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By Jeff Mannix
Staff Reporter
The Hockey East Opener for the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team will not be an easy one by any stretch of the imagination.
Umaine struggled to a tie and a loss at Western Michigan last weekend, bringing its record to 2-3-1.
UMaine interim head coach Tim Whitehead felt there were positives for his team and both games were winnable, but undisciplined play cost his team.
“Without question, right now, [playing disciplined] is our number one priority,” Whitehead said. “We’re not going to win games consistently taking penalties like [Michael Schutte's butt-ending penalty]. What’s surprising to me is that it’s the upperclassmen who are taking the penalties. That has to change if they want to win hockey games.”
That is especially true as UMaine opens its Hockey East schedule against undefeated UMass-Lowell.
The team is 4-0-0 and has averaged six goals a game. UMass-Lowell had, in the early going, an impressive 7-2 win against defending national champion Boston College two weeks ago.
The River Hawks’ leading scorer is junior forward Ed McGrane with three goals and four assists for seven points. UMaine will also have to key on sophomore Laurent Meunier (1-5-6), Peter Hay (3-2-5) and Yorick Treille (1-3-4).
The blueline is formidable despite the early departure of All-Hockey East defenseman Ron Hainsey to the Montreal Canadiens. Three of the team’s top six scorers, sophomore Jerramie Domish (3-2-5), freshman Baptiste Amar (1-4-5) and sophomore Darryl Green (1-4-5) are defensemen.
UML is solid in net. Senior Jimi St. John is picking up where he left off last season, going 3-0-0 with a 2.67 goals against average and an .860 save percentage. His back-up, senior Cam McCormick, shut out Connecticut in his lone game of the season.
But if anyone knows how to stop these players, it’s Tim Whitehead. Whitehead coached UMass-Lowell for the past five seasons before coming to UMaine. He was responsible for recruiting all the players on the roster and elevating UML hockey to where it is now.
“As far as knowing which guys to key on, we know that real well. But obviously, they play different systems now,” Whitehead said. “It’s actually more like playing Boston University, because [current coach] Blaise [McDonald] coached there before.”
But Whitehead is looking forward to the challenge.
“We’ve got to be careful to study them like any other team,” Whitehead said, “because systems have changed. It might be to our advantage that we know about the personnel, but they’ll be motivated to beat their former coach. It will be a good game.”
Whitehead was undecided on his starting goalie for the weekend.
“I’ll go with whoever plays the best in practice,” he said on Tuesday. “They both deserve the opportunity to get a good look, and they’re both playing well so far.”
Matt Yeats is 1-3-0 with a 3.48 GAA and an .857 save percentage. Mike Morrison is ranked as the best goalie in Hockey East with a 1-0-1 record, a 1.93 GAA and a .947 save percentage.
Whitehead also expects Niko Dimitrakos to play on Saturday. He bruised a hip bone last Friday and did not play on Saturday. Francis Nault and John Ronan will be out of the line-up with an injured knee and shoulder, respectively.
UMaine will also be missing Michael Schutte because of his game disqualification penalty for butt-ending on Saturday. It carries a mandatory one-game suspension.
In other news, Campbell Blair, a former UMaine player has been hired as an assistant coach. He is a former defenseman, which Whitehead says will help the young blue liners. “He’s going to be a great addition,” Whitehead said. “He graduated in 1991. He’s a talented young coach with a strong connection here. He’ll be able to help our young defenseman out, which is good because we have four freshman in the lineup right now.”
The game will be Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Alfond Arena. The first 500 UMaine students will receive a special Maine-iak T-shirt with a “W” on it to honor the late Shawn Walsh.
