Unless the University of Maine hosts a Hockey East tournament quarterfinal series against Merrimack College, the Warriors will have to wait until next year’s trip to Orono for another shot at reversing the trend, as the Black Bears came away from a low scoring weekend with a win and a tie.

With the three points, the Black Bears are now 7-3-1 (4-2-1 Hockey East) heading into road games to the University of Vermont, Northeastern University and a rematch with the Warriors on Dec. 7. Merrimack falls to 3-6-3 (1-5-2 Hockey East).

The weekend saw superb goaltending from all four starters. Andrew Braithwaite, Merrimack’s starter Friday night, was the only goalie to give up multiple goals on the weekend, allowing two in the loss.

Three Black Bears scored their first goals of the season, as freshman Will O’Neill and junior Brett Carriere provided the scoring in a 2-1 win Friday night. Sophomore Keif Orsini’s goal was the equalizer in Saturday’s 1-1 tie.

Merrimack got to UMaine junior goalie Dave Wilson just 43 seconds into Friday’s game when center Jesse Todd found right wing J.C. Robitaille crossing in front. Robitaille was able to backhand the puck into the net to Wilson’s right.

“They passed it across, and I thought the guy was going to cut back short side, and then he ended up going far side around me,” Wilson said. “It kind of caught me off-guard because he kind of gave a head fake and I fell for it. I followed the puck pretty well, and I just didn’t get there and he squeezed it past my pad.”

Wilson got the start in net in place of freshman Scott Darling, who started the previous four games. Darling was serving a game suspension for a team rule violation.

“We have two goalies that are ready to go whenever we need them,” Carriere said. “The team has full faith in [Wilson], and I think he showed a lot of people what he can do tonight.”

Four minutes after the Merrimack goal, O’Neill put a wrister on net from the blue line that got through just under the crossbar. Freshman forward Spencer Abbott was credited with his third assist, setting up O’Neill.

O’Neill described netting his first collegiate goal as “a good feeling.”

“Spencer made a great play up the wall to me, and I just took a little wrist shot on net and got fortunate with screens in front of the net,” O’Neill said.

Carriere’s game-winner came midway through the first period, when sophomore defenseman Josh Van Dyk advanced the puck up the ice to senior center Jeff Marshall who fired a slapshot from the right faceoff circle. Marshall’s shot rebounded off Braithwaite’s pad, and Carriere was able to convert low to the short side.

“I was really happy for [Carriere],” said UMaine coach Tim Whitehead. “He’s played so well for us, and it’s great to see it show up on the score sheet too, because everyone on our team knows how well he’s been playing, but it’s great to see him get a big goal-a game winner.”

Merrimack came out of the second intermission with a sense of urgency, limiting the Black Bears to two shots in the second period. The Warriors had several scoring opportunities, particularly on a five-minute power play spanning the final minutes of the second period and the start of the third. The Black Bears’ penalty-kill unit, which has allowed just four power-play goals on the season, killed off all four Merrimack power plays. UMaine was 0-for-6 with the man advantage.

“Any time you’ve got a five-minute major, and the other team scores, it doesn’t take down the penalty. So it was definitely a momentum booster for us to kill it off and keep them shut out during that five minutes,” Carriere said.

In a desperate final minute, Merrimack pulled Braithwaite for a sixth skater and had three legitimate opportunities to send the game to overtime, but Wilson was up to the task. After the early goal, Wilson stopped all 19 shots he faced and improved to 2-2-0, while Braithwaite made 21 saves in the loss and falls to 2-5-0.

“Any time you’re down 1-0 right off the bat like that, it’s definitely hard mentally,” Carriere said. “But we knew it’s a long game, 60 minutes. So we knew that we had a lot of time to battle back, and just decided to work hard throughout the game.”

The teams showcased their talented freshmen goalies in the second game, as Darling got his seventh start and Joe Cannata countered for Merrimack. Darling and Cannata trained together during the off-season under former Boston Bruins goaltending coach Brian Daccord.

