The Maine Nordiques had another strong performance Saturday night, which resulted in a win. The Nordiques defeated the Northeast Generals 4-2 in a North American Hockey League East Division contest at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

Friday night, the Generals won in overtime.

“We wanted to win in regulation, that’s what we came here to do,” Nordiques associate head coach Matt Pinchevsky said. “The boys worked really hard and the Generals never quit. Hugo Haas, their MVP, never quit. He gives them a chance to win on any night.”

Aidan Connolly paced Maine’s offense with a goal and two assists and Tyriq Outen made 26 saves for his 22nd win of the season, which is second in the entire NAHL.

The Nordiques (33-19-2, 66 points) controlled the play in the first period, outshooting the Generals 23-9. Connolly found the scoresheet when Generals (19-29-6, 44 points) goalie Hugo Haas (38 saves) made the save on Tristan Fasig’s initial shot but Connolly, a Sacred Heart commit, scored off the rebound with six-plus minutes remaining in the first period. Defenseman Hunter Carrick notched the secondary assist.

“Connolly is pretty consistent scoring against the Northeast Generals, I don’t know if it’s the Massachusetts connection or something,” Pinchevsky said.

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Connolly is from Marshfield, Massachusetts.

Ricky Boysen, who scored the game-winning goal on Friday night for the Generals, tied the game 1-1 early in the second period, with his shot beating Outen (26 saves). Assists went to Tyler Cooper and Jackson McCarthy.

At the end of the second period, Liberty University commit Jackson Vercellono put Maine back in the lead when a rebound kicked out to him at the left circle and he fired the puck into the half-open net. Connolly and Stefan Owens set the goal up.

Fasig extended the Nordiques lead to 3-1 on the power play with seven minutes remaining in the third period. Connolly and defenseman James Philpott had the assists.

David Andreychuk kept the Generals in striking distance, as the St. Lawrence University commit scored to get Northeast back within a goal. The goal came with under five minutes left in the third period. Jonathan Young and Haas recorded the assists.

Isaiah Fox scored an empty-net, power-play goal for the Nordiques in the final minute.

Maine was 2-for-6 on the man advantage while the Generals were scoreless on fives chances.

“We talked about how the power play had to be a weapon,” Pinchevsky said. “A weapon is not dangerous unless you use it. It takes action to use it in a dangerous way. That was the analogy or mindset toward the power play, they had to be a weapon for us tonight.”

The Nordiques return to The Colisee next weekend to end the regular season as the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks come in for a two-game series Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.).


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