It was the game the fans had been waiting to see, and it didn’t disappoint. The University of Maine and the University of North Dakota faced off for the Ice Breaker championship Saturday night in Portland, Maine, before a crowd of 5,187.
In the end, neither team could find a way to victory and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. In an odd piece of trivia, North Dakota (1-0-1) wins the Ice Breaker tournament and Maine (0-0-2) finishes third. Very few in the Cross Insurance Arena cared about that.
North Dakota struck first just 1:32 into the second period. On a faceoff following a penalty on Mark Hamilton, Drake Caggiula fed the puck to the point for a shot by Paul LaDue and Chris Wilkie was there to lift the rebound over freshman netminder Rob McGovern.
Maine evened the score on a power play of its own when Cam Brown blasted the puck past goalie Cam Johnson. Last night’s player of the game Blaine Byron picked up the lone assist.
Maine coach Red Gendron didn’t pull any punches, throwing McGovern out for his first taste of college hockey against a powerful North Dakota squad. McGovern was spectacular in the opening frame, stopping all 11 shots he faced. McGovern ended the night with 44 saves on 45 shots.
“I really can’t explain it,” the freshman said. “Before the game I was nervous. During warmups I was taking it all in, [but] once I touched the puck I was into the game.”
Despite facing so many shots, McGovern praised the defense in front of him. “They cleared the rebounds,” he said.
At the other end, Johnson was barely tested as Maine could muster only nine shots in the first two periods. However, Maine had two chances to win it, both on the stick of Byron. The first came with 2:58 remaining when Johnson robbed the junior of a sure goal with a tremendous glove save. The second came in the closing seconds as Byron streaked down the wing and fired a low shot at the far post, but Johnson made a kick save to send the game to overtime.
There was a championship on the line and both teams came out flying to start the extra session. The action was end-to-end, but as in regulation play, North Dakota had the best chances. McGovern was equal to the challenge and the game ended 1-1. Both teams received a well earned standing ovation as the overtime concluded.
For the second consecutive night, Maine finished with a tie but won the shootout when Nolan Vesey found the back of the net and McGovern stopped all three North Dakota shots. It felt like a Maine victory, but the championship goes to North Dakota — a fact even they hadn’t expected.
“We didn’t know until they gave coach the trophy,” said a smiling Wilkie. “It was a little frustrating, but we’re happy with the chances we created.”
North Dakota coach Brad Berry said he told his team, “When you create chances at your end, good things will happen. When you allow the other team to create chances on the other end, bad things will happen.”
When asked about the decision to give McGovern his first start in a big environment, Gendron was not forthcoming.
“I can’t tell you,” he said when reporter after reporter tried to pry the answer from him. Finally, he admitted that, “I don’t really know why I chose him.”
Gendron shot down any talk of momentum. “Tomorrow at 1:45 we practice. This weekend is over.”
He did praise the event organizers, sponsors, and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make the event happen.
“What we witnessed was a magnificent weekend for Maine hockey.”
North Dakota will now face Bemidji State in a home-and-home, while Maine travels to Union for a pair on the weekend followed by a rare midweek game against Quinnipiac.
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