For the second consecutive weekend, the University of Maine men’s hockey team was unable to complete a weekend sweep after a lopsided first-game victory.
The University of Vermont received an early third-period goal from junior left wing Daniel Sambuco to break a 1-1 tie and junior goalie Alex Mangbo made 44 saves as the Catamounts beat the Black Bears 2-1 after losing to them 7-0 on Friday night.
UMaine beat UMass 6-2 in the previous series before losing 4-0 the next night.
Vermont is now 4-6 overall and 2-4 in Hockey East while Maine fell to 7-4-1 and 4-2.
Sophomore right wing Max Strand staked the Catamounts to a 1-0 lead with a first-period power play goal before freshman left wing Will Gerrior equalized for the Black Bears in the second period.
Sambuco scored his first goal of the season and fourth career goal in 46 games at the 1:29 mark of the third period.
UMaine’s Josh Nadeau turned the puck over in the offensive zone which enabled the Catamounts to break down the ice on a three-on-two with linemates Dawson Good and Jonah Aegerter.
Sambuco received a pass in the left faceoff circle and one-timed a wrister past UMaine goalie Albin Boija into the short side corner.
Gerrior nearly tied it but he hit the far post with a Brandon Chabrier rebound.
The Black Bears stormed the Catamount net with the extra attacker over the final two minutes but couldn’t get the puck past Mangbo.
Gerrior tied it off a breakaway at the 14:44 mark.
He pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone and put on a burst of speed to separate himself from a Catamount and break in alone on Mangbo.
The puck rolled ahead of him but he stretched out to corral it and then moved it from his forehand to his backhand and was able to squeeze the puck past Mangbo’s left skate.
It was Gerrior’s second goal of the season and ended a string of eight games without a point.
The Catamounts snapped a scoreless streak of 133 minutes and 41 seconds when Strand scored at the 9:02 mark of the first period.
Strand had scored the last UVM goal late in the third period of a 2-1 loss to Boston College and it was also a power play goal.
There was a scramble in front of the net and the puck rolled along the extended goal line to the left of Boija.
Cedrick Guindon chased down the puck and backhanded a pass to the top of the crease where Strand swatted it past the right skate of Boija.
Boija finished with 26 saves.
