ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine men’s hockey team did enough to come out with a win over No. 20 Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday night at Alfond Arena — Maine outshot Alaska-Anchorage 49-25, had a 36-21 edge in Grade-A (high-percentage) scoring attempts and a 78-49 advantage in total shot attempts — but the resilient Seawolves held their own, finishing the night with a 3-3 overtime tie.
UAA freshman goalie Olivier Mantha made 46 saves in an exemplary performance. Maine’s Blaine Byron failed to convert an overtime penalty shot after scoring on a shorthanded breakaway in the third period, and senior left wing Scott Allen scored a power-play goal 30 seconds after Byron’s score.
Maine was awarded a penalty shot with 2:54 left in overtime, when a UAA player knocked the net off its moorings as Eric Schurhamer appeared poised to wrist the puck into the open net during a wild scramble.
But the puck rolled off Byron’s stick before he could shoot it.
“I had pulled (Mantha) over but just as I was about to shoot, the puck bounced over my stick,” Byron said.
Maine is now 1-4-1 while UAA is 3-1-1.
“This was the best hockey we’ve played to date,” said Maine coach Red Gendron, whose Black Bears are now 1-4-1 including Friday night’s 3-1 win over UAA. “The fans who showed up this weekend were treated to some unbelievable hockey. This was as good a series as I’ve ever seen here. It was spectacular.
“Sometimes the hockey gods don’t reward you. It’s sort of like life: It isn’t fair sometimes. But we’ve got to continue to get better,” Gendron added.
“Our battle level and execution were much better this weekend than they had been in our first four games,” Maine junior captain Devin Shore said. “We left a point on the table tonight, but it was a step in the right direction.”
Shore said the forwards need to do a better job converting their chances and extending leads to more than just one goal.
“We didn’t put them away,” Shore added. “We could have put ourselves in a commanding position to take home the win. Whenever goalies or defensmen make a mistake, everybody pounces all over them because the puck winds up in the back of our net. But it’s just as important a mistake when the forwards don’t find the back of the net.”
Junior defenseman Ben Hutton’s five-on-three power-play goal gave Maine with a 1-0 lead in the first period, but the Seawolves took a 2-1 lead late in the second period on goals 1 minute, 6 seconds apart by Dylan Hubbs and Austin Coldwell before Malcolm Hayes’ power-play goal tied it with 49 seconds remaining.
Byron scored 1:20 into the third period before Allen equalized.
Maine had 24 first-period shots on goal, thanks to four power plays, but could only capitalize once, when Shore slid the puck to Hutton at the midpoint and Hutton beat Mantha with a screened wrister.
Maine continued to carry the play in the second period but fell behind when Hubbs and Coldwell scored at the 15:07 and 16:13 marks.
Hubbs raced down the left wing to chase down a loose puck before cutting freely across the low slot and steering the puck between the legs of Maine goalie Matt Morris.
Coldwell scored with a wrist shot through the pads of Morris from the right circle off a four-on-two after he came out of the penalty box.
Hayes tied it as he found some open room in the right slot, took a stride and fired a screened wrister into the far corner.
Byron scored on a shorthanded breakaway as he stopped and slid the puck into the short side as Mantha moved across, anticipating a backhander.
But on the continuation of the power play, senior left wing Allen beat Morris with a wrister through Morris’ pads from the left circle off a pass from Blake Tatchell.
“[Morris] gave up a couple of goals five-hole, so that’s where I thought I’d go,” said Allen. “Tatchell made a beautiful pass. I tried to focus on my release. It was nice to see it go in.”
“Our most skilled and experienced players came through for us. They made some big-time plays,” UAA coach and former Maine assistant Matt Thomas said. “It was nice that we found a way to avoid losing two. I liked the way our guys responded. The goaltending was tremendous all weekend for both teams.”
“I felt good out there, but it was a great team effort,” said Mantha, a native of La Tuque, Quebec, who finished with 19 Grade-A saves among his 46.
Morris wound up with 11 Grade-A stops among his 22.