Brian Tedder/Collegian

The Massachusetts hockey team’s three-goal, third period comeback became a mere afterthought for the Minutemen when a questionable non-call led to Wes Clark’s second goal of the game with 1:40 left in overtime Sunday afternoon.

Maine defeated the Minutemen, 5-4, after leading 4-1 entering the third period. The Black Bears also defeated UMass, 3-2, Saturday night.

A Maine player cleared the puck through the neutral zone and through the UMass zone. As the puck approached the goal line, a UMass defenseman slowed in anticipation of the icing call. The icing, however, was waived off, and Andrew Sweetland collected the puck in the corner and centered to Wes Clark who flipped it up and over sophomore goaltender Dan Meyers who replaced Paul Dainton after the second period.

UMass coach Don Cahoon immediately left his perch behind the bench to question the decision of the official.

The result, however, remained the same and the Minutemen failed to separate themselves from the Black Bears (10-18-3, 6-14-3 Hockey East) and Merrimack in the race for the final playoff spot in next month’s Hockey East Tournament. The Minutemen (11-13-6, 6-12-5 Hockey East) currently occupy the eighth spot in the conference standings. But after the weekend sweep, UMass is two points clear of Maine.

The UMass comeback began when P.J. Fenton scored his second goal of the weekend early in the third period. Alex Berry soon followed with his sixth goal of the season. A shot from James Marcou deflected back into the slot where Berry collected the puck, dragged it around a sprawled Ben Bishop and flipped it into an open net.

UMass captain Kostka tied the game at 4-4 with a slap shot from the mid point with fewer than four minutes remaining in regulation.

Despite the three-goal deficit entering the period, the Minutemen controlled play for most of the game. The Black Bears, however, took advantage of the opportunities presented to them and got some help from Bishop along the way.

Clark and Sweetland scored goals on breakaways in the second period while Bishop made 18 saves to uphold the Maine lead.

The Black Bears put together a comeback of their own on Saturday night. After Fenton scored 37 seconds into the third period giving UMass a 2-1 lead, Maine took over.

Freshman Keif Orsini scored his third goal of the season – second against UMass – at 13:50 to tie the score. Fewer than three minutes later, Matt Duffy put the Black Bears ahead, 3-2, with his sixth goal of the season.

For the second consecutive weekend, a penalty in the late moments of the game, with the Minutemen trailing by a single goal, forced the Minutemen to kill a penalty while trying to tie the game. Sophomore Martin Nolet committed a boarding minor at 18:32 of the period to essentially seal the win for Maine.

The Minutemen have another chance to secure a playoff spot next weekend when they take on Boston University in a home-and-home series.

Joe Meloni can be reached at [email protected]