University of Maine men’s hockey coach Red Gendron wasn’t in a good mood following Saturday night’s 4-1 loss to Boston College at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, which extended his Black Bears’ losing streak to five games.
“I’m livid,” said Gendron. “It’s awful right now. We aren’t getting the results we’re capable of getting. If people aren’t going to do what is required, they won’t be in the lineup.
“But I still believe in these kids. We’re going to stick with it,” insisted the second-year head coach.
Senior left wing Destry Straight had a rare multiple-goal and three-point game game as he scored his third and fourth goals of the season and 18th and 19th of his 113-game career 3:33 apart early in the second period to snap a 1-1 tie. He also had an assist.
Freshman right wing Alex Tuch scored 2:51 into the third period to ice the win.
Junior defenseman Teddy Doherty, BC’s leading scorer with 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) in 12 games, provided the Eagles with a 1-0 lead 9:35 into the first period but Blaine Byron’s shorthanded goal 2:22 later tied it.
It was Byron’s fourth goal of the season and it marked the second straight game Maine scored a shorthanded goal.
Connor Leen scored one in Maine’s 3-2 overtime loss to Boston University of Friday night.
Boston College improved to 7-5 overall, 3-3 in Hockey East, while Maine fell to 3-9-1 and 2-5, respectively.
The five-game losing streak, in which the punchless Bears have scored only eight goals, is their longest since they dropped seven straight from Oct. 19- Nov. 9, 2012.
Maine is now winless in its last 10 road games (0-9-1).
Maine has scored two goals or less in eight games and one or less in five this season.
Sophomore Thatcher Demko finished with 22 saves for BC while freshman Sean Romeo stopped 23 shots for Maine.
Straight’s first goal came at the 1:38 mark of the middle period.
Doherty took a shot from the point that was deflected and eventually landed on the stick of Adam Gilmour. Gilmour spotted the unattended Doherty at the far post and Doherty steered his pass past the helpless Romeo.
Straight expanded the lead with Matthew Gaudreau and Gilmour assisting.
Demko made a pad save off Maine defenseman Jake Rutt’s shot from the point and the Eagles quickly moved the puck out of their zone.
Straight took a wrist shot from the top of the circle that sailed through the legs of a Maine defenseman and cleanly beat Romeo.
Moments later, Maine All-American center Devin Shore carried the puck down the wing on a two-on-one only to miss the net.
Tuch made it 4-1 just 2:51 into the third period off a Maine turnover. He fired the puck past Romeo from the faceoff dot.
Doherty had started the scoring by jumping into the play to transform a two-on-one into a three-on-one.
Straight and Calnan set him up for a tap-in from just outside the crease.
Maine equalized when Byron and Brown worked the puck up the ice resulting in a shot by Brown.
The rebound came back to Brown, he faked a shot and went around a BC defenseman before sliding it across to Byron, who directed it past Demko.
“It was a real nice play by Brown,” said Byron.
But the Black Bears couldn’t muster many more high-percentage chances.
“Obviously, it didn’t go the way we would have liked it to. But that’s how it goes sometimes,” said Byron. “There was a lot of neutral zone play. It was a slower-paced game than our Friday night game with BU. There weren’t as many scoring chances for either team.
“We didn’t get the puck to the net like we need to in order to create scoring chances,” added Byron. “BC’s defensemen were very good at moving the puck, gapping and keeping us to the outside. We’ve got to work a little harder through the middle to create scoring chances against a good team like that.”
Maine went 0-for-1 on the power play and has now gone four games without a power-play goal (0-for-13).