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The University of Maine men’s hockey team passed another test last weekend, gaining a sweep on the road at St. Lawrence to tie the program’s best ever start at 5-0-0. UMaine’s surprising success has now come with another reward: A No. 1 ranking by both the US College Hockey Online and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine polls.
“We’ve raised the bar for ourselves again,” coach Tim Whitehead said. “It’s just a new challenge for this weekend. It’s good recognition for the program, but it doesn’t mean that much this early in the year.”
UMaine was challenged and forced to come from behind for the first time this season in Friday’s 3-2 win, which Whitehead said built a lot of confidence for the team.
The player who scored the winner in that game, freshman Keith Johnson, was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week for his two-goal effort on the weekend. He has surprised many observers by scoring four goals in just three games, but not Whitehead.
“He does everything well,” Whitehead said. “He, perhaps, got overshadowed by some of the other recruits because he didn’t put up insane numbers scoring-wise. He’s an average-sized guy, but he’s not an average hockey player. He does everything so well. He works hard, he’s got good hockey sense, and he’s a tough player. He’s going to play in all situations for us eventually. His success is no accident.”
On Tuesday, USA Hockey announced the first 16 players on the roster for the World Junior Championship, to be held from Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Helsinki and Hameenlinna, Finland. UMaine sophomore goalie Jimmy Howard and sophomore forward Greg Moore were both named to the team. Both Howard and Doyle played at World Juniors last year, which were held in Nova Scotia. Howard is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA, a .959 save percentage and one shutout this year. Moore has three goals and three assists for six points in five games.
The tandem will miss three games for the Black Bears while at World Juniors.
It will begin to get a lot tougher for UMaine to retain its No. 1 ranking as it opens the Hockey East season tonight with the Merrimack Warriors, who are 2-2-1 overall, and 1-1-1 in Hockey East, currently good enough to top the league.
It was thought that coach Chris Serino’s team would be lost without goalie Joe Exter, who had been the starter the past four seasons, but junior Casey Guenther has filled the pads well so far. He is 2-2-1 to this point, and after giving up just two goals in two games last weekend, Guenther was named the Hockey East Player of the Week. He has a 2.17 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
“[Guenther] may be the hottest goalie in the country,” Whitehead said. “He’s off to a great start. Goals will be tough to come by.”
Merrimack hasn’t been very explosive offensively to this point, but the Warriors have some guns. The leader is senior co-captain Marco Rosa. He has two goals for two points so far.
On defense, the Warriors have some experience but the top player is sophomore Bryan Schmidt. Schmidt, who was a unanimous selection to the Hockey East All-Rookie team last year, has one goal and one assist for two point thus far. Other important defensemen are seniors Tony Johnson (0-3-3) and Eric Peterson (0-2-2), along with sophomore Rob LaLonde (1-1-2).
Merrimack, who many have considered a pushover in the past, is not one anymore, according to Whitehead.
“I have a lot of respect for Merrimack,” he said. “I think they are a very difficult opponent. On paper, they may not appear to be that strong a team, but, from experience, I know that they are.
“They play an up-tempo, disciplined game. I know they will not be intimidated by coming to Alfond.”
UMaine will get yet another major challenge on Saturday when the seventh-ranked Boston University Terriers roll into Orono for the only time this season.
Jack Parker, in his 31st season as coach at BU, has the team off to a 2-0-1 start, 1-0-0 in Hockey East. The Terriers’ key to success is their senior goalie Sean Fields. He is 2-0-1 with a 2.59 GAA and an .879 save percentage.
Up front, the Terriers don’t have any superstars, but do have a lot of dangerous players. The group is led by senior Frantisek Skladany (0-4-4). The Terriers will also get contributions from senior Kenny Magowan (2-1-3), freshman Kenny Roche (1-2-3), and sophomore John Laliberte (1-2-3), a native of Saco.
BU’s defense is experienced and strong. Sophomore Dan Spang is off to very good start, with two goals and an assist. Sophomores Bryan Miller (0-1-1) and Ryan Whitney (0-1-1), a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2002, are the other major forces for the BU defense.
“For the last five or 10 years, [BU] has had a very strong defensive corps,” Whitehead said. “BU tries to intimidate you physically and try to outwork you with strength. Fields has proven he is one of the best goalies in the country. Goals will be a lot of tougher for us to come by this weekend. I expect a couple of close, one-goal games.”
It will be tough to slow down UMaine’s offense, which is averaging 5.40 goals per game, the best in the country. UMaine currently ranks with the best defense in the country as well, surrendering only 1.20 goals per game.
UMaine takes on Merrimack tonight at Alfond Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. The Black Bears will face off with Boston University at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Bangor Daily News