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The question is simple: Will he or won’t he?
In two days, the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team and its legion of fans will find out for sure when sophomore netminder Ben Bishop takes the ice or doesn’t in Friday’s pivotal Hockey East contest with Vermont. Currently listed as day-to-day with a strained groin, Bishop will take his time deciding whether or not to suit up for Friday and Saturday’s pair of games against Vermont. With the seventh-ranked Black Bears just three points behind the Catamounts in the conference, the series will go a long way in propelling the squad back into the race for home ice in the Hockey East quarterfinals.
On Wednesday, with the injury – which occurred early in the second period Saturday against New Hampshire – still lingering over the team, Bishop made it clear that he hopes to be between the pipes sooner rather than later.
“I’m feeling better than I did Saturday, so that’s a plus, though it’s still questionable,” said Bishop. “But I think there is a good chance I could still play this weekend.”
If Bishop is to sit out in Friday’s duel , it will be the first time he has missed a Black Bear start in 41 games. For the 6-7 goalie, today’s practice will weigh heavily on his decision.
“I’m getting on the ice early [today] and we’ll see how it goes from there,” said Bishop. “It’s not that severe at all. It is just a little bit of a strain, we just don’t want to pull it and get to where it is too severe.”
Brushing aside worries that the injury is anything substantial like what happened to legendary goalie Dominik Hasek, Bishop is quick to point out that he is not going to be sidelined for a lengthy stretch.
“It really hasn’t effected me from a mental level,” said Bishop. “It’s just day-to-day and hopefully by Friday it’s fine and the spirits will be good. I’m not really walking with too much pain, it’s just sore right now.
“It’s not like it’s hurting.”
Head coach Tim Whitehead has labeled Bishop as questionable for Friday.
At the moment, Big Ben’s injury will help to sway the momentum in the tight series. As it stands today, Bishop is tied for third in the country in wins, seventh in minutes played and 10th in goals against average. However, despite the esteemed statistics, the Black Bears are ready to soldier on without him if necessary.
“Obviously he is critical part of our team, but the way David [Wilson] played on Saturday, I’m fully confident that he can back up Bishop anytime,” said senior captain Michel Leveille.
Saddled with the difficult job of predicting whether he will be on the ice this weekend against the No. 14 Catamounts is Dave Wilson, who has seen only limited time in seven games this year. Instead of getting caught up in all the speculation, Wilson is more intent on just focusing in on his own play in practice this week.
“I go out there every day trying to prepare the same way,” said Wilson. “Right now, I’m just preparing as if I was starting this weekend and if I don’t, I will just be ready on the bench anyway.”
Senior Mike Hamilton is quick to defend Wilson’s play, noting his commendable job in net against the Wildcats’ vaunted offense in the team’s recent 2-1 defeat last weekend.
“UNH is an offensive team and they didn’t really get much on him,” said Hamilton.
According to Wilson, Bishop has also helped to get him comfortable for whatever lies ahead.
“I’ve been talking with Bish everyday: before workouts, after workouts, during workouts,” said Wilson. “He still feels like he is day-to-day. He’s not sure how it will go but he is feeling pretty well right now. He’s just giving me on advice on my game and what things to watch out for on any team.”
Either way Wilson, with an .821 save percentage and a 4.47 goals against average in 94 minutes played is eager to get to prove himself against opposing Catamount goalie Joe Fallon.
“I’m really excited for it,” said Wilson. “I saw him play in Vermont and he did amazing. I’m just excited to see how I can match up against him. I’m ready to play against a top 10 team.”
While a Tom Brady-esque story would be a welcome addition to the Black Bears’ season, the team knows they have to continue to approach the game with a strong defensive mindset.
“Just like last weekend, defense is going to be a big aspect of the game,” said sophomore defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin alluding to UMaine’s road split with UNH. “Whether Bish is in or not, we are going to have to play a solid game.”
Making matters worse is Vermont’s own indifference to an Alfond road trip. Last season, the Catamounts strolled into the Black Bear’s home and knocked them off 2-1.
“Vermont is always a tough opponent for us – we can not take them lightly,” said Leveille. “Actually there’s no way we can take any team lightly. The way we’ve been playing at home is kind of weird. I don’t understand why. This is just a big weekend for us to come out and prove to our fans that we can still play here.”
With a record of 6-5-0 on home ice, UMaine will hope to shutdown the talented duo of Torrey Mitchell and Dean Strong early on in the contest. More than halfway through the year, both forwards have combined for 54 points. Strong leads head coach Kevin Sneddon’s group with 12 goals, while Mitchell has proved to be quite the playmaker with 18 assists.
“We have to be prepared for everything and anything,” said Hamilton.
One strong factor for the Black Bears going into the weekend will be the recently improved play of Leveille who went into a mini-slump halfway through the season.
“After Christmas, I felt I wasn’t myself,” said Leveille. “I was doing a lot of things I call freshman mistakes – not back checking specifically. That’s something I want to get back to and make sure I set a good example for everyone else.”
Upon roaring back this past series with three assists and 10 shots in Saturday’s decision, Leveille will go toe-to-toe with top-tier netminder Fallon.
“They have a good goalie, and they play very well around him defensively,” said Leveille. “If we can get the first few goals, it will definitely be important.”
At the end of day, a sweep of the rival Catamounts would all but secure the Black Bears another NCAA berth, while severely damaging Vermont’s chances.
“Everyone knows where we are in the standings – we have to make a jump,” said Hamilton.
“We need four points this weekend.”
The puck drops Friday at 7:30 p.m. on NESN and Saturday at 8 p.m. Saturday’s match will be aired live on CSTV.
Bangor Daily News