After a scoreless opening period, Merrimack broke through 14:07 into the second, when a puck misplayed behind the net by Darling rebounded off the boards to right wing Francois Ouimet in front, who buried the puck to Darling’s right while he was sliding into position.

“I was trying to throw it around the boards, get a good angle, go behind the net all the way around the boards, but I kind of just whiffed on it and just deflected it so it went right back out in front,” Darling described.

Merrimack held the Black Bears to eight shots through the first two periods, but could not build on the 1-0 lead. After being held scoreless for 54:14, the Black Bears tied the game when O’Neill sent a wrister from almost the same spot he scored from the previous night, but this time the shot to the left of the goal redirected off Orsini, who was positioned at the near post, and slid in between Cannata’s pads.

“Will [O'Neill] was able to just get a quick shot past his guy, and I just put my stick out, because I think it was going maybe a little wide, and I was able to squeeze it through his five hole,” Orsini said.

The Montreal native’s goal sent the game into overtime, where each goaltender was challenged multiple times but neither relented. UMaine’s best chance in the extra frame came on a slapshot from the blue line by senior defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin that rattled off the post.

Merrimack killed off a 5-on-3 power play early in the first period, but both teams went 0-for-4 for the game on power-play opportunites. Darling made 23 saves and is 5-1-1 on the season. Cannata stopped 16 shots and earned his third tie for a 1-1-3 record.

“We’re obviously disappointed that we didn’t complete the comeback and get two points,” Whitehead said, “but having said that, when you get three out of four points off at team playing as well as Merrimack, we’re pleased to get three out of four.”

The Black Bears return home Dec. 12-13 to host Union College.

I have been watching Student Government closely for a few years now both as a news reporter and editor. Through that time, I’ve watched many people walk in and out of that office in the Wade Center. Most of those presidents promised the big-ticket items: to fix parking, dining and housing.

Recently though, it became time for me – the news editor of The Maine Campus – to think of the “going out feature”: the article I write at the end of each president’s term stating who he is and what he did. I got to thinking and was stumped. I asked myself, “what has James Lyons done?” With no big answers coming to mind, I did what any snarky journalist would.

“James, what have you done for the student body?” I asked him as he sat innocently enough in his black, leather chair. He was a bit taken aback by my abrupt question.

He sat back and told me there wasn’t one thing. By this he did not mean he didn’t do anything, he meant he did several. “Like what? I need a list,” I said in my usual, somewhat demanding tone. He started rattling off a good 30 items, including changing poor grammar in his organization’s constitution. “Small stuff that makes a difference.”

It got me thinking. What do I expect from my student body president? Priyanth Chandrasekar, for instance, was a great guy who promised to fix lighting problems on campus to make students feel safer. He mapped out the entire campus, pointing out dark spots, but what of any of his – or past president’s – promises were fulfilled? Most presidents can’t finish one term, never mind build a parking garage.

Maybe Lyons, who never ran for his seat, is on to something. Sure, it is difficult for me to make an impressive list of everything the guy has done, but he has helped everybody else in his office do their jobs more efficiently. He’s the guy who is ripping tickets at the Dropkick concert and the guy who probably doesn’t know the answer, but will talk to people and figure it out for you.

Instead of focusing on which candidate will get you to a parking spot faster, will help you get Pepsi on campus and hash out your roommate issues, maybe we should hold our student body president to different standards to have a cleaner, more efficient student government.

Right now, the organization is a bit of a mess (See: Sept. 22 Maine Campus article: “It’s Complicated”), and it needs a leader who is willing to step out of the spotlight and glory to dig around and fix the small things that make a difference for the organizations and students on campus – even if it is just grammatical.

Heather Steeves is news editor for The Maine Campus.

In King’s fifth short story collection, “Just After Sunset,” the sights are set on obsession and madness. The narratives – mostly composed over a tight, two-year span – have themes in common, but are diversified with varying styles and viewpoints, as well as vastly differing scenarios and scenery.

