PORTLAND – After a lackluster first period that ended in a tie, Maine exploded for four goals in the middle frame and blew Providence off of the Cumberland County Civic Center ice Sunday, defeating the Friars 8-4 in front of 6,545 fans.

“It never fails in this building,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “It’s more and more like a home game here, which is incredible given the setup of this building. The fans always show up and it makes it a great place to play. The players like it, too, and it always gives us a boost.”

The win gives Maine its first three-game winning streak of the season, with all three wins coming against Hockey East opponents.

“If we don’t take these four points this weekend, we’re in trouble,” said Whitehead. “This was a big sequence for us. I think we’re headed in the right direction, but we still have a ways to go. I would like to have not given up four goals, too.”

The game was heated, too. In the second period, a Providence player claimed to have been knocked to the ice by a Maine player (no penalty was called), and in the third, a Providence forward ran into Maine netminder Jimmy Howard with a full head of steam.

“There’s no place in the game for that,” said Whitehead. “I’m just glad that no one got seriously hurt in the mess.”

Maine and Providence combined for 89 penalty minutes, and Maine enjoyed seven power plays to the Friars’ four. Both teams connected twice with the extra attacker.

Sophomore Michel Leveille followed up Friday’s one-assist performance against Massachusetts (a 6-2 Maine win) with a hat trick, sophomore Mike Hamilton chipped in with three points and Howard stayed solid between the pipes for most of the night, stopping 28 of 32 shots. Freshman Mike Lundin stopped two shots in relief after Nate Meyers collided with Howard.

Maine controlled the play for much of the first period, but had little to show for it.

Hamilton got the Black Bears off on the right foot and got the capacity crowd roaring at 7:56 of the opening frame after captain John Ronan found the centerman alone on the right boards near the Friars’ blue line. Hamilton skated 10 feet toward the faceoff circle and snapped a shot that beat freshman netminder Tyler Sims high on the glove side, just over his shoulder.

“That was just a great play by Ronan on the left board,” said Hamilton. “I came off the bench and he hit me with a good pass. It’s always nice to get the first one in a game, especially in a game like this.”

Providence took advantage of two late penalty calls against Maine, and with just four seconds left on the clock, James Pemberton tipped home a Bill McCreary shot from the right point to tie the score.

In the second, tempers flared and the statistician’s pencil started to smoke as officials sent 18 players to the box. For the Black Bears, the momentum shift was palpable, and the home team rattled off four goals to take command of the game.

“The goal at the end of the first period could have been a key turning point in their favor,” said Whitehead. “It was a similar first half of the game to Friday night against UMass, where we had a good period and nothing to show for it. We came out well in the second.”

Defenseman Tim Maxwell potted his second of the year at 2:19 to break the 1-1 tie, and Josh Soares, with help from Hamilton, made it 3-1 at 6:44.

Leveille danced his way to his first goal at 8:51, making a move on Providence defender Trevor Ludwig that left the crowd momentarily in awe. The crowd erupted seconds later when Leveille deked Sims to the ice a slid the puck past him for a 4-1 lead.

“It was a good play from (linemate Billy) Ryan to get me the puck,” said Leveille. “I saw an opening and had to move to get past the defenseman.”

Leveille added to Black Bears’ lead again on a rebound power-play goal from the right side of the cage, and answered two early third period Providence goals with his third of the night at 4:39 on a nifty feed from the right side by Brent Shepheard.

Keith Johnson and Wes Clark traded goals with Chase Watson later in the third, the Clark goal coming after Lundin replaced Howard, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“We responded well tonight,” said Whitehead. “We’ve been facing adversity all year, and tonight was a good example of this team overcoming several different situations.”

Howard, meanwhile, is said to have “tweaked his knee,” and is day-to-day.