Keene State Men’s Ice Hockey team fell to an overall record of 2-2 following a shutout loss to the University of Southern Maine’s (USM) Huskies on Saturday, Nov. 8, at home.
Keene State was going into this game coming off a 4-1 loss the previous night against Babson College. Southern Maine came into this game following a 7-3 win over Western Connecticut State the day before, with a record of 2-1, looking to win three in a row.
The first 40 minutes of the game saw the Owls outshoot USM 24-14 and had numerous chances to score a goal, including seven power plays, but were unable to capitalize on them. The Owls would be out 13-9 by the Huskies in the 13-9.
The Huskies’ first goal of the day came just about halfway through the first period, which was scored by forward Conor Donovan with an assist by forward John Hagan. The Owls made several attempts late in the first to score, including a power play of their own, but nothing came to fruition, with sophomore forward Thor Hansen hitting the iron with two minutes to go. USM goalie Loic Morin made three saves within the final minute to keep his team in the lead.
Just 26 seconds into the second period, Keene State had an opportunity, which allowed them five power plays, but once again could not come up with anything, not being able to get past Morin. USM managed to capitalize on a power play, with forward Ben Aucoin managing to double the Huskies’ lead with just 52 seconds left to go in the second.
Four power plays came with a chance to either tie the game or take the lead, and Donovan had a holding penalty just after Aucoin’s goal, which gave the Owls a chance to respond. They only managed two shots, and their chances of winning fizzled out as the third period began.
Sophomore forward Kyle Gonzalez had a chance, but hit the goalpost with 16 minutes remaining in the period. The Owls had one last chance, a tripping call on Aucoin eight minutes into the final period. Keene State had two shots blocked, three shots missed wide, and two saved by Morin, and saw Hansen hit the iron for a second time this game.
Following the penalty, forward Kayde Kinaschuk sealed the game by taking the puck off a faceoff win and beating Keene goaltender and sophomore Ben Skelton, bringing USM to 3-0. For USM’s Morin, he made 33 saves in total for his first career shutout game. For Skelton, he stopped 24 shots for Keene State after having 57 the night before against Babson.
Keene State will then travel to Worcester State on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 7:10 pm, followed by another conference game against Western Connecticut at home on November 15 at 3:30 p.m.
Nathan Eliopoulos can be contacted at