Between the covers are 13 tales, ranging from bite-size 10-pagers to meaty near-novellas – three stories top 50 pages. Most of the plots begin like fortune cookies you can’t quite tug the tricky shred of paper from; expect to be thrown mercilessly into situations, trying to grasp the issue at hand and asking, “Wait a minute, who are these crazy characters?”

The developments and payoffs tend to be straightforward – slick, sinister and sometimes sleazy – rather than grandiose in this particular collection. “Willa” is a grinning, prime example of one of King’s seemingly bare-bones models, leading off the book and spinning toward a foreseeable conclusion that somehow resonates long after the last word. The same goes for “Graduation Afternoon,” a simple premise with a climax horrifying in its gruesome American foreshadowing and play on the politics of fear.

“Reality is a mystery . and the everyday texture of things is the cloth we draw over it to mask its brightness and darkness,” dictates a psychiatric patient in “N.,” a centerpiece of the collection and the only story not previously published in a magazine or anthology. This is an unbreakable thread through King’s catalogue, a pattern he holds true to in “Just After Sunset.”

He paints characters and issues instantly recognizable and bitingly real, and relishes in placing these players on the brink of ordinary and supernatural. “Because under the right circumstances, anyone could end up anywhere, doing anything,” sums up the narrator in “Rest Stop.” Thus, 15 years after King buried a fellow alive inside an iconic automobile in the short story “Dolan’s Cadillac,” he challenges another to survive a claustrophobic fate in a tipped-over Port-A-Potty in “A Very Tight Place.” Prepare to gag and shudder.

Although the collection may not be as timeless or fun as “Everything’s Eventual” or “Skeleton Crew,” it’s a worthy contribution to the underfed, underrepresented short story genre. Many narratives pass in one satisfying session (“The Cat From Hell,” “Harvey’s Dream”), some entertain for multiple late-night reads (“The Gingerbread Girl,” “Stationary Bike”).

“I wrote this story for the same reason I have written so many rather unpleasant tales, Constant Reader,” King writes of one tale in the enlightening notes in the back, “to pass on what frightens me to you.”

Grade: A-

“Now that we’re a rock band, you’ll have to call our agent for the interview next semester,” she said, laughing. She’s referencing The Renewals, the library’s newest way to connect with students.

Gfeller, the library’s Web and public relations specialist, teamed up with a group of Fogler staff members, two students and The Maine Channel to create a music video promoting the library’s easy-to-access resources. The finished product, titled “My Library,” appeared on Fogler’s Web page last week.

The age of YouTube and iTunes inspired Gfeller and company. “What if people could, like, download music about the library? Because we do tutorials and . students come, and I think they’re helpful, but they may not be the most fun thing all the time,” she said. “But if we could get a message across by using a medium that is like second nature and a lot of fun . make a student smile, but also take away a possible impression of the library, to me, that’s good for everybody.”

Sophomore Erin Keim laments in the opening lyrics: “Oh woe is me, I have so many papers due / Where will I find the info that I need? / Is there a place where all my cares can disappear? / Where can I go and know that I’ll succeed?” Faithful friend Cassie Alley answers in song, showing her the way to Fogler Library, the first stop for academic remedies.

Sound cheesy? It is – in a charming, informative way. “We wanted it to be fun, funny,” Gfeller said. “We wanted people to see things and laugh and play and look. But we also wanted it to be information about the library to be solid and open and helpful.”

With lines like “In the Oakes / You can drink lattes and Cokes / Take a break and just take time to socialize / Easily,” the balance is reached with style.

The video features Keim and Alley on lead vocals, Gfeller on drums, and library employees Larry Corbett on fiddle, Kjerste Christensen on recorder, Albie Dunn on ukulele and Tom Jones on keyboard. “These guys that play the musicians are really good. Because a lot of people think it’s sort of faked, but it isn’t. They really, really know how to play,” Gfeller said.

The Renewals saw the opportunity as an avenue to tap into new media to reach out to students. “We’re always trying to find different ways to connect with students . [and] move away from any stereotypes they might have that we’re not open and friendly,” Gfeller said.

