ORONO – It wasn’t nearly as dramatic as their last meeting, but then again, how could it be?

Victory came much easier for the University of Maine hockey team against the UMass Minutemen Friday night.

After needing three overtimes and a bar-the-door performance from Jimmy Howard in the 2-1 Hockey East Championship win last March, the Black Bears didn’t need such dramatics this time around. Instead of a little offense and a whole lot of Howard last spring, the Black Bears reversed that formula Friday night in a 6-2 victory.

“I’m glad it only was 60 minutes,” said Maine captain John Ronan. “I wouldn’t have had the legs for it.”

Howard made just 10 saves as the offense overcame a 2-1 defecit in the second period and scored five unanswered goals. John Ronan and Brent Shepheard each scored twice while defenseman Tim Maxwell had three assists.

“We played a great defensive game,” said Howard, whose team allowed one shot on goal in the final period. “That was probably our best game of the year, hands down. We controlled that game from the drop of the puck to the final buzzer. It’s a great win. I’m proud of the guys. They put forth an incredible effort.”

Despite a strong first period, a late goal on a rebound erased a 1-0 Maine lead. The Black Bears even fell behind early in the second when a centering pass went in off a Maine player’s stick The Minutemen’s momentum, however, lasted just about two minutes. Ronan, Josh Soares and Keenan Hopson all scored to build a 4-2 lead after two.

“We were just able to finish,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “We had opportunities in the first period, but we didn’t capitalize. I thought we continued to work hard and that was the difference. We were able to continue that momentum.”

The Black Bears (8-6) have now won two straight for the first time since mid-October and are 4-3 in Hockey East.

“UMaine just played with great passion,” said UMass coach Don Cahoon. “From the drop of the puck to the end of the game, they outplayed us battle for battle for three periods.”

The Black Bears had a 10-2 edge in shots in the first period but the two squads were even at 1-1.

Maine took the early lead, getting a Shepheard goal on its second shot of the game. Shepheard wristed a shot from the left circle that snuck underneath the crossbar at 8:21. Despite plenty of pressure and a power play, the Black Bears couldn’t add to its lead.

The Black Bears outshot UMass 9-1 to start the game, but the Minutemen scored on their second shot of the game also. Howard turned aside a rush by Matt Anderson, but the rebound came out front for P.J. Fenton. He steered it past Howard with 3:19 left in the period.

“We were happy with the way we played,” said Ronan. “We worked hard that period.”

Maine continued to dominate but still had to come from behind in the second. UMass took a 2-1 lead at 1:54. Fenton’s centering pass from the right wing deflected off Derek Damon’s stick and slid inside the right post.

The Black Bears outshot the Minutemen 12-4 in the second period and used little time to answer. Just 2:03 later, a Jon Jankus pass ahead to Ronan was finished off with a wrister from the left side.

Then at 7:47, another Jankus play set up the go-ahead goal. A Jankus shot from the right side was bobbled by goaltender Gabe Winer. Soares was at the right post to tuck it in.

UMaine doubled its lead with 3:31 left in the period. Bret Tyler fed Hopson with a pass from the neutral zone. Hopson cut through the slot ad used a backhander to beat Winer.

“Coach challenged us before the game to get 30 shots on goal,” said Ronan, whose team finished with 37. “We hadn’t been shooting the puck too much. Guys were shooting from anywhere, anyway we could get it on net, and we were getting the rebounds.”

Ronan greeted new netminder Tim Warner at 1:54 of the third with his second of the night, burying a rebound from the left side.

Shepheard added his second of the night with 3:28 left, scoring on a rebound of a Michel Leveille shot on the power play.

“We wanted to get the home ice advantage,” said Whitehead, whose team is 5-4 overall at home. “We’ve lost more games already that we have in a few years. We played with a lot of passion and tried to work hard every shift. That was a good step for us.”