ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine men’s hockey team is glad Friday night’s game against the United States National Team Development Program’s Under-18 squad was just an exhibition.
The skillful Americans dominated the Black Bears with their superior speed and cruised to a comfortable 6-2 victory at Alfond Arena behind a hat trick by University of North Dakota-bound left wing Grant Mismash of Edina, Minnesota.
It was the first time Team USA had beaten UMaine. The Black Bears had won the previous nine meetings.
Freshman goalie Stephen Mundinger made his first start of the season and was victimized for all six goals, although he didn’t get a lot of help from his teammates. He wound up with 24 saves.
University of Michigan-bound Dylan St. Cyr made 23 saves in a solid performance for the Americans.
Team USA had gone just 1-8 against NCAA Division I teams, and its average margin of defeat had been 3.9 goals per game. The team’s only win came at the expense of the nation’s No. 1-ranked University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Bulldogs 2-1.
It was the most goals they have scored against a Division 1 team. The most they had scored previously was four in a 5-4 overtime loss to Princeton.
“We were outworked, outplayed and outbattled. They wanted it more than we did,” said somber UMaine senior center and captain Cam Brown.
“It was unacceptable,” added UMaine senior defenseman and assistant captain Eric Schurhamer.
UMaine’s deficiencies reared their ugly heads throughout the game, and the swift-skating Americans took full advantage.
The Black Bears mismanaged the puck leading to scoring opportunities by the Americans, they left players unattended in front of their net and squandered opportunities by missing the net. They lost puck battles and denied themselves an opportunity to rally in the third period by repeatedly taking penalties.
The Americans did a much better job sustaining the forecheck as they moved the puck smartly and were able to harass the Black Bears into turnovers.
UMaine was rarely able to sustain a forecheck as the mobile USA defensemen were able to skate the puck out of danger or make crisp breakout passes to their forwards.
Mismash and Josh Norris (University of Michigan) scored 14 seconds apart to give Team USA a lead it would never relinquish in the first period.
Another future Michigan Wolverine, defenseman Quinn Hughes, made it 3-1 after UMaine’s Patrick Holway had scored a power play goal.
Evan Barratt expanded the lead six minutes into the second period and, after Brendan Robbins pulled UMaine within 4-2, Mishmash converted a power play goal with 3:52 left in the period by finishing off a beautiful passing sequence with a one-timer off a Scott Reedy (U-Minnesota) pass out from behind the net.
Mismash capped his hat trick with a power play goal in the third period.
“It’s nice to get a hat trick but I’ve got to credit my teammates. They gave me great setups,” said Mismash. “It was a good team effort.”
“Our energy was great tonight,” said Team USA first-year head coach John Wrobleweski. One of his assistants is former University of Maine All-American Greg Moore of Lisbon.
Poor puck management by the Black Bears set the groundwork for a four-on-two, and Mismash converted a pass from Michael Pastujov (Michigan) with a wrist shot from the inside of the right circle that trickled through the pads of Mundinger.
On the ensuing faceoff, the American busted into the offensive zone, and Norris was allowed to get to the net front, and he diverted a Jacob Tortora (Boston College) pass behind Mundinger.
UMaine’s red-hot power play (9-for-17 over its last three games) got the team back into the game when Ryan Smith muscled his way out of the corner and threaded the needle with a cross-ice pass to Holway for a screened wrister.
But speedy defenseman Quinn Hughes (Michigan) answered just 51 seconds later with a wrister from the slot, and UMaine never got any closer.
The Black Bears were without injured forwards Nolan Vesey and Malcolm Hayes along with Mitch Fossier.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to get a lot better. We’ve got to get a lot tougher mentally,” said UMaine coach Red Gendron, whose Black Bears will take on the University of Connecticut in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at 7 p.m. Thursday before facing the Huskies again at Boston’s Fenway Park at 4 p.m. Saturday.