Union men's hockey can't score on late major power play, falls to Maine

PHOTOGRAPHER: Erica Miller

Matt Allen scored a goal in Union's 4-3 loss to Maine on Saturday.

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The situation was perfect for Union.

Down by a goal, the Dutchmen got a five-minute power play with 5:32 left in the third period when Donavan Villeneuve-Houle was called for an elbowing penalty.

But Union didn’t generate much with the advantage, and Maine was able to hold on for a 4-3 victory on Saturday at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine.

The Dutchmen (5-9-3) had only two shots on the major power play, and those came late in the advantage. Union struggled to set up in the Maine zone.

“I thought [Maine] switched it up there [on the penalty kill],” Union head coach Rick Bennett said. “They became really aggressive. They took away a lot of [shooting] lanes. We wanted to pass it around a little bit to try to look for a set, but it never came. Just a credit to them.”

Dutchmen goalie Connor Murphy wasn’t pulled for an extra attacker during the major until just over a minute left. Bennett wanted to do it sooner.

“It didn’t come to fruition there,” Bennett said. “When the opportune time came, we did. It is what it is.”

Keenan Suthers scored twice for the Black Bears (2-11-4), including the game-winner with 10:35 left in the third period that snapped a 3-3 tie.

Union took a 1-0 lead when Chaz Semdsrud tipped a Ryan Sidorski right-point shot past goalie Victor Ostman at 3:22 of the first period. The Black Bears tied it 2:21 later when Suthers beat goalie Connor Murphy on a backhander during a 2-on-1 break.

Maine took the lead later in the period on Ben Poisson’s power-play goal, the first Union had allowed in seven games. The Dutchmen had killed off 19 consecutive penalties.

Nolan Renwick made it 3-1 just over two minutes into the second period.

The Dutchmen rallied in the third period. First, Caden Villegas intercepted a clearing pass by Maine goalie Victor Ostman and fired it into the net 1:38 into the third. Matt Allen tied it at 7:22 when he put in the rebound of a Villegas shot.

The Dutchmen head into their break on a three-game winless streak. When they return to play on New Year’s Eve, it will be the first of a two-game series against defending national champion UMass.

Union 1 0 2 — 3
Maine 2 1 1 — 4
First Period — 1, Union, Smedsrud 2 (Sidorski, Villegas), 3:22. 2, Maine, Suthers 2 (Poissant, Sirota), 6:43. 3, Maine, Poisson 3 (Villeneuve-Houle, Breen), 13:19 (pp). Penalties — Sidorski, Uni (tripping), 12:01; Drobot, Maine (high-sticking), 16:34.
Second Period — 4, Maine, Renwick 1 (Sirota, Breazele), 2:05. Penalties — Graf, Uni (holding), 15:03.
Third Period — 5, Union, Villegas 1, 1:38. 6, Union, Allen 1 (Villegas, Smedsrud), 7:22. 7, Maine Suthers 3 (Bruneski, Renwick), 9:25. Penalties — Villeneuve-Houle, Maine, major-game misconduct (elbowing), 14:28.
Shots on Goal — Union 11-10-9 — 30. Maine 23-10-9 — 42.
Power-play opportunities — Union 0 of 2; Maine 1 of 2.
Goalies — Union, Murphy 5-8-2 (42 shots-38 saves). Maine, Ostman 2-6-1 (30-27).
A — 3,065.
Referees — Eugene Binda Jr., Ryan Sweeney. Linesmen — Trevor Disbennett, Shane Kanaly.

RPI 4, ALASKA FAIRBANKS 1
Simon Kjellberg had a goal and an assist in the first period Friday as the Engineers beat the Nanooks in the first game of their four-game series in Fairbanks, Alaska.

RPI goalie Linden Marshall made 34 saves.

RPI 2 0 2 — 4
Alaska Fairbanks 0 0 1 — 1
First Period — 1, RPI, Hallbauer (Kjellberg, Dubinsky), 13:44. 2, RPI, Kjellberg (Beaton, Linden), 16:59 (pp). Penalties — Komuls, AF (tripping), 5:11; Bergmanis, AF (interference), 7:26; Bergmanis, AF (tripping), 13:01; Beaton, RPI (tripping), 13:09; Kjellberg, RPI (slashing), 13:58; Rubtsov, RPI (tripping), 16:22.
Second Period — None. Penalties — Agnew, RPI, major-game misconduct (hitting from behind), 9:35.
Third Period — 3, RPI, Addamo (Brackett), 1:21. 4, Alaska Fairbanks, Pyke (Fornaa-Svennsosn, Dubois), 16:29 (pp). 5, RPI, Lee (Leppanen), 19:50 (en). Penalties — Lee, RPI (slashing), 6:49; Johnson, RPI (cross-checking), 11:50; Klee, RPI (holding), 15:46.
Shots on Goal — RPI 10-5-11 — 26. Alaska Fairbanks 8-10-17 — 35.
Power-play opportunities — Franklin Pierce 0 of 4; Union 3 of 4.
Goalies — Franklin Pierce, Ostrander 3-6-0 (48 shots-44 saves). Union, Matsoukas 2-4-0 (20-20).
A — 142.
Referees — Peirce Marston, Tim Holtz. Linesmen — Evan Kehoe, Coby Munson.