ORONO – Freshman goalie Dan Sullivan’s stretch of more than 200 minutes of shutout hockey ended less than three minutes into the second period.

But it was a minor defeat in the grand scheme of the University of Maine’s 7-1 win over Merrimack in a Hockey East game Saturday night.

Sullivan secured his spot in the program’s history with 6:14 left in the first period when he set the school record for consecutive shutout minutes. He finished with 202 minutes, 49 seconds of shutout time over the course of four games. Jimmy Howard, currently with the Detroit Red Wings, held the previous record of 193 minutes, 45 seconds in the 2002-03 season.

“I didn’t really know what the record was until just now,” Sullivan said after the win. “But it was great.

“The team has been phenomenal. I’m giving all the credit to the team in front of me for making that possible. Without the kind of support the team’s giving me and in front of me, this would not have been possible.”

The 16th-ranked Black Bears took a 3-0 lead early in the second period on goals 34 seconds apart by Brian Flynn and Jeff Dimmen, but Merrimack scored its first goal of the weekend when Jeff Velleca beat Sullivan to end his run of nearly 203 minutes of scoreless hockey.

After Velleca’s goal, Sullivan and the Black Bears could focus on the task at hand: finishing a weekend sweep of the fourth-ranked Warriors by earning their fifth consecutive win.

“The biggest focus tonight wasn’t to continue the shutout streak,” said Sullivan, who finished with 18 saves. “It was to win this game. We got that done, so I’m happy.”

Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Maine (16-10-6, 13-8-4 Hockey East) is in fifth place in Hockey East with 30 points, three behind fourth-place Merrimack (21-7-4, 15-7-3) and five ahead of sixth-place Northeastern. The top four teams host quarterfinal series, which begin March 11.

“We’re on a little run here, gaining some confidence, and it all started with our commitment to defense,” said Dimmen, who had two goals and an assist. “For a while we were just taking chances and playing high-risk.

“We really bought into the team defense aspect and it’s really helped us get on a roll here late in the season when it’s most important.”

Mark Nemec’s shot from the point through traffic beat Warriors goalie Joe Cannata to give Maine a 1-0 lead at 2:20 of the first before the Black Bears killed off overlapping penalties to Kyle Beattie (roughing) and Mike Banwell (interference) midway through the first period.

“One goal gets them right back in it,” Dimmen said. “We killed those off and we gained the momentum back in the second period.”

After passing Howard to earn the school record with 6:14 left in the first, Sullivan continued to absorb shots, but after Dimmen and Flynn gave Maine a 3-0 lead early in the second, Velleca ended Sullivan’s shutout stretch.

Josh Van Dyk and Kyle Beattie scored in the final six minutes of the second to give Maine a 5-1 lead. Sam Marotta (13 saves) replaced Cannata (19 saves) in goal at the start of the third, allowing goals to Gustav Nyquist and Dimmen.

“We didn’t play up to our capability,” Cannata said. “We had some guys working hard at times but not as whole unit, and it’s something that we need to get back to.”

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:

rlenzi@ pressherald.com