GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine Huskies had five goals from five different players in a 5-4 win over the Plymouth State University Panthers on Saturday afternoon to jump to the top spot in the Little East Conference standings. Senior John Hagan (Canton, Mass./Tilton School) and junior Ethan MacDuff (Lloydminster, Alberta) each had two points with Hagan logging a goal and an assist and MacDuff recording two helpers. The Huskies now lead the Little East Conference with 17 points and a 5-1-1 record in conference play.
 
Sophomore Owen Arend (Palmetto, Fla./Kents Hill School) and freshman Ben Aucoin (Moncton, New Brunswick) each scored their second goal of the weekend, while Hunter Svicki (Toronto, Ontario) potted his first goal as a Husky. Freshman Nick Vinson (Brewer, Maine) also had a goal.
 
Freshman Loic Morin (Drummondville, Quebec) made a career-high 50 saves to earn the win.
 
The Records:
Plymouth State: 8-7-0 (5-3-0 LEC)
Southern Maine: 7-6-1 (5-1-1 LEC)
 
Series History:
Today's game was the first between the Huskies and Panthers since November 25, 2008. The teams have now played 41 times with the Huskies leading the series 20-19-2.
 
The Goaltenders:
PSU: Connor Strobel (4-4-0), 57:49, five goals allowed, 32 saves
Southern Maine: Loic Morin (6-5-1): 60:00, three goals allowed, 50 saves
 
How It Happened:

• The first period saw three goals in the first five minutes of action. Huskies struck first as Vinsion gave the hosts an early lead 2:15 into the contest. However, the Panthers countered with back-to-back goals by Lucas Jones and Payton Schaly to go ahead 2-1. Morin made 18 saves in the period.
• Aucoin tied the game at 2-2 by driving home a loose puck for his 13th goal of the season with just over five and half minutes to go in the second period. Hagan and senior Kadin Ilott (Kenora, Ontario) recorded the assists.
• Southern Maine broke the 2-2 tie on a power play goal by Arend from MacDuff and junior Adrian Jubran (Knoxville, Tenn./James Madison) 6:06 into the third period. A blast by Etienne Mathieu tied the game once again at 3-3 with 11:20 left to go before Hagan put the Huskies back ahead with 10:00 to go with a snipe after a feed by sophomore Isaac Grondin (Yarmouth, Maine). The Huskies then added another goal 1:19 later when Svicki scored on the rebound of a shot by junior Kayde Kinaschuk (Calgary, Alberta).
• The Panthers made the score 5-4 with eight seconds to go on Schaly's second tally of the game but the clock soon ran out on their comeback attempt.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Plymouth State led 54-37 in shots on goal and 43-23 in faceoff wins.
• Southern Maine went 1-for-2 on the power play and the Panthers were 0-for-2.

 
Up Next:
The next game for the Huskies will be an away contest against UMass Boston on Friday, January 16 at 7:00 pm.