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Maybe the 2003-’04 season didn’t end in triumph for the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team. But, in this case, that’s OK.
With everything that happened to the team last off-season, no one expected this team to get as close as it did.
“Coming into this year, we didn’t have any pressure, or any expectations,” UMaine’s senior captain Todd Jackson said in the locker room after the national championship game loss to Denver on Saturday night at the FleetCenter in Boston. “And we came within one goal of the national championship.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Jackson said. “We battled all year.”
That was the one trait about the Black Bears that everyone recognized: they never quit. Even in the toughest situations when it looked like there was no chance, the team stuck to it. Most times, the team pulled out wins, like at St. Lawrence on Oct. 24, coming from behind for a 3-2 win. Like Senior Night at Alfond Arena on March 6 when UMaine was outshot 42-24 and won 4-3 in overtime against Boston College. Like the final game of the Hockey East Quarterfinals at Alfond Arena against Merrimack with a third-period comeback to win 3-2. Or the grueling three-overtime Hockey East Championship game against UMass. Who can forget the four-goal third period comeback in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Harvard?
Then, there were others, like the national championship game, where they played hard and came close, but just couldn’t quite pull out the victory.
Coming so close to the national title is amazing considering what UMaine had lost coming into the year.
The team lost its top five scorers from the previous season (four to graduation, one due to expiration of playing eligibility). Add that to the sub-par finish to the season (three straight losses, including Hockey East Quarterfinal and NCAA defeats) and the hopes for this season’s group were not high.
Some outsiders questioned the ability of Tim Whitehead to continue to keep the program prominent on the national scene with the shadow of the late Shawn Walsh still looming. The team was picked to finish fourth in Hockey East by the league’s coaches in the preseason poll. It was ranked 13th in the US College Hockey Online Preseason Poll, almost as a courtesy for the program’s past success.
On opening night Oct. 10 in Omaha, Neb., UMaine had 10 new players in the lineup to face the two-time defending national champions, and consesus pick to win a third straight, Minnesota. UMaine opened eyes with its convincing 4-0 win over the Gophers in the opening round of the Maverick Stampede. The Black Bears opened even more by winning the tournament title the next night with a 6-2 waxing of Wisconsin.
Three weeks into the season, the team had already achieved the No. 1 ranking in the country. It got off to the best start in school history at 7-0-0. UMaine then hit a rough patch on Nov. 7 and 8, dropping road games to BC (4-1) and New Hampshire (6-3), but recovered by going 5-0-1 in the next six.
UMaine once again had a bad weekend after the Christmas Break, taking part in the Florida Everblades College Classic on Dec. 27-28. UMaine lost to Ohio State 4-2 in a lackluster opening round performance, despite a late comeback effort, then lost the consolation game to Notre Dame 1-0, even though UMaine outshot the Fighting Irish 32-22.
UMaine started to have trouble scoring in the next few games. Its next losses were also by 1-0 scores: Jan. 17 against UMass at Alfond, and Jan. 24 at Boston University. The loss at BU followed an 8-4 win the previous night.
UMaine followed up a home sweep of UNH Jan. 30-31 with a sub par performance in a non-conference series Feb. 6-7 against Alabama-Hunstville in a 1-0 win and 2-2 tie. The Black Bears played to their first scoreless tie in three seasons on Feb. 14 at Northeastern.
With a chance to set up a showdown in the final weekend of the season with BC for the Hockey East Regular Season title at Alfond, UMaine lost any chance with a 3-2 loss Feb. 27 at UMass-Lowell.
The Black Bears responded by winning their next 10 games, the last eight of them all by a single goal, including the Hockey East Championship, the NCAA East Regional Championship and the National Semifinal. Three of those eight wins came in overtime.
