BOSTON, Mass.—Behind a 48-save performance from Kyle Shapiro and six points from their fourth-line, the University of Southern Maine upset #4/4 UMass Boston men's hockey 5-2 Saturday afternoon at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink.

THE BASICS

University of Southern Maine 5, #4/4 UMass Boston 2

(UMass Boston 4-2, NEHC 2-2)

(Southern Maine 3-3, NEHC 2-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Huskies scored three power-play goals and used strong goaltending and a bit of puck luck both ways, to end a long losing-streak against the Beacons.

AJ Johnson scored the first two goals of his collegiate career and linemate Brett Norman posted four assists for the visitors. Cole Klippenstein (assist), Brendan Murphy and Cody Braga also added goal for Southern Maine, who snapped a seven-game losing streak at the hands of the Beacons.

In net, Shapiro made at least 14 saves in all three periods, before being given a game disqualification with 22 seconds to play. The junior stopped all 35 shots he faced in the first two periods, as his team built a 3-0 lead.

UMass Boston sophomores Drew Gannon (Plano, Texas) and Bryan Carter (Hudson, Mass.) each found the back of the net for the Beacons. 

The Beacons used two goalies on Saturday, who struggled to slow down Southern Maine. Freshman Jordan Bustard (Flanders, N.J.) made six saves on nine shots over the first two periods. Sophomore Jake Kahler (Rome, N.Y.) came off the bench and stopped one of the three shots he faced in the third, in his collegiate debut.

UMass Boston had tons of chances throughout the contest, but connected with the crossbar twice, had one goal disallowed due to a crease violation and had another goal waived off after it was scored just tenths of a second after the conclusion of the second period.

Johnson gave the Huskies the lead 15:38 into the first, with Norman and Tristan Dundas tacking on assists on the play.

The Huskies added on two more power-play tallies in the second, with Klippenstein scoring at 2:48 and Murphy finding the back of the net at 16:41. 

Southern Maine seemingly put the game away for good 2:32 into the third. With the Huskies on a power play, a UMass Boston player broke up a centering feed and inadvertently directed the puck past Kahler for a 4-0 lead. Braga was credited with the goal.

The Beacons got temporary life back at 6:16, when Gannon redirected a Gabe Chuckran (Media, Pa.) shot from the point for a power-play goal. Zach Lindsay (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) earned an assist on the play.

That goal set off a mini goal-scoring spree, as Johnson pushed the lead back to 5-1 at 7:02 and Carter cut it 5-2 at 7:37.

While the Beacons continued to rack up shots and chances for the rest of the period, 16 in all, they couldn't find away to sneak back in the game. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston outshot the Huskies 51-12 and held a 41-36 edge in face-offs.
• The Beacons special teams let them down after being phenomenal all season. UMass Boston finished 1-for-8 on the power-play and allowed three goals on six Huskies' power plays.
• Senior Tyler Bishop (Ramsey, N.J.) picked up an assist on the Carter goal to stretch his assist and point streak to six-straight to start the season. He leads the Beacons with nine assists.
• Southern Maine improved to 17-15-1 all-time against the Beacons with the win.

WHO'S NEXT

#4/4 UMass Boston will return to the road after a 3-2 homestand. The Beacons will take on #7/8 Utica College Friday night at 7 p.m.