ORONO - Colin Wilson scored three goals and Jason Lawrence added two as No. 1 Boston University defeated Maine 7-2 Friday at Alfond Arena.

Wilson scored 16 seconds into the game, then scored 11 seconds into the second period. Wilson scored his third goal 1:20 into the third for the Terriers (23-5-1, 14-5-1 Hockey East), who have won nine straight.

Spencer Abbott and Will O'Neill scored power-play goals for Maine (12-14-3, 7-11-2).

Scott Darling made two saves before being relieved by Dave Wilson (12 saves) after Colin Wilson's second goal.

Maine and BU complete the season series at 7 tonight at Alfond Arena.

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While fighting is strictly verboten in college hockey, the Black Bears and the Terriers came close to breaking that cardinal rule in the third period of Friday's game.

27 penalties were called in the third period, 17 against BU. Three Black Bears and one Terrier received game disqualifications, leaving a few empty spaces on either bench and filling the penalty boxes to maximum capacity.

Maine's Will O'Neill, Jeff Dimmen and Mike Banwell each received a game disqualifications for three separate incidents, leaving Maine without three of its full-time players for tomorrow's game. A game disqualification results in an automatic one-game suspension in Hockey East.

BU's Brian Strait also received a game misconduct.

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To steal a line from ESPN's Stuart Scott of yesteryear …

Dave Wilson got a little freaky with the leather.

Wilson, who replaced starting goalie Scott Darling 11 seconds into the second period, made five of his 12 saves on BU's second power play of the game, which came after Matt Duffy was penalized for holding the stick at 5:54.

Wilson robbed BU defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk of a sure goal, making a swift glove save on the sophomore's shot through traffic from the left circle.

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Minus-10
Minus-11
Minus-12
Minus-14

Ugly numbers, right? In sequence, those were the plus-minus ratings of Spencer Abbott, Ryan Hegarty, Josh Van Dyk and Simon Danis-Pepin entering tonight's game.

You're probably wondering what this plus-minus thing is. Essentially, it's an indicator of how many times a player is on the ice when either an even-strength or shorthanded goal their team scores (a plus), or how many times a player is on the ice when either an even-strength or shorthanded goal the opponent scores (a minus).

As Ansar Khan of the Detroit News explained in a story about the Red Wings' plus-minus rating:

"While it's not a definitive gauge in assessing a player's performance, it is somewhat a reflection of their play."

Consider this. Entering Friday's game, Boston University had six players in double-digits in plus-minus. Specifically in the plus category:

Colin Wilson - plus-10
Nick Bonino - plus-12
Kevin Shattenkirk - plus-14
Matt Gilroy - plus-10
David Warsofsky - plus-16
Eric Gryba - plus-11

Maine had nine players finish at minus-2 in the loss to BU. Jason Lawrence led BU with a plus-4.

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If you want to cast a vote of no-confidence, leave early. That's what many of the fans at Alfond Arena did after Shattenkirk scored BU's seventh goal with 7:15 left in the game.

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