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.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Every Tuesday night at 9 p.m., the Discovery Channel has a show called “Dirty Jobs,” hosted by Mike Rowe. For those that favor at-times messy and less glamorous professions, it’s their kind of program.
Next week, however, the show might be better suited if they give the job of host to the University of Maine’s gritty group of upperclassmen.
On Friday, anchored by a tenacious performance from senior Brent Shepheard, the crew made up of forwards Rob Bellamy, Mike Hamilton Keith Johnson and Wes Clark not only helped shock St. Cloud State with an authoritative 4-1 win but propelled UMaine back into national championship chatter.
Of course, the group was not without help from the cast of usual suspects like Michel Leveille, Teddy Purcell and netminder Ben Bishop. But that’s not the point.
Without those guys that revel in getting dirty – diving on loose pucks, blocking shots, taking the body, making screens – St. Cloud State would not have gone so quietly into the night.
“They gave us a boost tonight,” said Leveille. “We need those type of guys doing the dirty job.”
The biggest of those “dirty” dudes, Shepheard, tallied arguably the most crucial goal of the game and served as the catalyst for what quickly became a snoozer in the second period.
At 7:21, with the Black Bears trailing after a weak let-in by Bishop, Shepheard cut in around the Husky defense and sent a fluky shot at netminder Bobby Goepfert from behind the net.
“I just tried to throw it out front and it went off the goalie’s skate and in,” said Shepheard. “They got a lucky one and we got one.”
In the end, the tally sparked a UMaine fever rush with the Black Bears scoring 50 seconds later and then at 14:08 of the first period to bolster themselves with a two-goal advantage. After the game, Leveille was quick to give all the credit he possibly could to Shepheard, who he feels personifies that group of gutsy UMaine under cards.
“His physical presence is huge,” said Leveille. “Brent is a senior that does all the little things right. He is really great defensively. He does the dirty job. He’s the type of guy you need if you want to go far in the tournament.”
Throughout, those types of characters helped catapult UMaine into the Elite Eight for the second-straight year.
Johnson with a screen here. Clark with a great face-off win there.
“When your third line and fourth line plays like that, it’s a great sign,” said Bishop.
And it didn’t even stop there. At 17:08 of the second period, big bruiser Bellamy rocketed home his first goal of the season on an opportunistic rebound.
“I’m so happy for him to finally get that goal off his back,” said Bishop.
The group also deserves plenty of praise for how they set up the squad headed into the tourney. With 13 days off between their Hockey East quarterfinal loss to Massachusetts and today’s victory over the Huskies, the Black Bears were able to evoke a new sense of meaning into their season. Early on in the contest it was clear – this wasn’t the same UMaine team. The break was a help; and it was mainly due to the attitude of the “dirty” soldiers who instilled a solid focus and newfound energy into the team.
“I think that week off kind of did help us,” said Shepheard. “Everyone took that time off and got some time away from the rink and got recharged. All week everyone seemed focused on the task at hand. I feel we were very well prepared. Everyone knew what to expect.”
Bangor Daily News