GORHAM, Maine -- Senior
Dillon Radin's (Long Beach, N.Y.) power play goal with 5:35 remaining proved to be the game-winner, as UMass Dartmouth used three third period markers to notch a 4-2 non-league college ice hockey victory over Southern Maine Saturday afternoon at the USM Ice Arena.
Man-advantage prowess proved to be the difference for the visiting Corsairs (1-0) in their season opener, as freshman
Trevor Cear's (Jackson, N.J.) first collegiate goal on the power play gave UMass Dartmouth an early lead 6:56 into the contest. That score held up until midway through the second stanza when the host Huskies (0-2) used tallies from junior
Matt Fuller (Mirro Lake, N.H.) and freshman
Antoine Gignac (Quebec City, Que.) in a seven-minute span to take a 2-1 edge after 40 minutes of action, but the visitors evened matters 8:48 into the final stanza on junior
Jimmy Pelton's (Syracuse, N.Y.) power play marker.
Radin provided the heroics as the Corsairs were on a 5-on-3 man-advantage, as he converted feeds from Cear and sophomore
Jake Maynard (St. John, Ind.) on the game-winner. Senior
Kai Kapossy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) provided an insurance goal with 2:48 remaining in the contest that helped seal UMass Dartmouth's first season-opening triumph in five years.
Radin, Kapossy and Cear each finished with a pair of points in the win for the Corsairs, who also received an assist off the stick of sophomore
Justin Weinbrenner (Allison Park, Pa.). Sophomore
Daniel Davidson (Surrey, B.C.) earned the win in goal with a 22-save effort for UMass Dartmouth, which held a 35-24 advantage in shots on goal for the afternoon.
Juniors
Adam Withers (Kenora, Ont.) and
Tyler Gardiner (Watertown, Mass.) registered assists in the setback for Southern Maine, which received 31 stops and an assist from sophomore
Gabriel Couture (Boucherville, Que.). The game marked the first meeting between the Corsairs and Huskies since December 10, 2005.
UMass Dartmouth travels to Winchendon, Mass. on Thursday afternoon for the first of a two-game non-league set with Franklin Pierce that faces off at 4:00 pm, while Southern Maine hosts Becker in a non-league clash on Tuesday afternoon at the USM Ice Arena that also faces off at 5:00 pm.
