COLLEGE HOCKEY : No. 1 Maine Beats No. 3 Lake Superior State, 3-2

No. 1-ranked Maine showed the extent of its depth in a 3-2 victory over third-ranked Lake Superior State Sunday night at the Forum.

The Black Bears dedicated their second consecutive Great Western Bank Freezeout title to Pamphile Tardif, the father of left wing Patrice Tardif, who died of cancer in Quebec Friday.

“He has supported me all my life,” Patrice said. “He didn’t miss too many of my games. The only thing I wanted to do was win this tournament. We won it for him.”

Maine (17-0-1) prevailed over the defending NCAA champion Lakers (12-3-3) of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., despite the absence of four of its top six scorers to injuries and the World Junior Hockey Tournament in Gavre, Sweden.

Jamie Thompson and Justin Tomberlin suited up in their absence and scored two of Maine’s goals.

“Our program is built on depth,” said Kent Salfi, who scored the Black Bears’ other goal. “We have a lot of guys who have not been called on. Tonight, they gave us the lift we needed to win the tournament.”

Junior goalie Mike Dunham also played a key role while increasing his winning streak to 17 games, dating to his freshman season.

Dunham, the backup keeper on the U.S. Olympic team, made 24 saves, several in succession, others on point-blank shots during the final before an estimated crowd of 5,000.

“If there’s no Dream Team, he’ll be the (U.S.) Olympic goalie,” Maine Coach Shawn Walsh said of the 1994 Winter Games. “He showed why here in L.A.”

Dunham and Lakers goalie Blaine Lacher dominated the scoreless first period with nine saves each. Maine finally scored at 15:07 of the second period on a play by Sulfi.

His initial wraparound attempt was stopped by Lacher, but the rebound popped out to Sulfi, who skated around Laker wing Dean Hulett and fired again, this time to the far upper corner. Lacher deflected it, but it trickled past him, and the Black Bears gained a 1-0 lead and the momentum.

“The first goal was going to give somebody a big boost,” Walsh said. “With us missing our top scorers and them missing (top scorer Brian) Rolston (who also played in Sweden), both teams were struggling to finish (around the net). The team that scored the first goal was going to be in the driver’s seat.”

That proved to be the case, as Thompson scored at 2:28 of the final period. Forty-eight seconds later, Lake Superior State center Clayton Beddoes scored to cut the lead to 2-1.

Tomberlin’s goal 1 1/2 minutes later made the score 3-1. But at 15:21, two Black Bears were sent to the penalty box. Sean Tallaire took advantage when he controlled a bouncing puck and scored.