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Boston, Mass. -- The goal times may have been only 53 seconds apart on the score sheet, but in no way did it feel like Ryan Lomberg and Ben Hutton's goals came in quick succession.
In fact, they were an hour and nine minutes apart.
On a rain-filled day at Fenway Park with a weather delay and all, Maine bookended Mother Nature's stoppage with goals, and used a potent attack to down Boston University 7-3.
"We came out smoking, especially on the power play," said Maine head coach Red Gendron. "We scored three power play goals on our first three power play opportunities, and our players just did a great job delivering the puck to the net, and we got some traffic on."
Lomberg opened the game's scoring at the 6:37 mark after Maine worked the puck out from behind the net and onto the sophomore's stick out in front for a power play goal.
Sam Kurker would taking a tripping penalty 48 seconds later, but as he skated to the box, lightning would force the refs to send the players into their respective dugouts in what would turn into an hour and nine minute weather delay.
"We found the right balance of focus and looseness, because you don't know how long the delay is, you don't know what's next, so you have to be ready to continue the game," said Devin Shore, "but at the same time, it's a rain delay during a hockey game at Fenway Park.
"It's pretty unique, so we kind of enjoyed it."
No sooner would the team's resume play—Maine beginning the power play for the penalty Kurker had taken over an hour before—than Hutton put one in the back of the net. Off the ensuing faceoff, Hutton got the puck at the point, and fired a wrist shot that Matt O'Connor never saw, scoring just five seconds after play resumed.
"It wasn't exactly how we wrote it up, but we just wanted pucks on net on the power play," Hutton said. "There was traffic in front, so I just decided to throw it on net because nothing was going to be pretty, and it ended up going in."
Maine would continue to take it to the Terriers in the first period, with Andrew Cerretani and Shore both scoring to extend the Black Bears lead to 4-0.
Coming out of the delay, it was Maine who carried the play, with Boston University unable to respond to the Black Bears' intensity and pace.
Devin Shore Feature
"We listened to some tunes, we got a kick of them shoveling water off the ice—we had the television in there—but when we heard, ‘a half our, 25 minutes,' we go, ‘alright, listen, it's game on again,'" Shore said. "So that's when we tightened it up, and everyone was great, everyone focused in when it came time for the game time, and that's what transpired on the ice with our quick start."
Things would not get better for Boston University in the middle frame, as Lomberg's second of the day would give Maine its largest lead of the day at 5-0.
"During the course of building that 5-0 lead, we just did very, very simple things, and the conditions out there dictated that might have been the most prudent way to go," Gendron said. "To the credit of our players, they executed perfectly."
The Terriers would get three goals back late, but the initial Maine lead was too big to overcome, and Maine tallied two empty-net goals and came away with a 7-3 Hockey East win.
"You give up three power play goals, and you're down 4-0 before the first period ends," said Boston University head coach David Quinn.
Despite the disparity in play after the delay, both Quinn and his players felt the layoff itself had nothing to do with BU's inability to keep up.
"We were fine, we were ready to go, and then they score literally right off the first faceoff when we got back out there, so that was tough," said BU forward Cason Hohmann, who scored one of the Terriers three goals.
Lomberg, Hutton, and Shore each scored two goals, and for the second time this season, the Black Bears hung seven on the Terriers, and Maine moved into fourth place in the league with the victory.
"Hockey East is an unbelievably skilled league, but playing in conditions like this, it's not going to be a typical Hockey East game," Shore said. "We pride ourselves on being a team that's really intense, and works hard, and skates, and regardless of the conditions, it's still an ice rink out there and you can still out-skate your opponent if you work at it."
