University of Maine senior defenseman and co-captain Brandon Holt didn’t mince his words following the Black Bears’ 2-1 Saturday night loss to Vermont — one night after they had thumped the Catamounts 7-0.
Vermont dominated the first period of Saturday’s game, took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal following a tripping penalty on Thomas Freel, and broke a 1-1 tie early in the third period off a three-on-two which was launched by an ill-advised offensive zone pass by UMaine’s Josh Nadeau.
Holt said it takes “so much more” effort to win the second night after beating a team the first night.
“They outworked us from the start. They wanted it more than we did,” said a somber Holt. “To lose like that on home ice isn’t something I’ve been a part of very often. It’s embarrassing. That’s not acceptable on home ice.”
Vermont came into the game having scored one goal in its three previous games including back-to-back shutouts in the prior two.
The Catamounts were the lowest-scoring team in Division I, having scored just 1.2 goals per game. And they were without senior defenseman and co-captain Philip Tornqvist, who got injured in Friday’s game.
But they were opportunistic, they defended effectively and worked hard and got timely saves from Axel Mangbo and Aiden Wright, who replaced the injured Mangbo with 5:12 remaining in the game.
Still, these are games UMaine can’t afford to lose if the Black Bears are going to earn a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Vermont is now 4-7 and UMaine’s other home loss was to a Colgate team that is 4-7-1.
“We have to get back to what makes us good,” Holt said. “We win 7-0 and come out thinking it’s going to be easy. We have to know that we’re a team that outworks. We’re not a team that just goes out and plays.”
UMaine did generate 20 shots on goal in the third period and had a number of narrow misses, but couldn’t get the equalizer on Saturday night.
The Black Bears also started slow on Friday night, Holt said.
“But we got back to work,” Freel said Saturday night. “And tonight, we got back to work but it was just too late.”
This was the third time this season UMaine followed a win or a tie in the first game of a series with a loss on the second night. And it is the second consecutive weekend UMaine followed a convincing first-game victory with a second game loss.
UMaine beat UMass 6-2 on Thursday, Nov. 6 with a 54-shot barrage before losing the second game of that series 4-0.
Earlier, they squandered a 4-2 lead at Quinnipiac, allowing two extra-attacker goals to finish in a 4-4 tie, and then lost the second game 4-0.
UMaine coach Ben Barr said they scored all seven goals on Friday night off screens and rebounds. It was a different story on Saturday night, however.
“But we couldn’t do that, and that was the difference in the game,” Barr said.
He also said Vermont won more net-front battles and his team’s decision-making “wasn’t great.”
The coach noted that mental mistakes made by veterans, like Nadeau on his pass, have hurt.
It is tough to sweep a series but if you continue a win-one, lose-one pattern, it usually leaves you cleaning out your locker in March instead of playing NCAA Tournament games.
This team has shown it is capable of beating anyone on a given night and can do so in impressive fashion.
But it has also shown it can lose to anyone.
With 13 newcomers, inconsistency was expected.
But more consistency is needed immediately.
The problem for UMaine is that its schedule is packed with 12 of its 17 home games before Christmas.
It has four more before the holiday break as well as a game in Portland against UMass Lowell.
UMaine is 6-2 at home.
The new year begins with seven of its first eight on the road.
The Black Bears travel to Boston College this Friday and Saturday night to face a surging Eagles team that has won four in a row.
After that, there is an off weekend before two home games vs. New Hampshire (Dec. 5-6), a Wednesday night game (Dec. 10) in Portland against UMass Lowell and a Saturday-Sunday home set vs. Lindenwood (Dec. 13-14).
UMaine needs a strong first-half finish before attacking the grueling January schedule that includes two-game series at Denver, Providence and UMass Lowell and one game at BU after UMaine’s only home game of the month vs. Providence.
The Black Bears are catching a break by not having to play two games at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena, which is being torn down, and instead playing one in Portland and the other in Lowell on Feb. 27, 28, respectively.
