GORHAM, Maine -- Junior Jon Grandinetti (Ottawa, Ontario) scored with 2:04 remaining in regulation to snap a 1-1 tie and the University of Southern Maine Huskies went on to defeat the Bowdoin College Polar Bears, 3-1, in a non-conference men's ice hockey game Tuesday night at the USM Ice Arena.

            The win was the third straight for the Huskies who get back to .500 at 4-4-0 overall.  The Polar Bears dropped their second straight game to slip back to .500 at 3-3-1 overall.  The two teams will meet again at Bowdoin on January 24.

            Entering the third period trailing 1-0, the Huskies scored three times to take the victory.  Sophomore Angelo Vrachnas (St. James, N.Y.) tied the game at 4:58 potting a power-play goal from in tight in front of Bowdoin senior goalie Rich Nerland (Calgary, Alberta).  Grandinetti and junior David Nies (Brookline, Mass.) picked up the assists.

            With the specter of overtime looming, Grandinetti whipped a shot from the left wing circle through a screen inside the far post for what proved to be the game-winning goal.  Vrachnas and rookie Ryan Seward (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) earned the assists.  Seward capped off the Huskies' third-period rally with an empty-net goal with 39 seconds to play.

            The Polar Bears grabbed an early 1-0 lead when sophomore Ollie Koo (Greenwich, Conn.) scored a power-play goal at 3:03 of the opening period.  Koo's shot from 40 feet out found its way through a maze of players in front of USM sophomore goaltender Braely Torris (Eckville, Alberta) and into the net for his first goal of the season.  Rookies John McGinnis (Cocoa, Fla.) and Tim Coffey (Cumberland, R.I.) were credited with the assists.

            Nerland, who finished the game with 28 saves, protected the lead for two period making 19 saves over the first 40 minutes.  Torris registered 31 saves to earn his fourth win of the season.

            Southern Maine is off until December 31 when it will play SUNY Potsdam in the first round of the Middlebury Holiday Classic.  Bowdoin returns home this weekend to play a pair of NESCAC games against Tufts University on Friday (7:00 p.m.) and Connecticut College on Saturday (4:00 p.m.).

-ble-