NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - Gustav Nyquist, Tanner House and Brett Carriere scored for the University of Maine hockey team Sunday in a 3-2 win at Merrimack.

Carriere's goal was the eventual game-winner for the Black Bears (8-5-1, 5-4-1 Hockey East), who led 2-1 going into the third period but only put three shots on goal in the third period.

Maine faces Union on Friday and Saturday in a pair of nonconference games at Alfond Arena.

Three stars:

1. Chris Hahn, Maine
2. Scott Darling, Maine
3. Adam Ross, Merrimack

***

One thing of note today: Special teams dominated this game. Maine and Merrimack finished a combined 4 for 14 on the power play, with each team scoring two power-play goals. Maine had gone 1 for 22 in the past five games on the power play.

Penalties, however, were an issue. The two teams combined for 19 penalties, with 10 coming against Maine.

The game wasn't that much out of control, save for a 10-minute misconduct against Merrimack defenseman Joe Loprieno after Gustav Nyquist's goal 40 seconds into the game, and a pair of roughing penalties assessed against Maine's Jeff Marshall and Merrimack's Rob Ricci with 16:52 left.

"I'll have to watch the tape," Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said. "It was a little frustrating but it's good to see tonight that the refs were calling penalties. As far as our team, we've been very disciplined all year but if that continues, that could become a concern."

***

Maine's last three games have been decided by a 3-2 score - losses at Vermont and Northeastern, followed by a win at Merrimack.

"The last couple games we had opportunities to win those games," Whitehead said. "It's, I think, a process for our team to recognize how precious these games are and we can't squander any opportunities."

E-mail this entry to a friend