Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

ORONO, Maine – Maine scored a pair of shorthanded goals and added a power play goal in the first period and skated past Vermont 4-1 on Saturday afternoon in Hockey East action at Alfond Arena. The Catamounts dropped to 3-8-2 (2-4-2 HEA), while the Black Bears improved to 2-8-3 (2-4-0 HEA) with a weekend sweep.
The Catamounts dominated the opening minutes of the game and struck first through Brady Shaw at the 4:51 mark. Shaw deked into the slot on his backhand and fired a low shot through the five-hole of Matt Morris (35 saves) for a 1-0 UVM lead. Shaw’s linemates Liam Coughlin and Brendan Bradley collected the assists on the play.

Vermont earned its first power play of the night at 8:34, but Maine responded with back-to-back shorthanded goals to take the lead. Blaine Byron centered a pass to Cam Brown on a 2-on-1 at the top of the crease at 9:01, and Steven Swavely finished a partial breakaway with a backhander under Mike Santaguida’s pads 12 seconds later.

Nolan Vesey added a power play tally later in the opening frame, wristing a low shot through a partial screen from the top of the right circle at 16:22. The Black Bears led 3-1 after 20 minutes despite a 12-9 shot advantage for Vermont.

At the tail end of a Vermont power play late in the second period, Jake Kearley hit the left post with a drive from the point and Maine retained its two-goal advantage. UVM couldn’t cash in on four power play chances in the middle frame but held a 14-9 edge in shots.

The Black Bears held the Catamounts in check in the final frame and UVM pulled Santaguida (16 saves) for an extra skater with just under three minutes left. Brady Campbell cleared the puck along the right wing boards and skated in for an empty-netter with 36 seconds remaining to seal the win for Maine.

UVM out-shot the Black Bears 36-20 on the afternoon but finished 0-for-7 on the power play.

After Thanksgiving, Vermont travels to face Penn State at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. in the fourth annual Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff. Pre-game coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com.