saying the team never gave up.

The Black Bears still are not giving in, and this time it’s paying off.

Freshman Mitchell Fossier scored a power-play goal 2:08 into overtime to give the University of Maine a 4-3 upset of national power Quinnipiac Friday night at Alfond Arena.

Maine trailed 2-0 after the second period and 3-1 in the third but kept coming back.

We have a little more swagger, a little more belief in the locker room,” said senior defense– man and assistant captain Eric Schurhamer.

“We seem to find a way to win this year.”

The Black Bears remain undefeated at 3-0, while Quinnipiac, ranked No. 3 in the national polls, dropped to 1-1-1.

“The players who were here before are battle-tested. They didn’t quit,” Maine Coach Red Gendron said.

The freshmen are coming through as well.

Freshman Patrick Shea tied the game 3-3 in regulation with an improbable rebound goal. Shea, skating in on a breakaway on the right side, took a shot. Goalie Chris Truehl made the save but left the puck on the ice outside the left post. Shea was tripped as he raced in, but while on his belly got his stick down and tapped the puck in at 15:07.

“I whacked at it and somehow it ended up in the net,” Shea said.

That it did.

“Give the kid credit,” Quinnipiac Coach Rand Pecknold said. “He came hard and made a play.”

Pecknold did not want to talk much about the game, especially the 12 power plays awarded Maine (to eight for the Bobcats).

“I don’t want to say anything that will get me in trouble,” Pecknold said. “We have to deal with the way the officials are calling the game on us. We need to adapt … Twelve power plays. That’s ridiculous.”

Both teams scored two power-play goals.

Shea drew the final penalty, a tripping call in the crease at 1:32 of overtime. Maine set up and moved the puck well. Defenseman Rob Michel passed to the right to Schurhamer, who then crossed it quickly. Fossier gathered the puck and fired, nicking the left post as the shot went in.

“Schurhamer found a seam to me and I just tried to get it off quickly,” Fossier said. “Kind of a fortunate play for me.”

Fossier, who also had two assists, leads the team with five goals. He has recorded the winner all three times.

Nolan Vesey and Schurhamer also scored for Maine. Vesey’s goal came at 5:49 of the third period, closing the score to 2-1. Quinnipiac had taken the lead midway through the second period with a 5-on-3 goal, followed a minute later with a 5-on-4 score.

Tanner MacMaster scored for the Bobcats, making it 3-1. But Schurhamer buried a Shea pass to make it 3-2, and the Black Bears kept coming.

“We really tilted the ice,” Gendron said. “It was pretty much pedal to the metal.”

Maine goalie Rob McGovern made 25 saves. Truehl had 26 saves.

The announced crowd was a sellout of 5,125.