March 10, 2006

ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine men's ice hockey team defeated UMass Lowell on a goal by Keith Johnson less than a minute into overtime on Friday night at Alfond Arena. Maine had two goals by Greg Moore and one by Derek Damon in addition to Johnson's, while the Riverhawks had goals by Jason Tejchma, Jeremy Hall and Nick Monroe. Ben Bishop had 21 saves in the win and Peter Vetri had 34 saves in the loss. Maine is now 25-10-2 on the season, while UMass Lowell is 14-19-2 on the season. Maine has taken a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

"This was a great hockey game," said Maine head coach Tim Whitehead. "I am happy that Keith was the one who scored the goal, because he works hard out their all the time and has not scored many this season. Greg Moore was great tonight at the net front and all of our upperclassmen played great games. Tomorrow night, we need to be more disciplined and play better team defense as we gave up too many great chances."

There were three power plays in the first seven minutes of the game, two for Maine and a short three-second advantage for UMass Lowell. Maine started their third power play of the night at 8:33 into the period. However it was the Riverhawks who capitalized on a turnover as Jason Tejchma went in for the unassisted goal at 8:47. It took one more power play chance for the Black Bears to tie the game when Greg Moore (Lisbon, Maine) scored at 13:20 with assists by Josh Soares (Hamilton, Ontario) and Michel Léveillé (Levis, Quebec). Maine added an even-strength goal at 17:23 when Derek Damon (Bangor, Maine) took advantage of a bad pass in front of the net by the Riverhawks and scored an unassisted goal. In the first period, Maine had a nine to six lead on shots.

The penalties continued in the second period, as neither team could gain momentum. Maine had a short five-on-three at the midpoint of the period, but were unable to capitalize despite strong shots by Simon Danis-Pepin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec) and Keenan Hopson (Prince George, B.C.). With 48 seconds remaining in the period, the Riverhawks tied the game at 2-2 when Jeremy Hall scored with assists from Bobby Robins and J.R. Bria. As time expired, a minor brawl broke out, which resulted in five penalties being handed out and giving UMass Lowell a power play to start the third period. Maine had a fifteen to seven lead on shots in the period.

Shortly after the Riverhawks power play ended, Nick Monroe took advantage of a Maine turnover and scored an unassisted goal at 2:24 to take a 3-2 lead. Maine started their eighth power play of the game at 9:31 and wasted little time in getting the equalizer. Greg Moore scored with assists from Derek Damon and Josh Soares on the power play goal. Both teams continued to get good looks at the net, including a shot by Andrew Martin that was saved by Ben Bishop (Des Peres, Mo.) at the twelve minute mark. At the end of the period, Maine had a thirteen to eleven lead on shots, but the game continued to overtime.

The Black Bears wasted little time in the extra session as Billy Ryan (Milton, Mass.) took the puck up the boards and centered a pass to Keith Johnson (Windsor, Conn.) who buried the shot. The game-winner was at the 51 second mark and was also assisted by Michel Léveillé on the goal.

In goal, Maine's Ben Bishop allowed three goals and had 21 saves. For UMass Lowell, Peter Vetri had four goals against and 34 saves. Maine had ten penalties for 20 minutes and UMass Lowell had fourteen penalties for 28 minutes. On power plays, Maine was 2-8 and UMass Lowell was 0-4. For the game, Maine outshot the Riverhawks 38 to 24. With two goals, Greg Moore became the 45th Black Bear to reach the 100 point milestone.

Maine and UMass Lowell will play the second game of the best-of-three series will begin on Saturday, March 11 at 7:00 pm. The game will be televised in the Bangor market on WABI-TV 5 and online at www.watchmainesports.com. Tickets for the series are still available at the Alfond Arena box office. For more information on University of Maine athletics or tickets, visit www.GoBlackBears.com or call 581-BEAR.