UNH Loses 4-2, Splits Weekend Series with Maine

Casey DeSmith - 65-Save Weekend

On Friday night at the Whittemore Center, junior goalie Casey DeSmith backstopped a dramatic 3-2 victory over the University of Maine with 32 saves. 24 hours and 200 miles later, DeSmith stopped another 33 shots at the Alfond Arena in Orono and gave UNH an opportunity to sweep the weekend series. But on the strength of a 4-point effort by sophomore Devin Shore, Maine scored three, third-period goals to earn a split. Both teams are battling for home-ice advantage in the Hockey East Playoffs. With the win, Maine improves their conference record to 6-4-2 while UNH ends the weekend with a 6-6-0 record.

1st Period

15:44 - Brett Pesce Scores Power Play Goal - UNH 1, Maine 0
~ With Hobey Baker candidate Trevor van Riemsdyk out of the lineup for 4 to 6 weeks with a broken left ankle, sophomore defenseman and Carolina Hurricanes 3rd-Round pick Brett Pesce cranked his offensive game up a notch. Pesce joined Captain Eric Knodel at the points of UNH's first power play unit.
~ UNH went on the power play just over 3 minutes after the opening faceoff. Early in the PP, Pesce pinched in to keep the puck in the Maine zone.
~ Shortly after, Kevin Goumas gathered the puck at the half-wall and fed Pesce at the top of the umbrella just inside the blueline - TvR's usual position. Pesce rifled a slap shot beating Maine goalie Martin Ouellette. It was Pesce 2nd goal of the season.



13:32 - Devin Shore Gets Maine on the Board - UNH 1, Maine 1
~ An instant before Shore scored, DeSmith dodged a Maine player sprawling into the UNH net and side-stepped Jay Camper who fell over backward into the crease.
~ Shore collected a rebound at the top of the faceoff circle, wheeled, and beat DeSmith with a wrister.

2nd Period

14:14 - DeSmith Makes Key Saves - UNH 1, Maine 1
~ With Maine maintaining puck possession in the UNH zone, Casey DeSmith stops a point-blank shot by freshman Blaine Byron.



5:46 - Nick Sorkin Steals and Scores - UNH 2, Maine 1
~ UNH's leading goal scorer Nick Sorkin flew through center ice, nabbed a loose puck, and broke in on Ouellette.
~ Sorkin snapped a wrist shot which flew through the five-hole. It was Sorkin's 15th goal of the season.



4:32 - Maine Goal Disallowed - UNH 2, Maine 1
~ A little over a minute after Sorkin grabbed the lead for UNH, the puck went into the UNH net off Maine sophomore Conor Riley
~ After reviewing the video replay, the referees ruled that the puck had been kicked in by Riley.

3rd Period

17:31 - Maine Ties It Up - UNH 2, Maine 2
~ Early in the final period, Devin Shore carried the puck into the UNH end but the backchecking defensemen shut the rush down.
~ Shore spun around in the corner to DeSmith's left and threaded a diagonal pass to freshman defenseman Eric Schurhamer at the top of the faceoff circle to the right of DeSmith. Schurhamer one-timed a wrist shot beating DeSmith, who was partially screened.



10:52 - Shore Steals, Lomberg Scores Game-Winner - UNH 2, Maine 3
~ UNH appeared to stymie yet another offensive rush by Devin Shore. Nick Sorkin began to skate the puck out of the UNH end.
~ Shore came up from behind Sorkin, stole the puck and fed Ryan Lomberg positioned to the left of DeSmith. Pesce tried to block the shot but it was too late.



6:40- DeSmith Stops Shore Breakaway - UNH 2, Maine 3
~ In both weekend games, DeSmith's agility and anticipation were outstanding. Here, he faces Devin Shore on a breakaway, takes away the bulk of the net, and slides to his right to make the stop:



4:40- DeSmith Comes Up Big - UNH 2, Maine 3
~ With time winding down, Maine pressed to score an insurance goal. Casey DeSmith made a number of outstanding saves including these:



00:45 - Maine Scores Empty Net Goal - UNH 2, Maine 4
~ With 1:40 left in regulation, UNH pulled DeSmith for an extra skater. UNH kept the puck in the Maine zone for nearly a minute but could not get a shot through to Ouellette.
~ Shore finally got control of the puck and head-manned a pass to Brian Morgan who found the empty net.



UNH has 8 games remaining in the regular season - all against Hockey East opponents. Next weekend, UNH faces Notre Dame on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Irish have a record of 4-6-1 in Hockey East competition.