GORHAM, Maine – The University of New England Nor'easters defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies by a score of 7-2 on Friday night in Gorham in a non-conference men's ice hockey game. Ryan Kuzmich had a hat trick and an assist and Dominic Murphy also had a four-point night with a goal and three helpers. The Huskies had goals from sophomore Marcus Torgner (Mjolby, Sweden) and senior Zach Desmarais (St. Cyrille, Quebec).
 
The game was Southern Maine's second annual Teddy Bear Toss night and Husky fans showering the ice with teddy bears and stuffed animals after Torgner's goal. Torgner also scored the goal to trigger the rain of teddy bears in last year's game.
 
The Records:
UNE: 7-4-1
Southern Maine: 2-5-1
 
Series History:
The two teams have now played 34 times with the Huskies leading the series 20-13-1.
 
The Goaltenders:
UNE: Joey Stanizzi (5-3-0), 53:11, two goals allowed, 15 saves
UNE: Stefan Kulhanek: 6:40, no goals allowed, three saves
Southern Maine: Mason Palmer (1-5-0), 40:00, six goals allowed, 21 saves
Southern Maine: Jacob Kindestin: 20:00, one goal allowed, 10 saves
 
How It Happened:

• UNE had two goals in the first seven minutes of play with the goals coming less than 90 seconds apart. Murphy and Kuzmich recorded the goals.
• The Nor'easters went up 3-0 thanks to a Drew Olivieri goal 1:34 into the second but Torgner's goal cut the score to 3-1 just under seven minutes into the period. Sophomore Kayde Kinaschuk (Calgary, Alberta) and freshman Danny Caputo (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) had the assists.
• UNE added goals from Juraj Elias and Jayden Price and another from Kuzmich before the period came to an end to take a 6-1 lead.
• Kuzmich completed his hat trick with a goal 1:33 into the third period after Kindestin replaced Palmer in goal. The Huskies made the score 7-2 with a short-handed goal by Desmarais with an assist by junior Conor Donovan (Nahant, Mass./Swampscott). The goal is his first career short-handed goal.
• Kindestin stopped 10 shots in the final period.

 
Inside The Stats:

• UNE was 0-for-3 on power plays and the Huskies were 0-for-4.
• UNE led 38-20 in shots on goal.
• Southern Maine led 15-11 in blocked shots led by three apiece by juniors Cole Brennan (Sussex, N.J./ Pomfret School) and Kadin Ilott (Kenora, Ontario).

 
Up Next:
The Huskies will return to action in January with a home game against Bowdoin College on Saturday, January 4 at 4:00 pm.