Box Score Shapiro Stops 29 Shots, Six Players Score Goals
GORHAM, Maine -- Sophomore goalie Kyle Shapiro (Ocean, N.J.) stopped 29 shots, including 17 in the third period, to backstop the University of Southern Maine men's ice hockey team to a 6-2 victory over the University of New England in New England Hockey Conference action Friday night at the USM Ice Arena.
The win was the second straight for the Huskies who improved to 3-2-0 overall and 2-1-0 in the league. The Nor'easters dropped their second straight to slide to 1-2-1 overall and 1-2-0 in NEHC play.
Shapiro protected the Huskies' lead in the third period as the Nor'easters pressed their attack trying to get back into the game. Down 3-1, UNE got back to within one goal when senior Tom Gildersleeve (Pemaquid Point, Maine) deposited the rebound of junior Nick Wirth's (Ashburn, Va.) shot behind Shapiro at 4:33. That would be the only shot to get past Shapiro in the period.
Senior Bob Ganley (Weymouth, Mass.) provided some breathing room for the Huskies at 10:40 when he tallied an unassisted short-handed marker to make it 4-2. The Huskies went down 5-on-3 after the goal, but were able to kill off the UNE power play.
The Huskies added empty-net goals by sophomore Brett Norman (Dawson Creek, B.C.) and rookie Parker Sanderson (Bangor, Maine) in the final two minutes to account for the 6-2 final tally.
UNE grabbed a 1-0 lead at 7:58 of the opening period scoring a power-play goal. Rookie Dylan Bengston (Coral Springs, Fla.) potted his second goal of the season converting a pass from junior Blaise Healy (Melrose, Mass.).
The Huskies equalized at 10:13 as senior Todd Bannerman (Georgetown, Ont.) tipped home a shot from senior PM Lapointe (St. Georges, Que.) for his third goal. The Huskies took advantage of their first power play of the night at 12:36 as junior Cole Klippenstein (Franklin, Tenn.) one-timed a shot from the blue line past UE senior goalie Mason Riley (Turnersville, N.J.).
USM scored the only goal of the second period at 12:41 when Lapointe's low drive from the blue line through a screen resulted in the Huskies second power-play goal of the night. Ganley and senior Daniel Mattsson (Uppsala, Sweden) picked up the assists on the play. Through two fast-paced periods, the shots were 13-13.
UNE finished the game with a 31-20 edge in shots on goal. Riley stopped 14 of 18 shots before being lifted for the extra attacker.
Southern Maine will be at home next weekend hosting a pair of nationally ranked teams. USM will take on Babson College on Friday (7:00 p.m.) and the University of Massachusetts Boston on Saturday (4:00 p.m.). UNE will play UMass Boston on Friday (7:00 p.m.) and Babson on Saturday (4:00 p.m.).
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