ORONO, Maine — University of New Hampshire sophomore goalie Daniel Tirone, who entered the game with one of the highest goals-against average in the country at 4.01, made 50 saves and Kyle Smith’s late second-period goal tied it as the Wildcats carved out a 3-3 hockey tie with the University of Maine before a sellout crowd at Alfond Arena Friday night.
Maine improved it unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1) and is now 4-8-4 overall, 2-4-1 in Hockey East.
UNH is now 4-6-4 and 1-1-4. The teams will play again Saturday night in Durham, New Hampshire.
Matt Morris made 33 saves for Maine.
Maine attempted 92 shots to UNH’s 65 and had a 53-36 edge in shots on goal.
Both teams had glorious chances in the third period but couldn’t convert.
Steven Swavely nearly won it late in the period with a spinaround backhander but Tirone robbed him with his right pad.
Morris had made a game-saving stop earlier in the period when he stopped Tyler Kelleher’s one-timer from the middle of the slot.
Maine scored three unanswered goals in the second period to erase a 2-0 deficit but Smith’s goal with 1:40 left in the period tied it.
The Black Bears dominated the game five-on-five but UNH’s red-hot power play staked it to the 2-0 lead on Dan Correale’s first-period goal and Andrew Poturalski’s second-period score.
Those were UNH’s only two power-play chances as the Wildcat goals gave them 10 in their last 27 chances with a man advantage.
But Cedric Lacroix, Will Merchant and Brian Morgan scored in a span of 4:32 to wipe out UNH’s lead.
Poturalski, the nation’s leading scorer, had made it 2-0 by finishing off a picture-perfect pass from Tyler Kelleher.
Lacroix answered 1:25 later by positioning himself in front of Tirone and tipping Mark Hamilton’s wrister inside the short side post.
Merchant tied it after Nolan Vesey pressured a UNH defenseman and the defenseman fell to the ice. Merchant skated on to the puck and snapped a 20-foot wrister over Tirone’s glove.
It was originally ruled that the puck hit the crossbar but a video review revealed that the puck hit the back of the net.
Morgan gave Maine its first lead when he swooped on the rebound of an Andrew Tegeler shot, carried the puck around Tirone and deposited it into the half-empty net.
Smith got the equalizer when he drove to the net front and shoveled a Shane Eiserman rebound past Morris from 10 feet out.
The Black Bears dominated the first period and had a decided edge in offensive zone possession.
But Tirone made 19 saves, including 11 of the Grade-A variety, to keep them off the scoreboard.
UNH’s took the lead at the 9:50 mark..
Matias Cleland’s shot from the point sailed wide of the net to the right of Morris but Kelleher tracked the puck down behind the net and fed a wide open Poturalski in the left circle.
Poturalski took a quick wrister labeled for the far post and Morris kicked it out.
However, Correale was able to get inside position on Maine’s Merchant and swept the rebound home for his fifth power play goal of the season and ninth overall.
Maine had a series of glorious chances during a wild flurry in front of the net but Tirone made a couple of gems and another Bear attempt hit a UNH defenseman who was down on the ice behind Tirone.