GORHAM, Maine — Sophomore Craig Perham (Arundel, Maine) snapped a 3-3 tie scoring a power-play goal with 7:52 remaining and the University of Southern Maine went on top defeat Middlebury College, 5-3, in an ECAC Men’s East-NESCAC interleague game Friday evening at the USM Ice Arena.
The win was the first of the season in league play for the Huskies who
improved to 2-3-1 overall and 1-2-0 in league games. The Panthers fall to 1-4-0 overall and 0-3-0 in league play.
Perham was credited with his second goal of the game when he redirected a shot from senior Paul Conter (Woodbridge, Ontario) for a power-play marker at 12:06. Sophomore John Grandinetti (Ottawa, Ontario) picked up the second helper.
The Huskies iced the game in the final minute when senior Jon Rutt
(Scarborough, Maine) flipped the puck the length of the ice into the unguarded Middlebury goal. The Panthers had pulled rookie goalie Nick BonDurant (Macedon, N.Y.) for the extra attacker with 1:10 to play. Rutt also had an assist on USM’s first three goals.
The teams traded goals in a fast-paced first period. Junior Jak Knelman
(Edina, Minn.) gave Middlebury its only lead at 4:36. Junior Dan Rautenberg
(Cape Elizabeth, Maine) tied the game for USM four minutes later.
Conter put USM into the lead, 2-1, at 6:41 of the middle period. Junior
Charles Nerbak (Martinsville, N.J.) equalized for Middlebury at 9:15. Perham’s first goal of the night restored USM’s lead at 12:12, but junior Tucker Donahoe (Canton, Mass.) found the net with an unassisted power-play goal at 15:54 to tie the game at 3-3.
USM rookie goalie Braely Torris (Eckville, Alberta) posted 32 saves to get
the win. BonDurant finished with 19 saves. Middlebury had a 35-24 edge in shots on goal.
Southern Maine hosts nationally-ranked Williams College on Saturday (4:00
p.m.). Middlebury plays at the University of New England on Saturday (4:00
pm.).
At Gorham, Maine 1 2 3 Final
Middlebury (1-4-0; 0-3-0) 1 2 0 3
Southern Maine (2-3-1; 1-2-0) 1 2 2 5
1st Period: 1. M, Jak Knelman (Mathieu Dubuc) 4:36; 2. SM, Dan Rautenberg (Jon
Rutt) 8:26. 2nd Period: 3. SM, Paul Conter (Rutt) 6:41; 4. M, Charles Nerbak
(Louis Belisle) 9:15; 5. SM, Craig Perham (Rutt, Rautenberg) 12:12; 6. M,
Tucker Donahoe (unassisted) 15:54 (pp). 3rd Period: 7. SM, Perham (Conter,
John Grandinetti) 12:08 (pp); 8. SM, Rutt (unassisted) 19:06 (en).
Shots on Goal: M, 10-15-10 = 35 SM, 5-12-7 = 24
Power-play Opportunities: M, 1 for 5 SM, 1 for 4
Goalies: M, Nick BonDurant (59:44, 23 shots, 19 saves) SM, Braely Torris
(60:00, 35-32)
