The University of Maine’s hockey team received a rude wake-up call from Bentley University on Saturday night.
After an encouraging weekend in which Maine went 1-1 in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Colorado, Bentley’s Falcons thumped the Black Bears 5-1 at the Bentley Arena in Waltham, Mass.
Bentley was picked to finish eighth in 10-team Atlantic Hockey, the most underfunded of Division I college hockey’s six conferences, and the Falcons had traveled 177 miles one way from Waltham to Schenectady, N.Y. on Thursday night where it was drubbed by Union College 5-1.
Freshman Thomas Freel staked the rested Black Bears to a 1-0 lead by tipping home David Breazeale’s shot from the point just 5:51 into the game. Grayson Arnott also assisted on the play.
But it was all downhill from there for the Black Bears.
Sophomore Harrison Scott scored a pair of goals and freshman goalie Connor Hasley, making his first varsity start, finished with 33 saves as the Falcons scored five unanswered goals.
“It wasn’t a lack of effort but the way we played tonight was very immature,” said UMaine second-year head coach Ben Barr. “It was disappointing. We’re going to have games where we don’t look like we know what we are doing and tonight was one of those games.
“We self-destructed with bad reads. We didn’t play the game the right way. We got what we deserved,” he added.
Barr said those poor decisions would present Bentley with odd-man rushes and the Falcons were opportunistic and cashed in on some of them.
UMaine players got caught cheating on the offensive side of the puck and couldn’t get back in time to break up a Bentley rush.
Scott tied it with the first of his two goals on the evening at the 10:18 mark as he batted his own rebound past UMaine goalie Jacob Mucitelli after his initial shot popped out of Mucitelli’s glove. Ethan Harrison and Nick Bochen notched assists.
Senior Josh Latta, who had previously played at Alabama-Huntsville and UMass Lowell, scored what proved to be the game-winner early in the second period when he was left alone in the slot and fired home a rebound. Stephen Castagna and Matt Gosiewski assisted.
Scott made it 3-1 late in the period when he maneuvered through the slot and beat Mucitelli with a backhander. Joe Winkelmann and Ryan Nause had the assists.
Castagna capped the second-period scoring by converting a two-on-one. The goal was unassisted.
Mucitelli was then replaced by Victor Ostman with 3:40 left in the second period. Mucitelli wound up with 16 saves on 20 shots.Ostman saved all three shots he faced the rest of the way.
The Falcons added an empty-net goal by Nicholas Niemo. Jordan Schulting assisted.
UMaine will host No. 8 Quinnipiac (Conn.) next Saturday at 7:05 and Sunday at 4:05.
Bentley will visit Ohio State for Thursday and Friday games at 7.