Sports

UM hits the road after big win

By Matthew Conyers

Posted on Nov. 11, 2004, at 12:00 a.m.

Hockey can be a funny game. One moment you can be the darling of a thousand sports analysts and another you can be the whipping boy of some overweight radio personality. For the University of Maine men’s ice hockey squad, the young season has featured its share of struggles and critiques. However, on Sunday, with one graceful swoop of Matt Lundin’s glove, the Black Bears managed to silent their skeptics for at least one week.

Behind the stellar netminding of Lundin, the Black Bears were able to shut down a powerful University of New Hampshire team and shift momentum back on their side. With UMaine heading into an all-important road trip this weekend against Northeastern and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, momentum will need to stay on their side if they wish to keep those critics at bay for another week. Head coach Tim Whitehead believes this weekend played a vital role in the teams progression.

“I think the UNH game was a good step for us,” said Whitehead. “As a team we learned a lot from this weekend and hopefully we continue to head in the right direction.”

UMaine currently stands at 6-5-0 and 2-2-0 in Hockey East and ranked ninth in the nation in the USA Today-USA Hockey Magazine and tenth in the USCHO-CSTV poll. Northeastern is 3-3-1 on the season, while UMass-Lowell is 3-2-0 on the year and 0-2-0 in Hockey East competition.

Although neither team is currently ranked nationally, Whitehead believes each will pose their own set of difficulties.

“I think they will be two teams very hungry to beat us in their home rinks,” said Whitehead. “They are both very hard working teams, whose top end is as good as anyone.”

The past weekend saw the Black Bears split a pair of games against two national title contenders. On Friday, UMaine built an early first period advantage only to drop a decisive 3-1 loss to No. 1-ranked Boston College. With the loss to the Eagles fresh in their minds, the Black Bears took the ice Sunday afternoon and skated to a 3-0 shutout victory over their Granite State rivals. Whitehead believes the difference between the two matches his team’s ability to resist penalties.

“I thought our discipline was much better on Sunday,” said Whitehead.

Whitehead also took time to note the key aspects of the victory.

“I thought we played really well defensively and our goaltending did a great job,” said Whitehead.

The weekend series also highlighted the play of talented freshman Keenan Hopson and sophomores Keith Johnson and Travis Wright, who each provided a much-needed boost for the Black Bears.

“We got a lot of effort out of everyone,” said Whitehead. “I thought our younger guys like Travis Wright, Keenan Hopson and Keith Johnson really rose to the occasion.”

Hopson, the lone freshman of the trio, has registered one goal and three assists on the year. The talented playmaker will likely play a more weighted role in this weekend’s road trip to the Bay State. It is a role Whitehead believes Hopson can handle.

“Hopson shows a lot of poise and makes good decisions with the puck,” said Whitehead. “I am really pleased with where he is headed.”

With Lundin’s emergence in net and questions surrounding the health of All-American goaltender Jimmy Howard, Whitehead believes the freshman could contribute for the Black Bears against the Mass Pike schools.

“You can anticipate that Lundin will get a good amount of minutes this weekend,” said Whitehead. “He is going to be our guy this road trip for the most part.”

It is a position Whitehead believes Lundin has earned with his play as of late.

“Matt is ready to take the next step and earn more ice time,” said Whitehead. “He has certainly earned it.”

Lundin is currently 1-0 in net with a two goals against and a goals against average of 1.35. The freshman has also posted a .958 save percentage. Howard resides at 5-5-0 on the year and carries a 2.10 G.A.A and .920 S.P.

As far as team health, the Black Bears are hoping to return a trio of key players to the roster for this and the upcoming weekends.

“We are hoping that Bellamy, Levielle and Ramsey are all coming back from shoulder injuries,” said Whitehead. “We are hoping for all three but we can’t count any of three to be cleared for the game.”

The Black Bears’ first opponent Northeastern, promises to pack plenty of trouble. The Huskies, a team that knocked off No. 2-ranked Michigan to open the season, boasts a roster full of headaches. The biggest could come in the form of junior Mike Morris, who has four goals and six assist for ten points. Senior Jason Guerriero, the Huskies most heralded player, will also likely play a pivotal role for NE. Guerriero has four goals and five assists for nine points. Yale Lewis, Ray Ortiz and Brian Swiniarski round out the Huskies top five in scoring.

In net, the Huskies are backed by top dog Keni Gibson who has backed Northeastern in net for the past four years. Gibson has played in eight games and given up 19 goals for a 3.09 G.A.A. He has a .833 save percentage.

The series between the two squads marks the 75th meeting with UMaine holding a 37-33-14 lead. At Matthews Arena, UMaine has a 2-3-3 record in the last eight games. Last year, the Black Bears took two out of three from Northeastern. The last match between the two Hockey East foes saw Howard and Gibson battle to a 0-0 deadlock.

As for Saturday’s duel, the River Hawks are another young team eager to knock off the nationally ranked Black Bears. Junior Elias Godoy paves the way for UMass-Lowell with one goal and six assists for seven points. Also looking to contribute significantly is junior Ben Walter, who has a team-high seven goals.

In net, Chris Davidson has played in four games and carries a 2.57 G.A.A conference game. Davidson has also registered a .910 save percentage.

Whitehead believes both games will be extremely tight.

“I think its going to be two very tight games that could go either way,” said Whitehead. “They will probably be one goal games.”

Both Friday and Saturday’s matches will start at 7 p.m.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 11th, 2004, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.