Poor penalty killing has been a major issue for the University of Maine’s hockey team and it cost the Black Bears again on Friday night.
Fifteenth-ranked Boston College scored on both of its power play chances in the first period to take a lead it would never relinquish, and the Eagles went on to post a 7-3 Hockey East victory over the 10th-ranked Black Bears at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
It was the fourth time this season UMaine has given up multiple power play goals in a game.
It was Boston College’s fifth straight win and UMaine’s third loss in its last four games.
BC improved to 7-4-1 overall and 5-2 in Hockey East while defending Hockey East tournament champ UMaine is 7-5-1 and 4-3.
BC is now 6-1-1 in its last eight games against UMaine at the Conte Forum.
The two teams will conclude their two-game set on Saturday night at 7.
BC freshman goalie Louka Cloutier finished with 35 saves on 38 shots while UMaine junior Albin Boija finished with 21 saves on 27 shots. The last BC goal was an empty-netter.
BC never trailed, building a 3-0 lead.
The Black Bears rallied to within one on two occasions but BC always answered with a goal of its own and pulled away later in the third period.
Sophomore centers and Boston Bruins first-round National Hockey League draft choices Dean Letourneau and James Hagens scored 6:26 apart in the first period to stake the Eagles to a 2-0 lead.
Freshman right wing Landan Resendes expanded the lead with a breakaway goal in the second period before UMaine senior left wing Owen Fowler got the Black Bears on the scoreboard later in the period.
Junior right wing Charlie Russell cut the lead to 3-2 20 seconds into the third period before Hagens restored the two-goal lead 3:12 later.
Freshman left wing Justin Poirier’s power play goal at the 8:53 mark again pulled the Black Bears within one but junior right wing and New Hampshire transfer Ryan Conmy and sophomore left wing Teddy Stiga iced it with goals two minutes apart later in the period.
Conway added an empty-net goal.
The Black Bears dominated the early going but couldn’t convert their dominance into a goal and the Eagles’ Letourneau, the 25th overall pick in the 2024 draft, opened the scoring at the 11:16 mark off a faceoff play with the man advantage.
Jake Sondreal won a faceoff in the left circle cleanly back to Letourneau and his quick wrist shot beat UMaine goalie Albin Boija and went in off the crossbar.
It was Letourneau’s fifth goal of the season.
Hagens’ goal was also his fifth and came off a nice feed from defenseman Lukas Gustafsson, who faked a shot at the midpoint before sliding it over to Hagens for a one-timer in the right circle that beat Boija to the short side.
Gustafsson is the son of Marcus Gustafsson, whose overtime goal gave UMaine a 3-2 win over New Hampshire in the 1999 NCAA championship game in Anaheim, California.
Resendes made it 3-0 at the 6:17 mark of the middle period when Will Moore flipped the puck out of the defensive zone and Resendes broke in alone before moving the puck from his backhand to his forehand and tucking the puck past Boija.
It was his second of the season.
Fowler notched his fifth goal of the season at the 13:05 mark when he was set up nicely on a cross-ice pass from Frank Djurasevic. He just shoveled the puck into the short side corner past the helpless Cloutier.
Russell collected his third of the season off a pass from behind the net by Poirier but Hagens answered with a tap-in off a pass from Sondreal off a two-on-one.
Poirier picked up his 11th with a screened wrist shot from the left circle and the Black Bears generated some chances but couldn’t get the equalizer and Conmy fired a one-timer past Boija from the left circle off a cross-ice pass from Luka Radivojevic and Stiga jammed home a rebound from the crease.
