Dec. 11, 2004

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Maine men's ice hockey team was defeated by Harvard 4-1 on Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd of 2,776 at Bright Arena. Harvard took advantage of two power play goals in the second period and a third power play goal in the third period. Maine, ranked tenth in the nation, is now 10-7-2 (6-3-1 Hockey East) and Harvard is 9-3-1 on the season (6-3-1 in ECAC).

"They converted on chances tonight and we did not despite getting some chances," said head coach Tim Whitehead. "I think they outworked us early, which is when most games are won. They set the tone and got to rebounds, which we did not. I am very impressed with their team and their senior class should get to their fourth NCAA Tournament this season."

In the first period, the Crimson had the first good look at the net when a shot by Charlie Johnson hit the right post three minutes into the game. At 4:06, Jon Pelle took a shot that rebounded out to Johnson who put the puck past Jimmy Howard for the goal. The shots picked up for the Black Bears in the second half of the period, as Derek Damon (Bangor, Maine) had a chance off a feed from Billy Ryan (Milton, Mass.). Maine also had scoring chances by Brent Shepheard (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia) off a face-off and a shot by Michel Léveillé that rebounded to Keenan Hopson (Prince George, British Columbia) whose shot was saved by Dov Grumet-Morris. In the period, Harvard outshot Maine 13 to 12.

Maine had their first power play of the game early in the second period and the Black Bears were able to get two quality chances as Hopson and Shepheard both first shots at Grumet-Morris. However the Crimson took advantage of their next power play opportunity as Kevin Du scored with assists by Noah Welch and Peter Hafner at 5:56 into the period. Maine's next power play included several strong chances that were saved by Grumet-Morris to kill the advantage. The Crimson took advantage of their next power play as well, as Andrew Lederman scored from the top of the left circle with assists by Pelle and Cavanagh at 16:02. With 1:46 remaining in the period, several punches were thrown after the whistle, resulting in several penalties on both teams and a power play for the Crimson. In the period, Maine had a 14 to 9 advantage on shots.

With the Black Bears back on the power play in the third period, Greg Moore (Lisbon, Maine) and Tory Barnes (Pembroke, Ontario) both had shots at net. On a Crimson power play at the nine minute mark, Maine had two shorthanded one-on-one chances by Steve Mullin (Cartwright, Manitoba) and Léveillé that were saved by Grumet-Morris. But the Crimson took advantage yet again of a power play as a shot by Dan Murphy was saved by Howard and rebounded to Johnson who scored at 12:39. Du was also credit with an assist. The Black Bears avoid the shutout with a goal at 18:52 on the power play as Hopson scored with assists by Mike Hamilton (Victoria, British Columbia) and Shepheard. In the third, Maine outshot Harvard 14-6.

In goal, Maine's Jimmy Howard (Ogdensburg, N.Y.) had four goals against and 24 saves. For the Crimson, Dov Grumet-Morris (Evanston, Ill.) had one goal against and 39 saves. Maine had 9 penalties for 18 minutes and Harvard had 7 for 14 minutes. On power plays, Maine was 1-8 and Harvard was 3-7. For the game, Maine outshot Harvard 40 to 24. Maine is now 0-3 all-time at the Bright Center.

The Black Bears travel south for the Florida College Classic in Estero, Florida, facing St. Cloud State on December 28 at 4:00 pm and either Cornell or Boston College on December 29. For tickets or more information, please call 207-581-BEAR or visit www.GoBlackBears.com.