ORONO – Senior defenseman David Breazeale’s goal 4:51 into the third period gave the seventh-ranked University of Maine hockey team a come-from-behind 2-1 win over defending national champ and sixth-ranked Denver at a sold-out Alfond Arena on Saturday night.
The win gave UMaine a split of the two-game series after Denver had triumphed 2-1 on Friday night.
UMaine is now 13-4-2 and the Black Bears snapped a four-game losing streak at the hands of the Pioneers.
Denver is now 15-5.
Breazeale’s goal came in a four-on-four situation.
Breazeale carried the puck down the left wing and dropped it for Harrison Scott, who took a shot that was blocked by Breazeale.
“It went off my stick and fell down in front of me and I was able to put it in,” said Breazeale, who fired the puck past Denver standout goalie Matt Davis, who finished with 44 saves in an exceptional performance.
It was Breazeale’s second goal of the season and both have been game-winners.
Davis kept the Pioneers in the game especially during the first two periods when Maine had a 39-11 edge in shots on goal.
Denver generated some chances in the third and outshot Maine 10-7 making the final total 46-21.
UMaine sophomore goalie Albin Boija preserved the win with a great glove save off Jack Devine in the final minute of play after Denver pulled Davis in favor of the extra attacker.
Boija finished with 20 stops.
The teams swapped late first-period goals as UMaine senior center Scott’s goal with 2.7 seconds left canceled out Denver sophomore left wing Sam Harris’ game-opening score.
The Black Bears’ Bodie Nobes and Jack Dalton nearly gave them the lead in the second period.
Nobes skated onto a loose puck at the top of the right faceoff circle and sizzled a slap shot that rang loudly off the crossbar.
A few minutes later, Dalton wristed a shot from the point through traffic that hit the post.
Harris opened the scoring for Denver at the 15:33 mark of the first period.
The nation’s best power play (29.6 percent entering the game) came through for the second time in three chances on the weekend.
After Boija made a point-blank save, the puck wound up on the stick of Devine at the top of the left circle and the nation’s leader in points with 27 and assists with 25 threaded the needle with a diagonal pass to the far post where Harris simply had to tap it in for his 12th goal of the season and sixth on the power play.
Scott tied it for UMaine with his 13th with just 2.7 seconds left in the period.
Junior defenseman Brandon Chabrier skated onto a loose puck at the top of the left faceoff circle and ripped a hard shot that hit Davis’ blocker and dropped into the crease.
Charlie Russell whacked at the rebound and the puck trickled along the goal line and hugged the post.
“I just wanted to make sure it was in,” said Scott who jammed it over the goal line from a wild melee in front.
“That was huge for our momentum and carried us the rest of the game,” said Breazeale.
The Black Bears rebounded impressively after losing Friday night’s game on a goal by Denver defenseman Cale Ashcroft with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.
“It was a good response after last night,” said Breazeale. “The big difference between last night and tonight was each guy was going (well). We could trust every guy to make a heavy and hard play. That’s what you need out of a championship team.”
Breazeale said they felt they had to get to Denver’s net and box out better in front of UMaine’s net and be more tenacious in the corners. “And we were able to do that tonight for just about the whole 60 minutes,” he said.
“It was an inspirational effort from our team tonight,” said UMaine head coach Ben Barr. “After last night, it could have gone one way or the other and it went the right way as far as the reaction and response to it.
“Our leaders had the guys ready. (Friday’s loss) could have been a demoralizing game and it wasn’t which was a good sign,” added Barr.
Denver assistant coach Dallas Ferguson, filling in for head coach David Carle who is coaching Team USA in the world junior championships in Ottawa, said the first period was competitive but Maine “took it to us in the second period. We were just trying to hang on and our guys did a good job bending but not breaking. We didn’t give up one.
“We got things going a little bit in the third period but they ultimately scored the last one,” added Ferguson.
He said UMaine was good on the forecheck.
“When they had some sustained pressure, they won a lot of battles. They work really hard along the walls,” said Ferguson.
Ferguson praised his goalie, saying Davis is a “championship caliber goalie and he gave us a chance to win.”
UMaine will return to Hockey East play with a series at UMass Lowell next Friday and Saturday nights while Denver will entertain Miami-Ohio both nights.