Jones, likely the most experienced musician of the group, having performed “on a riverboat for a number of years,” according to Gfeller, did a “rough sketch-out” of the lyrics before the members met as a group. They then began piecing together how to represent the many sections of Maine’s largest research library, working “very much like any musical group,” she said.

“My Library” was originally intended to modify a “more up-to-date, well-known tune and immediately ran into copyright issues.” The talented crew ended up combining older, non-copyrighted cuts from the 1920s and ’30s, as well as a chunk of Irish folk ballad “Danny Boy.” The final product is a catchy, upbeat, show tune.

“I . said, ‘I want to do a quote-unquote music video. I want it to look like a music video, I want to have that little signature thing in the corner and all that.’ [The Maine Channel] jumped at the chance,” Gfeller said.

“They had been talking about it for months and months. They were really well-prepared,” said David Nickerson, executive producer of The Maine Channel. The channel used their new Steadicam for the first time on the project.

Gfeller was confident in Nickerson’s abilities from former work on an advertisement for the library’s “laptops to-go” program. “I told him, ‘you know, I want to get a band together,’” she said, laughing and noting Nickerson may have been skeptical at the beginning. A band of librarians?

“It was sweet. They were out, you know, with their drum set and stuff,” Nickerson said. “It was weird to walk out and see that, but everybody has a smile on their face. It was awesome.”

The Renewals recorded as a live group in The Maine Channel’s recording studio, with two hours spent on the audio and several Friday sessions filming the video on the steps of Fogler and inside the library’s stacks.

“My Library” is only the beginning for Fogler’s musical act. “We’re not going to go away,” Gfeller said. “We are going to produce at least one more in the spring.”

Gfeller hopes The Renewals’ single is “something that’s kind of a giggle to watch, but that you come away from thinking, ‘Oh yeah, that’s that place up on the second floor where I can do this or I can do that.’”

The video is available at library.umaine.edu/podcasts/renewals.htm and will stream in a higher-quality form on The Maine Channel’s soon-to-come Web site overhaul.

Leading 24-21 with the ball at the University of New Hampshire 37-yard line, a touchdown would have hurt the Wildcats’ chances of a comeback.

But after a 19-yard touchdown run was negated by a holding penalty, the Black Bears failed to put up any points and UNH took advantage.

The Wildcats marched down the field on an 11-play, 79-yard touchdown drive and the Black Bears never got their feet back under them, falling 28-24 at the snowy Alfond Stadium Saturday afternoon.

“We had scored and lost it to a penalty . and we end up with nothing,” UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove said. “That was a lost opportunity there. It could have made it very difficult for them to come back from a two-score lead.”

With the loss for UMaine, UNH (9-2, 6-2 CAA) wins the CAA North Division title and retains the Brice-Cowell Musket for the fifth straight year. It is given annually to the winner of the rivalry game.

“Guys on this team wanted to win this one,” said junior quarterback Michael Brusko. “It didn’t matter that it was for a chance at playoffs or not. We just really wanted to win. No one on this team has even seen the Musket that we play for.”

The loss also snapped UMaine’s (8-4, 5-3) six-game winning streak, but they were one of the sixteen teams selected for the national tournament.

“Eight-win football teams usually go to the playoffs. There’s a team that just beat us that is assuredly going. And I don’t think there’s much difference between the two of us,” Cosgrove said.

UNH advanced to the postseason last season with just seven victories. UMaine, which averaged 272.5 yards per game during their winning streak, was slowed down by the UNH defense and poor conditions. They were held to just 134 yards rushing, with an average of 2.9 yards per carry.

“We weren’t running the ball as effectively as we wanted to. That’s a credit to them,” said junior quarterback Michael Brusko, who led the team in rushing with 65 yards on 18 carries. “It was tough footing for our guys up front. It was tough conditions. That’s not an excuse. It’s not why we lost the game. Just makes it a little bit tougher.”

UMaine grabbed a 24-21 lead with 2:42 to go in the third quarter when senior tailback Jhamal Fluellen punched it in from three yards out.

