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 eight of his career.
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.
