GORHAM, Maine – The New England College men's ice hockey team made a late push in the final period but could not close it at the University of Southern Maine on Friday evening at the USM Ice Arena in Gorham, Maine in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action.  

THE BASICS 
Score: New England College 2, University of Southern Maine 3 
Records: Pilgrims 4-19-1, 2-14-1 NEHC | Huskies 9-12-3, 6-8-3 NEHC 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The first period did not see much output as both teams were held scoreless with NEC having a 9-7 edge with shots on goal. 
• Pace was starting to pick up in the second period as USM converted on two goals in a five-minute span. The first of which came at 5:34 into the period as sophomore defender Jakub Suran (Liberec, Czech Republic) was skating away from a scrum as he swung in a straight-shot to give the team on the board first. Sophomore defender Kadin Ilott (Kenora, Ontario) and junior forward Jeff Pollara (Braintree, Mass.) were credited on the assists. 
• The second goal in the aforementioned sequence came at the 18:37 mark where junior forward Mathieu Sabourin (Alexandria, Ontario) led the charge on a clear where he passed it to sophomore forward John Hagan (Canton, Mass.). who flipped it in to put the team up 2-0. 
• The Huskies would stay hot as they entered the third period by getting a score at the 7:53 mark from sophomore forward Conor Donovan (Nahant, Mass.) put in the shot off a short pass from senior forward Christopher Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn.) and also senior defender Cole Oullette (Lewiston, Maine) that came off a scrambling faceoff to bring the team up 3-0. 
• The 'Grims would quickly respond 1:53 later when freshman defenseman Cam Perez (West Hartford, Conn.) would sling it in off a pass from junior defenseman Connor Lefkof (Frisco, Texas) and also freshman center Paul Waldhauser (Klagenfurt, Austria) to cut the deficit to 3-1. 
• Trying to make one last push in hostile territory, as junior forward Ike Taraszewski (Wayzata, Minn.) snuck in the puck of a pass from freshman forward Gunnar Sibley (Monticello, Minn.) that bounced off a missed shot with 50 seconds left to go in regulation giving the Huskies a 3-2 win on the evening. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• NEC sophomore goaltender Danny Miscavish (Macomb, Mich.) ended the road loss with 20 saves. 
• USM junior goaltender Kyle Penton (Waltham, Mass.) saw a little more activity on his end as he came away with a solid 31 saves.  
• Despite the loss, the 'Grims did outshoot the Huskies on goal with a 33-27 advantage. 
• NEC also won the faceoff battle 36-30 against USM. 

UP NEXT 

• NEC is back in action on Saturday, February 10th when they head to Babson College to take on the Badgers in NEHC play at the Falmouth Ice Arena with puck dropping at 4:00 PM. 
• USM plays their next game at home against the 9th-ranked team in the nation in Norwich University on Saturday, February 10th at 4:00 PM at the USM Ice Arena. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.