After consecutive punts by both teams, Nixon intercepted Toman, but the UMaine drive was stalled in UNH territory.

Sophomore quarterback R.J. Toman led the game-winning touchdown drive that lasted 5:19. He converted on both a third and fourth down, capping it off with a 22-yard screen pass to senior wide receiver Mike Boyle, who eluded a tackler and tiptoed down the sideline for the score.

“We missed a tackle shortly after the catch and we should’ve knocked him out of bounds,” Cosgrove said.

UMaine got the ball back with 3:27 left, but Brusko was picked off by Wildcat junior safety Terrence Klein.

“I shouldn’t have thrown it,” Brusko said. “I was trying to get it to my tight end coming across. He was covered anyway, and I was hit as I was throwing. It was a throw I shouldn’t have made.”

The Black Bears got the ball back once more, but Klein intercepted Brusko to seal the game with 18 seconds left.

Despite only compiling 232 yards of total offense, the Black Bears’ defense held the explosive UNH offense to just 290 yards. They also forced two turnovers.

“We just kept it simple defensively,” said senior linebacker Sean Wasson, who had a game-high 17 tackles. “We knew what they were going to do. With bad conditions they were going to run the ball.”

The Wildcats took advantage of the conditions on their first drive as junior running back Chad Kackert broke away from two UMaine defenders who slipped for a 46-yard touchdown just over two minutes into the game.

Following a three-and-out by UMaine, junior defensive end Jordan Stevens forced a Kackert fumble and senior linebacker Andrew Downey recovered it.

The Black Bears took advantage, moving down the field and scoring on a 3-yard run by freshman tailback Pushaun Brown.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, redshirt freshman tight end Derek Buttles blocked a punt and freshman defensive back Mike Kuhn recovered it at the UNH 15.

Freshman Jordan Waxman kicked his first career field goal to give the Black Bears a 10-7 lead.

Kackert scored his second touchdown of the game in the second quarter to put UNH up 14-10.

UMaine responded on the first series of the second half with a 62-yard drive which included a fake punt pass. Brusko scored on a 1-yard run.

UNH answered on their next drive, regaining the lead when Toman found Boyle for a 29-yard touchdown reception.

Senior defensive tackle Jonathan Pirruccello appeared to have brought the Black Bears within two points when he took Toman down in the endzone, but the officials called Toman down at the UMaine 1-yard line.

Special Collections in Fogler Library houses original Stephen King manuscripts, documents penned by Abraham Lincoln’s first vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, and literary artifacts dating to the year 1515. Established in 1970, the department continually accumulates material from Maine authors and works outlining the history of the state and university.

“You’ll find manuscripts in their original form – no intervention of other authors have put a slant on it. Here you are seeing the originality of certain materials,” said Brenda Steeves, who has worked in Special Collections for two years.

The collections are heavily used for research. “Students, faculty and staff all over the world come to use the Special Collections department,” said Elaine Smith, employee of the section for seven years. Smith and Steeves both strive to obtain items about Mainers, by Mainers.

“Other universities maybe have special collections or a university archive, but here it’s a grouping of the two,” Steeves said.

The procedure for access to Special Collections is simple: Students sign in, leave their MaineCard as collateral and commence browsing. Permission and assistance are required to access certain resources.

The State of Maine collection includes bibliographic, historical and descriptive works on Maine as well as literary titles by Maine authors. This division also includes town reports, newspapers from various Maine communities and maps dating back hundreds of years. Special Collections is also a depository for things published by the state government as well as theses by UMaine students.

“The theses are used by researchers all over the world,” Steeves said. The oldest thesis dates to 1876 and concerns proposed rotary engines.

UMaine’s bestselling alumnus Stephen King is a jewel of Special Collections. Many of his personal manuscripts are located deep within the archives. A simple phone call to his Bangor office could grant permission to see original prints of “The Shining,” “The Stand” and other classics.

