ORONO, Maine — University of Maine freshman right wing Bradly Nadeau had a memorable Alfond Arena debut on Thursday night.
The first round draft pick of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes and the 30th overall selection scored a pair of goals and added an assist as the Black Bears earned a 4-1 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in a mutual season-opener before 4,135 energetic fans.
The teams will play again on Friday night at 7 p.m.
Nadeau scored an even-strength goal early in the second period to tie it and a power play goal midway through the period to supply UMaine with a lead it would never relinquish.
UMaine outshot RPI 57-13 over the 60 minutes in a dominating performance.
Nadeau’s linemates — his freshman brother Josh and senior center Lynden Breen — combined for a goal and three assists. Breen had a goal and an assist and Josh Nadeau had two assists.
Victor Ostman made 12 saves, and Jack Watson had 53 for RPI in an outstanding performance that kept his team within striking distance.
UMaine broke the game open with goals by Breen and Nolan Renwick in the first minute of the third period after falling behind 1-0 on a power play goal by RPI graduate student defenseman C.J Regula in the first period.
The Black Bears had a decided speed advantage and swarmed the puck, forcing turnovers that led to transition opportunities. They were also very effective on the forecheck, making it difficult for the Engineers to clear the puck out of their zone.
“We have a really fast team this year. That’s one of our strengths,” Bradly Nadeau said. “We used it this game and hopefully we’ll be able to use it in all of our games this year.”
UMaine head coach Ben Barr said his team got better as the game went along.
“We just kept grinding. That’s our identity, I guess. We didn’t get to the net real well in the first period. We had some chances but it was like one and done. We stayed on it and started getting some [offensive] zone time in the second period.”
UMaine played at a pace that RPI wasn’t comfortable with, Engineers coach Dave Smith said.
“They played very hard and very well and we didn’t,” Smith added.
The game did not get off to the start the Black Bears wanted.
RPI went on the power play just 1:01 into the game and Regula capitalized at the 2:40 mark.
The Engineers skated into the offensive zone and Sutter Muzzatti sent a perfect pass from the left wing boards to Regula, who was all alone in the high slot.
With no Black Bears on that side of the ice, Regula had time to take a few strides and snap a 20-foot wrist shot over Ostman’s blocker side shoulder.
The Black Bears began carrying the play midway through the period and kept the Engineers pinned in their own end for some long stretches. UMaine had a number of good chances, but Watson was equal to the task, and his teammates blocked four shots in front of him.
Bradly Nadeau tied the game 1:19 into the second period off a Grayson Arnott rebound.
Arnott’s shot from the right point deflected over to Nadeau at the far post, and he shoveled it into the net from 10 feet out after kicking it over to his stick from his left skate.
“It hit a skate in front and then it hit the goalie’s pad,” Nadeau said. “It just came to me backdoor.”
Breen picked up an assist on the goal.
Nadeau then made it 2-1 at the 8:01 mark.
Breen passed the puck across to Thomas Freel to the left of Watson, and Freel’s cross-ice pass deflected to Nadeau, who roofed it into the short side before Watson could get across.
It appeared Nadeau was going to complete a hat trick with 2.2 seconds left in the middle period on the power play when he fired a one-timer into the net from the left faceoff circle. But the goal was overturned after Smith insisted correctly that early in the power play a UMaine shot was deflected into the netting above the plexiglass.
That would automatically result in a stoppage of play. Instead, play continued.
UMaine capitalized on the carryover power play in the third period when Josh Nadeau scooted down the right wing, fended off an RPI defenseman with his left hand and shoveled a one-handed pass to the far post where Breen chipped it into the net.
“That’s a prime example of why [Josh Nadeau] is a special player,” Breen said. “I’m ready out there any time he has the puck. Both those guys make the game easy for me and I hope I can make it a little easier for them.”
Just 29 seconds later, Ben Poisson found Renwick in the high slot as the trailer on a three-on-one rush and Renwick snapped a wrist shot past goalie Watson’s glove.