The day began ominously for the University of Maine hockey team when starting freshman goalie Albin Boija came down with an illness and was ruled out of Thursday’s NCAA Springfield Regional first round game against Cornell at the MassMutual Center.
UMaine junior center Harrison Scott gave the Black Bears a lift by scoring the game’s first goal. But Cornell junior left wing Kyle Penney tied it later in the first period and junior left wing Sullivan Mack supplied his team with the go-ahead goal in the second period and an insurance goal in the third as the Big Red went on to post a 3-1 victory.
Cornell, now 22-6-6, will take on 29-9-3 Denver, a 2-1 double overtime winner over UMass earlier in the day, in Saturday’s 4 p.m. regional final for a berth in the Frozen Four.
UMaine, appearing in its first NCAA Tournament since the 2011-12 season, finished 23-12-2.
Senior Victor Ostman got the start in net for the Black Bears, his first since a 5-2 loss at New Hampshire on Feb. 17.
Boija started the last nine games and 12 of the last 13.
UMaine head coach Ben Barr said Boija didn’t feel well Thursday morning so the decision was made to replace him with Ostman.
“It caught us by surprise,” Barr said. Boija dressed for the game in a backup role.
Cornell junior goalie Ian Shane, the ECAC’s Goaltender of the Year, made 31 saves while Ostman stopped 15 as UMaine outshot Cornell 32-18.
Scott’s 15th goal of the season for UMaine came just 5:43 into the game before Penney equalized by scoring his 10th at 13:56.
The Black Bears had a glorious opportunity to extend the lead on a five-minute power play shortly after Scott scored. But they couldn’t capitalize as the Big Red kept them to the outside and protected the net front. Cornell also got some important clears.
Scott had the two best chances with the man advantage but Shane came up big to keep it a one-goal deficit.
Scott had an open wrister from the middle of the slot that was kicked out by Shane. Scott followed his shot only to have Shane also stop his follow-up.
That penalty kill gave the Big Red a momentum lift.
UMaine had scored at least one power play goal in its previous six games, going 8-for-19.
“[Shane] made a couple of huge saves and we had a great penalty kill. That was the turning point in the game. We had to get out of the five-minute major [without giving up a goal],” Cornell coach Mike Schafer said.
“Then Sullivan scored two big goals for us and we grinded it out the rest of the way. It was a good effort by our guys throughout the course of the night against a good hockey team.”
It was a frustrating night for UMaine.
“We did everything we could except put the puck in the net,” UMaine’s Scott said. “We got our looks but their goalie stood on his head.”
“It’s a disappointing result. We had a good start and then we had an opportunity on the five-minute major to go up by two or three. It obviously didn’t happen,” Barr said.
“I’m proud of our team and how far they brought this program this year. This one will sting for a while. It’s one we could have [won]. It seemed like every time we turned the puck over, it was in our net and it didn’t happen that often.”
Scott opened the scoring by skating unattended down the slot, taking a short pass from Donavan Houle and wristing a 20-foot shot back across the grain and past Shane’s glove.
Penney tied it up off a turnover by UMaine’s Parker Lindauer.
Lindauer had an opportunity to clear the defensive zone but he coughed up the puck to Gabriel Seger, who slid it across to an open Penney in the middle of the slot.
Penney took a few strides and beat Ostman to the blocker side.
Cornell took the lead at the 12:09 mark of the middle period.
Mack kept the puck in along the boards at the right point in a battle with Bradly Nadeau, skated diagonally to the middle of the slot and beat Ostman to the far corner from the inner half of the right faceoff circle.
It was his sixth goal of the season.
“The first one, they turned over the puck at the blue line and I was surprised at how much room I had,” Mack said. “No one stepped on me so I was able to get a clean shot and it happened to go in.”
The Big Red, the stingiest team among the 64 Division I programs with its 1.88 goals-against average, used its superior size and defensive prowess to limit UMaine’s high-percentage scoring chances in the third period.
“Their goalie makes the first save and it’s really hard to get to the second puck. We had three or four pucks sitting on the back side that we didn’t get to. They’re structured. They don’t beat themselves,” Barr said.
Mack made it 3-1 midway through the third period off a rush that began in the defensive zone.
UMaine’s Josh Nadeau passed up a good shooting opportunity in the slot to try to feed his brother Bradly at the top of the right faceoff circle.
Cornell read the pass and a Big Red player got a stick on the puck, which created a three-on-two rush.
Mack carried the puck down the left wing side and beat Ostman to the short side.
“I don’t remember how that started but I remember we had numbers coming back,” said Mack, who had intended to make a pass. “But once that option went away, I just dragged it and tried to get a shot off.”
UMaine held the Nadeau brothers scoreless and Schafer said his players did a good job being aware of them on the ice, staying in front of them and limiting their rush chances.
“[The Nadeaus] are unbelievable on three-on-twos and two-on-ones. They find each other,” Schafer said.
The game was delayed an hour and a half due to the first game going into double overtime.