Pieces from the records of William S. Cohen, who served as a United States senator and Secretary of Defense, can be found in Special Collections, as well as the Clinton L. Cole Maritime history collection, established in 1936. Original documents by Hannibal Hamlin, Abraham Lincoln’s first-term vice president, are held along with photographs and information from John F. Kennedy’s visit to the University of Maine in October of 1963. Other collections include the archives of fraternities, sororities, senior skulls and the Maine Masque

The historic map collection includes a map of the original layout of the campus done by Frederick Law Olmsted, architect and designer of Central Park in New York City.

Most materials are acquired through gifts or purchases. The department’s director, Richard Hollinger, works to identify and work with rare book and manuscript dealers for valued pieces.

The department is currently focusing on expansion in works pertaining to Maine’s forestry, logging, fishing and Native American histories. Most selections and books are out of print or too old to be taken out. One-of-a-kind books and older materials are secured in glass cases.

Special Collections is open Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4 p.m.

Most definitely.

Gamers hunch over their keyboards in the confines of their rooms. Movie buffs drift into alternate realities in the darkness and comfort of a movie theater. So where do the book lovers find their haven? Bookstores are hotbeds for the devoted readers.

“We definitely have people in here all the time, reading full books,” said Rebekkah Martin, supervisor at Borders bookstore in Bangor. “Especially in the winter – on a cold night, people will be in here for hours.”

Comfortable chairs and benches are spread throughout Borders, mostly in quiet corners of the store, providing readers with suitable spots to indulge in their latest book choices. One chair is almost completely isolated – the “chair under the stairs” is like a cave, surrounded on three sides by bookcases.

“[It's] the hot-spot for someone who will be reading for a while. There always seems to be someone in that seat,” Martin said.

There are a few reasons one might engage in hours of reading in a bookstore without ever actually buying the book, the most obvious being price. Why buy a $20 book when you can read it in the store for free?

Cassandra Brown, a self-described “frequent offender” when it comes to reading entire books in the store, said, “This book ["Breaking Through to Teens"] costs $40. There’s no way I can pay that; I’m a college student.” She also said she enjoys the comfortable atmosphere at Borders.

Another reason for spending an afternoon in a bookstore is the tome itself. A book can be enthralling to the point where it’s impossible to put down. “There was a girl in here that read the entire ['Twilight'] series of books in one sitting. There’s like four of those books at 500 pages a piece,” Martin said.

15-year-old Ashley Cross spends significant time at Borders reading graphic novels – specifically manga. “I come here after school like three days a week,” Cross said. “Manga is so amazing. I love the artwork. I love the stories. I like reading the whole books here in the store, because it’s fun.”

Borders has no policy about how long people can stay and read. As long as no one is destroying the book or disturbing other customers, people can read to their heart’s desire. “It’s mostly teenagers coming in after school and old people. We absolutely have a ton of regulars,” said Alex Fenney, a Borders employee.

The University of Maine bookstore has the same policy. “Students can come in and read a textbook for as long as they want,” said Connie Laughlin, floor supervisor. “We have kids in here doing homework all the time. It’s a good alternative to buying the book.”

The university bookstore is outfitted with couches and seats to provide students with a comfortable lounge area. Some students are so dedicated, they bypass comfort in order to get work done; Laughlin said many opt to sit in the aisles to read and do homework, sometimes for hours on end.

In terms of time committed to hobbies, bookworms are right up there with other media fanatics. Sitting in a bookstore for hours on end, day after day, shows an allegiance matched only by Paris Hilton’s dedication to all things unintelligent.

So some lazy Saturday, grab a cup of coffee, head to a bookstore, find a nice long read and be a hardcore bookworm.

The 20th-ranked Black Bears (8-4, 5-3 Colonial Athletic Association) head to the Midwest where they will take on the No. 4 Panthers of the University of Northern Iowa (10-2, 7-1 Missouri Valley Conference) at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI is the No. 3 seed in the national playoffs. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. (ET)/4:05 p.m. (CT). This will be the second time the two teams meet in history as UNI defeated UMaine in the 2001 NCAA quarterfinals 56-28.

Live coverage of the game can be heard on 91.9 WMEB-FM.

