ORONO – Colin Shields scored his second goal of the game with 6:17 remaining in the second period to snap a tie and propel Maine to a 2-1 win over Merrimack on Friday.

The Black Bears (27-7-3) and Warriors (11-18-6) meet again Saturday in the second game of a best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series.

With the game tied 1-1 late in the second period, four players were sent to the penalty box following a scuffle in front of the Merrimack net.

On the ensuing 4-on-4 situation, Shields took a pass from Steve Mullin and beat Jim Healey to give Maine a 2-1 lead.

Maine and Merrimack scored goals on the same penalty in the first period.

Shields struck first with an unassisted short-handed breakaway to give Maine a 1-0 lead at 12:31. The Warriors answered about a minute later when Tim Reidy snuck a shot under the crossbar past Jimmy Howard.

Healey had 25 saves on the game, while Howard turned away 14 shots.

AP-ES-03-12-04 2134EST