Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
No one saw this coming.
Most media pundits from Bar Harbor to Sag’s Harbor had them tagged for the morgue. They were done, dead, finished. This year was supposed to be the tough one – the one that truly tested the faithful.
But they knew better. They held the joker. And last month, they used it on every opponent that wanted to go toe-to-toe.
Oh, how silly they made them all feel.
On Friday, the University of Maine men’s hockey team will usher in November and with it another chance at proving their critics wrong. It’s a position the red-hot Black Bears love.
“Its a lot of fun thinking we are actually getting a little respect,” said sophomore defender Bret Tyler. “We’ve always had a good team but people thought because we lost a great goaltender in Jimmy Howard we were going to fall off the map. But nope, and we’ve proved them wrong.”
UMaine, who currently stands as the second ranked team in the nation in both the USCHO-CSTV poll and USA Today – USA Hockey Magazine poll, enters the weekend with their highest ranking in 13 months. With a record of 7-1-0 on the year, the Black Bears kick off their second series of conference competition with Merrimack and then Boston University on Sunday.
It is a weekend that captain Greg Moore believes the Black Bears can’t take for granted.
“Obviously we’re happy with the start,” said Moore. “I just hope the team stays focused and isn’t happy with being second in the nation.”
UMaine will be hoping to extend two impressive streaks, the first of which is one of the best in the nation. The Black Bears return to Alfond Arena, where they have a 17-game unbeaten streak. Moore figures that once again the Alfond mystique will play its own special role.
“Our fans have been amazing this year,” said Moore. “In the four years I have been here, I have never seen the enthusiasm in this building as I have seen this year.”
The Black Bears will also be looking to push their current win streak to eight games with a weekend sweep.
“It certainly should be a good atmosphere,” said Moore. “We’re looking forward to the weekend and hopefully stealing four points for Hockey East.”
Merrimack arrives in Orono 3-3-0 on the young season, while the Terriers are 1-2-0 and ranked 19th in the country. Head coach Tim Whitehead believes both opponents cannot be taken lightly.
“I can’t pretend we’re not excited about the season but it is very early and we have to be very careful,” said Whitehead.
UMaine will have to be extra careful with the Terriers, who are primed for a breakout weekend. Led by head coach Jack Parker, BU is currently 1-1-0 in Hockey East, while UMaine is 2-0-0.
“Coach Parker always does a good job recruiting, they’re always one of the top teams in the country We have to be prepared,” said Tyler.
The game will mark the 91st meeting in the storied rivalry. The Black Bears hold a slim 42-40-8 lead in the series.
“I know whenever BU comes to town I love it,” said forward Derek Damon. “The crowd loves it, the student section really gets into the games. It’s always fun because of the big history UMaine has with BU.”
The Terriers are led by the dangerous duo of Peter MacArthur and senior John Laliberte. MacArthur has tallied two goals and one assist this season, while Laliberte has recorded two goals. Freshmen Brandon Yip and Chris Higgins figure to play integral roles for the Terriers as well.
“Boston University always has a good crew of elite players,” said Whitehead.
In net for BU will be junior goaltender John Curry, who has started all three games for the Terriers with a 3.17 goals against average and .860 save percentage. Curry will be backed by senior Stephan Siwiec.
The Black Bears will combat that tandem with their own imposing pair of netminders, Ben Bishop and Matt Lundin.
“Our goalies are playing outstanding right now,” said Damon. “You can’t ask for better performances than what Matty did last weekend and Ben down at BC.”
Lundin will go for his third straight shutout this weekend, after posting goose eggs against Alabama-Huntsville and the University of Massachusetts. The sophomore has posted a .33 goals against average and a .985 save percentage, good enough for a 3-0-0 record. Following right behind is Bishop with a 4-1-0 record and a 1.59 save percentage. Combined, both goals have allowed 1.12 goals per game, the best in the nation.
Earlier this week, Bishop was named Hockey East Rookie and Goaltender of the Month.
“He is playing unbelievable,” said Moore. “I talked to Jim [Howard] and I hope he doesn’t get too worried about his records and stuff, but I don’t think those will be ever touched. Bishop is playing unbelievable and has been a big lift to our team. Especially with Matt Lundin getting two shutouts, we can’t ask anymore of our goalies this year. Hopefully they stay focused.”
Helping both netminders tasks has been the defense lead by Tyler and assistant captain Steve Mullin. Tyler believes the reason for the success is the group’s unity.
“We are just having a lot of fun out there together and we have real good chemistry back there,” said Tyler. “We all click well.”
Damon notes how the offense feeds off the defenses strong performances.
“Guys natural instinct is to play well defensively and think defense first,” said Damon. “When you think defense first guys are going to get a lot of chances offensively.”
Defenders Matt Duffy and Travis Wight also spearhead a group known for blocking shots.
“You see one guy doing it, it’s contagious and the rest of the guys are going to want to block shots,” said Damon. “When you have guys who want to sacrifice themselves for the better of the team than everybody is doing well.”
The Black Bears returned from a weekend sweep against Boston College and UMass-Amherst last weekend with 16 blocked shots.
“It starts with Travis Wight. He is probably our best at blocking shots,” said Damon. “He is an important piece to this puzzle.”
That defense will need to continue its standup play on Friday, when a young and talented Warrior team comes to town.
“Merrimack is going to be a tough opponent, they just came off a big weekend against RPI,” said Damon. “They had a good power play against RPI. They had three power play goals. We are going to have to shutdown the power play.”
Anchoring the Merrimack assault is Matt Johnson, who has five goals and one assist, and senior defenseman Bryan Schmidt, who has one goal and three assists.
“With Schmidt on the point, he usually gets a lot of shots through, so the forwards are really going to have to get out there and get in the lane and block his shots,” said Damon.
Between the pipes will be junior Jim Healy, who has started five games with a 3-2-0 record and a 3.80 goals against average and a .800 save percentage.
“Any team in Hockey East can, at any given night, pull out a win,” said Moore.
Merrimack and UMaine have met 60 times, with the Black Bears holding a 47-8-5 record. Over the past ten meetings, UMaine has a 9-0-1 mark with the tie coming last year at Alfond.
Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m., while Sunday’s game will see the puck drop at 2 p.m.
Bangor Daily News