Team Statistics

UMaine _____________Category ___________UNI

25.3 ________________ Points ________________28.5

331.6 _____________ Total Offense _____________ 358.5

196.1 _____________Rushing Yards _____________ 199.8

135.5 _____________ Passing Yards _____________ 158.8

23 / 16 ________ Rushing TDs / Passing TDs ________ 26 / 14

32:37 ________ Offensive Time of Possession _________ 31:31

21.3 _____________ Points Allowed ______________16.2

315.4 _____________Total Defense _____________ 302.2

132.9 __________ Rushing Yards Allowed __________ 107.1

182.5 __________ Passing Yards Allowed __________ 195.1

15 / 15 ______ Rushing / Passing TDs Allowed _______ 12 / 11

27:22 ________ Defensive Time of Possession ________ 28:15

+13 _____________ Turnover Margin _____________+15

Individual Leaders

UMaine ____________Category ____________UNI

Adam Farkes (870) ____ Passing Yards _______ Pat Grace (1,333)

Adam Farkes (9) ______ Passing TDs __________ Pat Grace (10)

Jared Turcotte (602) ___Rushing Yards _____ Corey Lewis (1,122)

Jared Turcotte (7) _____ Rushing TDs ________Lewis, Grace (9)

Jared Turcotte (23) ____ Receptions ________ Josh Collins (23)

Tyrell Jones (348) ____ Receiving Yards ______Josh Collins (406)

Landis Williams (5) ____Receiving TDs ______ Schuylar Oordt (3)

Jovan Belcher (93) ______Tackles _______ Josh Mahoney (106)

Jovan Belcher (7.5) ______ Sacks ________ James Ruffin (8.0)

Jovan Belcher (15.5) __ Tackles For Loss ____ James Ruffin (15.0)

Lamir Whetstone (5) ___ Interceptions __ Thompson, McMoore (4)

Landis Williams (12.3) _Punt Return Avg. ____ Jordan Smith (19.0)

Lamir Whetstone (38.0) _ Kick Return Avg. ____Jarred Herring (26.3)

Below are interviews conducted with players and the head coach on Tuesday afternoon:

Junior wide receiver Landis Williams

On the feeling after the UNH loss.It was tough, especially for me seeing a lot of the seniors as hurt as they were. And I know they put their all into the game just like all the others put their all into the game. It was tough to take that one on the chin and knowing that we possibly hurt our playoff berth and also that we didn’t get the [Brice-Cowell] Musket back.

On dealing with the close loss.Coach [Cosgrove] immediately came to us in the locker room and said ‘I don’t want to see any heads down. I want everyone to be positive because we still have hope. There are 8-4 teams that get into the playoffs.’ So we tried to stay as positive as we could and come in on Sunday and hopefully see our name pop up on the screen.

On being one of the 16 teams selected to the FCS Playoffs.It was amazing to me. People from the past have told us in the past when they were here when they were selected into the playoffs, but to experience it there’s nothing like it. Your whole team is sitting in the front of one room watching the TV just waiting to see your name pop up. And you’re not sure if you’re going to make it. You feel the joy of everyone on the team come together and then you know that you have the opportunity to keep playing football in November.

On UNI’s defense.They’re a good run defense, but our gameplan is not going to change. We’re a run offense so we’re going to run the ball. No matter what they do, they’re not going to dictate what we do. We’re going to run the ball, but there will probably be times where we have to pass the ball as well. As receivers we just have to step up in the pass game and make plays. You got to get them to respect our pass game so we can run the ball the whole game because that’s what we do.

On being the underdog.We’ve been underdogs the whole year so we pretty much have adapted to that role and me, myself, I like it because we get to come out and prove ourselves. Even when we beat good teams, we’re still the underdogs.

Senior safety Lamir Whetstone

On the feeling after the UNH loss.Me being a senior, I was very disappointed in the way things ended up. A lot of the seniors were pretty down, and there were a lot of tears, but we still knew we had a shot–a slim shot–to get into the playoffs. That’s what we kind of hung our hat on.

