The University of Maine’s hockey team erupted for four second-period goals and went on to post a 7-0 Hockey East victory over the University of Vermont at Alfond Arena on Friday night.
The Black Bears, ranked eighth in one national poll and 10th in the other, improved to 7-3-1 overall and 4-1 in Hockey East while Vermont fell to 3-6 and 1-4, respectively.
The teams will conclude their series at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Junior goalie Albin Boija made 29 saves to earn his second shutout of the season and eighth of his career.
UMaine outshot UVM 32-29.
UVM lost senior defenseman and co-captain Phillip Tornqvist to an injury early in the second period.
Junior center Sully Scholle staked Maine to a 1-0 lead in the first period before the Black Bears received second-period goals from freshman defenseman Jeremy Langlois, junior right wing Josh Nadeau, freshman right wing Miguel Marques and senior left wing Owen Fowler.
Nadeau, Marques and Fowler scored during a span of 3:16 late in the period.
Freshman left wing Justin Poirier scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season in the third and Nadeau collected his second of the game to cap the scoring.
Poirier has scored a goal in six of his last seven games.
The Catamounts had the better of play in the first period but it was Scholle who scored the only goal of the period.
Scholle’s goal, his second of the season, came at the 6:29 mark.
Langlois snapped a wrist shot from the point that Marques was able to tip across the top of the crease to Scholle, who lifted a backhander past freshman goalie Aiden Wright into the short side corner.
The Catamounts had a number of quality chances but Boija was sharp.
Boija got his stick on Daniel Sambuco’s quick wrist shot from the left circle and then got the top of his glove on a Matteo Michels’ breakaway off a Cedrick Guindon feed.
Langlois made it 2-0 just 43 seconds into the second period when he took a pass from Marques in the middle of the high slot, took a few strides to his right and wristed the puck past screened UVM freshman goalie Aiden Wright for his second goal of the season.
It was his second of the season.
Nadeau notched his sixth while the Black Bears were on the power play.
A pass out from behind the net from Max Scott rolled to the inside of the right faceoff circle and Nadeau calmly fired a 15-foot wrist shot into the upper short side corner at the 12:36 mark of the period.
Marques scored his fourth of the campaign just 25 seconds later when he got his stick on a wrist shot from the point by Loic Usereau.
Fowler capped the flurry by shoveling home a rebound on the power play. It was his fourth.
UMaine head coach Ben Barr thought his team got outworked in the first period but the Black Bears started “forechecking better in the second period” and it continued through the rest of the game.
The line of Scholle between Marques and Fowler combined for three goals and four assists.
“That line was really good,” Barr said.
Marques had a career-high four points on a goal and three assists, Scholle had a goal and an assist and Fowler had a goal.
“My linemates made it easy for me and I got lucky by being in a couple of right spots tonight,” Marques said. “Playing with them has been awesome. They’re two guys who work hard and can make plays.”
Marques said their line looks to outcompete the other team and that gets them “pretty far” together.
“It’s done that so far, so we have to keep that rolling,” Marques said.