DURHAM, N.H. -- The NHL may have needed a shootout to inject some life into its All-Star Game in South Florida, but the weekend's best hockey atmosphere was 1,500 miles to the north and without the benefit of any manufactured enthusiasm.

And the finish was just as good, if not better.

	There was definitely a "White Out" Sunday at the Whittemore Center.

Maine's Lucas Lawson redirected a loose puck with his skate to beat New Hampshire goalie Mike Ayers with 6.8 seconds left in overtime and gave the No. 1 Black Bears a 3-2 win over the No. 5 Wildcats at the sold-out Whittemore Center on Sunday night. The win salvaged a weekend split for Maine following Saturday's 4-2 loss in Manchester, and once again created a three-way tie atop the Hockey East standings (UNH, Boston College, Maine).

"Nothing I'm going to say is going to match the game," said Maine coach Tim Whitehead, who looked every bit as drained as his players after the game. "It had a little bit of everything: glass breaking, fish throwing, OT. It was real exciting. It was just a great game.

"I thought the atmosphere was fantastic. It was really electric, a great environment."

"White Out the Whitt" night saw a standing-room only and mostly white-clad crowd of nearly 7,000 squeeze its way into the 6,501-seat arena -- the 13th sellout this season and 87th since it opened in 1995. Adding to the mix were the white ThunderStix handed out as fans entered the rink, creating a deafening buzz for those inside the building (including 24 NHL scouts) and an interesting sight for those watching the regional telecast throughout New England.

UNH's Lanny Gare opened the scoring just 72 seconds in when he took a feed in the slot from Colin Hemingway and beat Maine goaltender Jimmy Howard. It was Gare's 17th goal of the season and third of the weekend series. And as is the local custom, the first goal also brought some of the local catch spilling onto the ice.

	“	Nothing I'm going to say is going to match the game. It had a little bit of everything: glass breaking, fish throwing, OT. It was real exciting. ”
		— Maine coach Tim Whitehead

Maine (21-3-4) was outplayed for much of the first period but took a 2-1 lead into the dressing room when Tom Reimann stuffed home a loose puck at 19:53 for his fourth goal of the season. The timing was an ugly piece of foreshadowing for the Wildcats (18-6-3).

As if fish throwing and overtime weren't enough excitement, UNH's Jim Abbott created some more when he checked Travis Wight into the boards next to the Maine bench and sent shattered glass a few rows into the crowd. It took six minutes to repair, and actually gave the crowd a chance to get geared up for the finish.

UNH was able to send the game into overtime when Josh Prudden beat Howard on a breakaway with 6:08 left in the third for the only power-play goal of the evening on 10 attempts.

In the extra session, the Wildcats again seemed to have the momentum, but a rush by Reimann and subsequent shot by Francis Nault from the left circle led to Lawson's skate goal -- his fourth game-winner of the season.

"We were just trying to get it on net in overtime," Lawson said. "Coach was stressing that. Somehow it found the back of the net. I don't know if it went off my skate. I was just trying to get to the net and get some traffic in front of Ayres. He's a good goalie and we needed some traffic to beat him."

For his part, a stunned Ayers was still unsure what happened a full 30 minutes after the game.

"I poke-checked it and I have no idea what happened after that," Ayers said, using his left hand to prop up his head as he stared off into the distance. "I have no idea where it went by me, I have no idea what it went off of, I have no clue."

What UNH does have is seven days to regroup before heading out on the road for five of its last seven regular-season games. Maine has a more favorable road ahead with six of its final eight at home before the start of the Hockey East Tournament.

The Wildcats must also come to grips with two overtime losses to Maine this season and Sunday's lost opportunity giving the Black Bears the season series (2-1).

"You've got to let it go, it's not the end of the world," said Gare, trying to minimize the effects of the stinging defeat. "It's frustrating and unacceptable giving up two goals with seven seconds left in the period -- especially in overtime.

"But you try to put it behind you and hope you get another crack at them in the playoffs."

Based on the first three meetings, no one would argue against a fourth one in Boston next month.

David Albright is a senior editor at ESPN.com and can be reached at david.albright@espn3.com.