COLLEGE HOCKEY : Goaltender Carries Maine Past Upstart Irish

The Maine Black Bears used tight defensive play and 28 saves from goaltender Blair Allison to overcome Notre Dame, 4-1, Friday in the opening game of the sixth annual Great Western Freeze-Out at the Forum.

The Irish (3-9), who finished eighth in the Central Collegiate Hockey Assn. last season, caught undefeated Maine (9-0-3) off guard early with hustling defense and aggressive checking.

“They outplayed us and outworked us and our goaltender won the game for us,” said Maine Coach Shawn Walsh, whose team will face Boston University in the championship game Sunday afternoon. “We had no focus at the beginning and Notre Dame jumped us early.”

In the second game, Boston University (7-1-2) rolled to 6-2 victory against overmatched Princeton (2-5) after taking a quick 3-0 first-quarter lead in a penalty-filled contest.

For all the Irish grit on display, Notre Dame never led and could only tie the game briefly in the third period before the Black Bears’ Shawn Wansborough gave Maine the lead for good.

“With a couple of slick goal-scorers on our side the game would have been ours,” Notre Dame Coach Ric Schafer said. “Scoring is a problem that continues to plague us.”