ORONO, Maine — Finally.
Junior defenseman Dan Renouf recorded his first career two-goal game and senior goalie Matt Morris made 39 saves as the University of Maine hockey team notched its first win of the season and snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Vermont Friday night at Alfond Arena.
The Black Bears improved to 1-8-3 overall, 1-4-0 in Hockey East while Vermont fell to 3-7-2 and 2-3-2, respectively. The teams will play again at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Blaine Byron broke a 10-game goal drought to stake Maine to a 1-0 lead in the first period before Renouf added a pair of second-period goals to supply Maine with its first multiple-goal lead of the season.
Rob Hamilton and Mario Puskarich scored one minute apart to pull the Catamounts within one with 4:17 left, but Morris made a great right-pad save off Brendan Bradley’s 20-footer from the slot with three minutes left and Maine hung on.
Maine was without senior captain Steven Swavely in the final nine minutes of the game after he got hurt.
Maine had dictated play in the first two periods, but Mike Santaguida made several top-shelf saves to keep his team within striking distance.
The Black Bears finally broke through at the 16:39 mark when Swavely passed the puck up the middle to Byron and it squirted through the legs of UVM sophomore defenseman Ori Abramson.
Byron busted around Abramson, sliced across the low slot and avoided a Santaguida poke check before sliding the puck into the empty net.
It was the first time in six games that the Black Bears scored the game-opening goal.
Byron’s goal was his first since the season-opening 3-3 overtime tie with Michigan State in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Portland.
Renouf expanded the lead on the power play 21 seconds into the second period when he kicked the puck to his stick at the midpoint and wristed a rising shot over the glove of the screened Santaguida.
Renouf made it 3-0 7:31 later when he crashed the net front and had the puck go off his skate into Santaguida’s pad before he located the puck sitting in the crease and pushed it in.
Vermont played with a sense of urgency later in the second period and had its best extended pressure of the game, but Morris came up with several key saves including one off Anthony Petruzzelli, who maneuvered across the top of the crease only to have Morris slide over with him and get his right pad on the shot.
Vermont swarmed the Maine net in the third period as the Black Bears had problems clearing the puck out of the defensive zone.
Hamilton got one back with a wrister over Morris’ glove from the high slot and Puskarich made things even more interesting with his seventh career goal against Maine as he followed up his angled shot by poking in the rebound.
Santaguida finished with 26 stops.