Burlington, Vermont - The University of Maine men's ice hockey team was defeated by the University of Vermont Catamounts, 5-4, on Friday Afternoon in the Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
First Goal (1-0 Vermont): Jordan Kaplan scored his first career goal exactly 3:00 into the first period. Ace Cowans and Dovar Tinling played tic-tac-toe until Cowans found Kaplan completely alone in front of the Maine net. The teammates combined to give their squad an early 1-0 lead.
 
Second Goal (1-1): The University of Maine power play is ranked 2nd in the nation for a reason. Levi Kleiboer scored on the man advantage for the Black Bears. Adam Dawe found the defenseman waiting patiently with his stick ready to fire. Halfway through the first period, the score was tied 1-1.
 
Third Goal (2-1 Vermont): While on a 5-on-3 power play, the Catamounts took the lead once again. Christian Evers snagged another one goal lead with less than seven minutes to go in the first 20:00.
 
Fourth Goal (3-1 Vermont): Less than two minutes later, Evers added his second of the game. While the Maine defense was on its heels, the Catamounts took advantage and extended their lead to two goals.
 
Fifth Goal (3-2 Vermont): After Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup had his shot saved, Lynden Breen scored his second of the year. Jakub Sirota fired a shot from the blue line that was saved. Schmidt-Svejstrup collected and tried his hand at scoring. Breen cleaned up the mess and pulled Maine to within a goal heading into the break.
 
Sixth Goal (4-2 Vermont): Tristan Mullin padded his squad's lead with a slap shot on a power play. Less than 00:10 into the Catamounts' 5-on-4 advantage, the forward blasted the puck into the back of the Maine net. With just under 8:00 remaining in the second period, the Black Bears trailed by two goals.
 
Seventh Goal (4-3 Vermont): Tristant Poissant scored his first career goal for the Black Bears early in the third period. After battling for the puck in the corner, the freshman forward fired from the end line. Deflecting off Tyler Harmon's back, the puck trickled into the Catamounts' net.
 
Eighth Goal (5-3 Vermont): 00:20 after the Black Bears pulled to within a goal, Carter Long built a two goal lead once again. Jacques Bouquot let the play develop before he handed the puck off to Long, who did the rest.
 
Ninth Goal (5-4 Vermont): Jakub Sirota scored his first goal of the season with less than a minute to go in the Hockey East contest. Unfortunately, it was as close as the Black Bears would get as they dropped the afternoon game at Vermont.
 
Notes: Matthew Thiessen stopped 25 shots for the Black Bears, Tyler Harmon tallied 24 for Vermont.
 
Maine went 1 for 5 on their power play opportunities, as the Catamounts were 2-6 on their player advantages.
 
The Black Bears blocked 12 shots as a team.
 
Next: Maine is scheduled to return to the ice tomorrow, Saturday, January 9th. Puck drop is set for 1:00 pm.
 
-UMaine-