ESTERO, Fla. — The University of Maine men’s ice hockey team shut out Minnesota Duluth 1-0 on Friday night in the first round of the 2012 Florida College Classic. The game was a rematch of Maine’s 2012 NCAA Regional game. Martin Ouellette (St.-Hippolyte, Quebec) was outstanding for the Black Bears, stopping all 31 shots that he faced in goal.
The two teams skated through a scoreless first period. Both teams registered eight shots on goal in the frame.
Maine took a 1-0 lead at 13:26 of the second period. Steven Swavely (Reading, Pa.) chipped the puck up to Ryan Lomberg (Richmond Hill, Ontario), who was just stepping out of the penalty box. Lomberg skated in alone on Minnesota Duluth goalie Matt McNeely, beating him for his first collegiate goal. The goal was short-handed, as Maine had just killed off a five-on-three.Maine goalie Martin Ouellette also picked up an assist on the play as he directed the puck to Swavely.
Maine nearly added an insurance goal in the final minute, but Bill Norman’s (Stockholm, Sweden) shot deflected off the goal post twice, with McNeely pulled in favor of an extra attacker.
Minnesota Duluth outshot Maine 31-22 in the game. Both teams finished the game 0-for-5 on the power play.
Ouellette recorded his first shutout of the season and second of his career with the win. He improves to 2-5-2 on the season. McNeely made 21 saves and falls to 5-5-1.
Maine improves to 3-11-2 on the season, while Minnesota Duluth falls to 7-9-3.
Maine returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 29 when it faces Cornell in the championship game of the 2012 Florida College Classic. The Black Bears, which won the title in 2011, look to defend the championship. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
