A costly University of Maine turnover in overtime enabled the University of Connecticut’s Ty Amonte to steal the puck at center ice and beat Black Bear goalie Victor Ostman on a break-in to give UConn a 3-2 Hockey East OT win over UMaine at the XL Center in Hartford on Friday night.
Eighth-ranked UConn improved to 8-1-1 overall and 5-1 in Hockey East, while UMaine fell to 2-5-1 and 0-2-1.
The teams will play again on Saturday at 4.
Amonte’s goal was the Boston University transfer’s fourth of the season after he scored just 16 in 97 games at BU, where his father Tony played before he racked up 900 career points in 1,174 regular season NHL games.
UMaine defenseman and captain Jakub Sirota staked UMaine to a 1-0 lead in the first period with his first goal of the season.
UConn’s Chase Bradley tied it with his fourth of the season 33 seconds into the second period and Tabor Heaslip notched his first 8:36 later to give the Huskies the lead before UMaine’s Justin Michaelian collected his first at the 14:35 mark.
There was no scoring in the third period.
Sirota scored with a screened shot from the point off a Nolan Renwick rebound halfway through the first period.
Thomas Freel also assisted on the goal.
Bradley tied it by swatting home the rebound of a Harrison Rees shot.
Heaslip capitalized on a loose puck in front of the UMaine net as he guided it past Ostman.
Ferris State transfer Michaelian tied it up by snapping a wrister past UConn goalie Logan Terness after Michael Mancinelli won a face-off to Brandon Chabrier and he left the puck for Michaelian.
Ostman finished with 32 saves while Terness registered 21 for the Huskies, who are coached by former Bowdoin College football and hockey captain and Boston College assistant Mike Cavanaugh.
“We found another way to lose,” said UMaine second-year head coach Ben Barr. “We imploded in overtime. We had two bad turnovers. It was a lack of execution. It’s disappointing.”
