University of Maine freshman left winger Thomas Freel snapped a 14-game goalless drought at a perfect time.
Freel scored with 20 seconds left in regulation to give the Black Bears a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the University of Alaska Anchorage at the Alfond Arena.
The teams will conclude their series on Saturday at 5 p.m.
UMaine improved to 7-9-2 overall while UAA fell to 4-13.
Sophomore center Nolann Renwick and sophomore defenseman David Breazeale picked up assists on Freel’s second goal of the season.
Breazeale rushed the puck into the UAA zone and got the puck to Renwick.
Renwick came out of the corner with the puck and passed it back to Breazeale, whose shot deflected over to Freel in the middle of the slot.
Freel spun around to his left and snapped a 22-foot wrist shot past UAA goalie Joey Lamoreaux’s glove.
Freel had hit the post earlier in the period, as did UAA’s Maximillion Helgeson.
Victor Ostman, the reigning Hockey East Goalie of the Month, made 25 saves for his third shutout of the season and Lamoreaux finished with 40 stops.
The Black Bears spent most of the first period in the Alaska Anchorage zone, outshooting the Seawolves 20-5.
But they couldn’t parlay that dominance into a goal as Lamoreaux made a number of quality saves and his teammates did a nice job clearing rebounds and tying up Black Bear sticks in front to limit second-chance opportunities.
UMaine’s Didrik Henbrant put the puck in the back of the net off a Donavan Houle cross-crease pass but he kicked the puck in so it was waved off by the referees.
The Seawolves, who arrived in Bangor on Tuesday after sweeping UMass Lowell last weekend in Lowell, played much better in the second period and outshot UMaine 15-12.
Ostman came up with some key saves including a breakaway stop off Ben Almquist, who was sent in alone by Helgeson.