Many individuals stepped up for the Black Bears over the course of the year. Jackson finished second in the nation in shorthanded goals with five, and led the team with 21 goals. Colin Shields led the team in points with 44 and showed the best two-way game he’s played while at UMaine. Prestin Ryan, while breaking his own record for penalty minutes in a single season and setting the career mark in the same category this year, proved to be a strong defenseman and scored several key goals. Among the most pivotal were a winner at Providence on Nov. 21 and a power play goal in the four-goal rally against Harvard on March. 26.
All three of those players garnered second team All-American honors, along with goalie Jimmy Howard. UMaine’s four All-Americans were the most in one season since 1993.
Frank Doyle stepped up in goal, especially in the middle of the season. He went 19-4-0 with a 1.81 goals against average and a .923 save percentage and five shutouts. And, he quietly sat by and watched as Howard got hot down the stretch and led UMaine through the playoffs. Most goalies might have complained about having to sit, but Doyle stayed humble and supported his teammate.
Howard set new NCAA single season records for goals against average (1.19) and save percentage (.956). He was named the Hockey East Tournament Most Valuable Player after saving 98 of 100 shots through the tournament. He made a career-high 63 saves in the three-overtime thriller for the Hockey East title. He made 40 saves in the national semifinal to help the Bears past BC.
Then there was freshman Michel Leveille, leading the team in assists with 34, and proving that he may be the best set-up man UMaine has seen since Paul Kariya had 75 assists in 1992-’93.
Sophomore forward Greg Moore came into his own with 15 goals, none bigger than the winner against Harvard to cap the comeback.
Sophomore Derek Damon had a stellar season with 31 points. The 6-foot 4-inch junior transfer Dustin Penner showed incredible poise with his stick all year and parlayed it into a season of 11 goals and 12 assists.
UMaine also got contributions at key times from several role players. John Ronan scored the overtime winner March 6 against BC, and tied the Hockey East Quarterfinal Game 2 with Merrimack, allowing UMaine to complete the comeback and win. Ben Murphy, who only had three goals all year, scored the goal that gave UMaine the 2-1 win in triple overtime against UMass for the Hockey East Championship. Freshman Mike Hamilton, who only scored seven goals on the season, scored three big postseason goals, including the only goal in the Hockey East semis against BU, the goal that started the comeback against Harvard, and the overtime winner the next day against Wisconsin to send UMaine to the Frozen Four.
UMaine got key contributions at times from Jon Jankus, Mike Lundin, Jeff Mushaluk, Luciano Aquino, Tom Zabkowicz and Keith Johnson, as well.
The Black Bears will lose five players to graduation for next season: Jackson, Shields, Doyle, Ryan and Cameron Lyall. Ryan has already signed a multi-year pro contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has joined their American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, for the playoffs. Shields is currently playing for Great Britain in the Group A World Championships in Oslo, Norway. His draft rights are held by the Philadelphia Flyers. Jackson’s draft rights are held by the Detriot Red Wings. Lyall and Doyle are professional free agents who can sign with anyone.
Of course, the other major question mark is whether Howard will jump to the pros. His draft rights are held by Detriot, who currently has a wealth of goaltending. Howard says he plans on staying put.
“I’m staying here,” Howard said after the national championship game. “For right now, I have no plans to leave.
“I don’t even want to think about [leaving UMaine] right now; it makes make sick to my stomach even thinking about it,” said an emotional Howard. “I don’t want to leave [UMaine]. This has been the best two years of my life. I love it at Maine, and I would really like to start next season in a Black Bear uniform.”
It appears as though the Red Wings will be content for him to stay in Orono as well. Published reports from TSN in Canada say the Red Wings are ready to sign their other top prospect, Stephan Liv, to a contract for next season in the near future.
Whether Howard stays or goes, the team will still return a strong nucleus for 2004-’05. A strong recruiting class, led by defenseman Bret Tyler of the Boston Junior Bruins and Rob Bellamy of the New England Junior Coyotes, will arrive for next season. The late-signing period is later this month, so the remainder of the class will be announced in the coming months.
The Black Bears are slated to play their home opener for 2004-’05 in October. The 2005 Frozen Four is being played at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University, April 7 and 9.
Bangor Daily News