ORONO, Maine – Mitchell Fossier scored two goals in the second period to keep pulling the Black Bears back into a non-conference battle with Miami (Ohio) University, but the RedHawks were able to capitalize three times on the power-play and ultimately took the game, 7-5, at Alfond Arena. It will be Maine (1-2-0) and Miami (1-2-0) facing off again tomorrow night, with another 7 p.m. puck drop at Alfond Arena.
 
Four different Black Bears earned their first points at the University of Maine while 10 different skaters total earned points.
 
Fossier finished with two goals while Rob Michel and Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi both chipped in one goal and one assist. In his fst action in a Maine jersey, Canon Pieper had two assists. Mark Hamilton finished with six blocks for the Black Bears.
 
For Miami, Gordie Green finished with five points on two goals and three assists while Josh Melnick added three assists and Grant Hutton had two goals.
 
The RedHawks opened the scoring on a power-play goal from Karch Bachman just over five minutes into the game and then doubled the lead just 19 seconds later on Green's first of the night.
 
After MU's second man-advantage tally 1:54 into the second period, the Black Bears fired right back and grinded out two goals. Maine's first goal of the night served as the first point in a Maine sweater for all three involved, as the rookie Tiuraniemi received passes from classmate Alexis Binner and the transfer Pieper and then wristed a shot from the left point into the top right corner of the net. Fossier's first goal of the night made it a one-goal deficit as the game approached the midway point. It was Fossier that responded to another Hutton power-play tally to make it a 4-3 game with 3:41 to play in the middle frame.
 
The RedHawks, though, would grab two goals in those final minutes of the stanza to enter the break with a 6-3 lead and then stretched it with one more on Green's second of the night just eight seconds into the third period.
 
Down but not out, the Black Bears roared back into the game on the strength of Eduards Tralmaks' first career goal – off a slapshot from the point on the power-play – and Michel's second of the year on a screened wrister.
 
Rob McGovern finished with 29 saves for UMaine while Jeremy Swayman made two in his second career appearance. On the other end of the ice, Ryan Larkin stopped 20 pucks for the RedHawks.
 
Miami finished 4-for-5 on the power-play while Maine went 1-for-6. The visitors also held the final edge in shots on goal, 38-25.

-UMaine-