O'Connor scored when Nick Pryor passed the puck to him at the blueline and fired it past UNH goalie Casey DeSmith at 10:13 in the first period. And in a night that proved mostly defensive, Sullivan stopped 32 shots that UNH made against him with 14 saves in the first period alone. He was subsequently named Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, and shares the honor with Parker Milner of Boston College.
It is the second time that Sullivan has been named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week this season.
Although the Wildcats outshot UMaine 32-29 on goal, O'Connor's single goal was all that was needed to win the game for the Black Bears and give them a fourth-place finish in Hockey East. The Black Bears will host Merrimack in the Hockey East best-of-three quarterfinal series that begins Friday, March 9.