ORONO, Maine — Finally!
Junior right wing Josh Nadeau had a hat trick and sophomore center Oskar Komarov broke a 3-3 tie 4:17 into the third period as the University of Maine’s hockey team picked up its first Hockey East win at Alfond Arena since Nov. 14.
The Black Bears won 5-3 over the Merrimack College Warriors on Friday night.
UMaine improved to 15-12-3 overall and 9-10-1 in Hockey East while snapping a four-game winless drought (0-3-1).
Merrimack fell to 15-14-1 and 8-11-1.
The teams will play again on Seniors Night on Saturday at 7.
Nadeau scored a pair of first-period goals before Merrimack graduate student right wing Mark Hillier got one back at the end of the period.
UMaine junior center Sully Scholle and Merrimack sophomore left wing Caelan Fitzpatrick answered for the only goals of the second period.
Freshman center Justin Gill tied it 1:08 into the third period with a wrister over Mathis Rousseau’s glove but Komarov broke the tie when an errant Merrimack pass landed on his stick and his wrist shot glanced off the glove of goalie Max Lundgren and fluttered into the net.
“I got it in the slot and shot it,” said Komarov. “I tried to go high glove maybe.”
UMaine killed two penalties later in the period and Nadeau iced it with an empty-net goal.
Komarov said the team has had better games but this was still a good one.
“Obviously a huge win,” Komarov said. “Guys were working, working back. The effort was great.”
Freshman goalie Mathis Rousseau made 19 saves for UMaine and junior Lundgren made 30 for Merrimack.
UMaine was without injured leading scorer left wing Justin Poirier along with center Max Scott, who was tied for third on the team in points.
“The guys gave it their all and that’s what we’re measuring ourselves on right now,” said UMaine coach Ben Barr. “Obviously came out on the right end of tonight. It was good to see.”
Scholle supplied UMaine with its second two-goal lead of the game at the 8:02 mark of the second period when he was able to wedge his way past Merrimack defenseman Filip Nordberg along the left wing boards in the Merrimack zone and then beat Lundgren with a wrister to the glove side from the left faceoff circle.
It was his sixth goal of the season.
Fitzpatrick answered 7:18 later when Parker Lalonde chased down a puck in the right corner and fed him at the top of the right faceoff circle. Fitzpatrick released a quick rising wrist shot that beat Rousseau past the blocker side into the far corner.
It was Fitzpatrick’s eighth goal of the campaign.
Minutes later, Lundgren came up with an important pad save off an Anthony Calafiore one-timer from the middle of the slot.
Nadeau broke a nine-game goal-less streak with 4:59 left in the first period and extended the lead 3:28 later.
But Hillier sliced the lead in half with just 45 seconds remaining in the period.
Nadeau opened the scoring off a Merrimack turnover.
It came just a few minutes after Lundgren made a pad save off a Charlie Russell breakaway.
An errant pass glanced off a Merrimack skate to Sully Scholle alone in the low slot. He wheeled around and fired a quick shot that Lundgren kicked out.
The rebound went to Freel, who was back to the goal, and he slipped a pass to Nadeau who deposited it into the net for his 11th goal of the season.
Nadeau’s second goal was set up by Brandon Holt, who carried the puck down the left wing and made a perfect cross-ice pass to Nadeau, who one-timed the puck behind Lundgren.
Hillier notched his sixth when Gill was able to win the race to a bouncing puck and slip it across to him and he swept it past Rousseau.