On the emotions after being selected to the playoffs.Once we saw it, man, the place erupted. People were calling their parents and their family telling them that we got in. Things just got crazy for a little bit.

On how to stop UNI’s running attack.We’ve got to tackle better, certainly much better than we tackled against UNH. We’ve got to trust eachother to be where we’re supposed to be and not do too much. We’ve just got to be physical and keep doing what we’ve been doing and I think we’ll be okay.

On the UNI passing game.Their quarterback is also very good. He’s a good runner and passer. He has a strong arm. When they do throw they like to throw deep. They like to run routes and get behind the secondary so our secondary needs to keep the ball in front of us.

On being the underdog.I feel like we’ve been underdogs all year. Basically all four years I’ve been here we’ve been underdogs. It’s something we’re accustomed to so it doesn’t bother us. It doesn’t affect us; it just motivates us more to try to prove people wrong.

On playing games on the road.It feels great. To be honest with you I love playing on the road with hostile crowds. I’ve been hearing some stories about how loud it gets there. There fans rattle their keys or something so it’s going to be a fun environment.

Senior defensive end Jovan Belcher

On the emotions of being selected to the playoffs.Seeing our name go across the ESPNU ticker, it was like having seven birthdays in one day. We got a second chance. We have to capitalize on our opportunities.

On UNI’s senior running back and Walter Payton Award finalist Corey Lewis.He’s a pretty agile player. He’s a hard runner. They pride themselves on running the ball. We pride our defense on stopping the run. So it’s just another challenge.

On being the underdog.If people want to look down on us, that’s their choice. It’s our time to show them what we can do.

Head Coach Jack Cosgrove

On the mood of the team after the UNH loss.I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. It’s one of the toughest walks I’ve ever had off the football field into the locker room to address a football team. The quiet, the profound quiet of a locker room that is full of young people with red eyes, tears. They just looked like they had their hearts ripped out.

On the UNI running attack.They want to run the football. I think all good teams that are successful on a consistent basis like they’ve been have a foundation of how they do business. And there’s is they want to run the ball and stop the run.

On defending UNI and the prospect of being in the playoffs.They’re a team that hasn’t turned it over in four games. We’re a team that lives off the turnover. Can we make that happen, can we run against them? They’re a team that has practiced stopping the run because they have to stop their own offense. When all is said and done and all the pretty things, it comes down to playing football. We’re in a tournament with the 16 best teams in the country.

Comparing UNI to a CAA team.They remind me of the athleticism and the fast teams like James Madison and New Hampshire. I saw that similarity.

On playing games on the road.No, we wouldn’t rather be on the road, but we aren’t fearful of it. We are 4-2 on the road.

Note: A trip diary, game recap and photos will all be posted online later this week as The Maine Campus will be making the trip Iowa this weekend.

UMaine began the season in Kennesaw, Ga. where they competed in the 100 Club Classic.

After defeating Mid-American Conference opponent Northern Illinois University 77-64 in their first game, UMaine advanced to the tournament championship game where they faced Kennesaw State.

With contributions from sophomore forward Troy Barnies and junior guard Mark Socoby who scored 16 points each, the Black Bears took home the 100 Club Classic Championship in convincing fashion 47-60.

Socoby and Barnies were both honored as all-tournament team selections. Socoby was named tournament MVP after averaging 16 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2.5 steals.

Fresh off their tournament success, the team traveled to New Jersey where they battled to a hard-fought 58-55 overtime win over the Princeton Tigers. With that victory, UMaine became the last unbeaten team in America East.

They would not be unbeaten for long, however, as they faced Big East opponent Providence College – a team picked by some experts to compete in the NCAA tournament. UMaine hung around early in the second half, but Providence eventually pulled away to win the game 83-62.

The game against Providence is the first of several on the schedule against elite Division I competition. These types of nonconference games may not look good for the Black Bears’ overall record, but the challenge will prepare them for what promises to be a difficult conference schedule.

UMaine plays their home opener Tuesday night against Quinnipiac University before heading on the road again to Mobile, Ala. for a Thanksgiving weekend tournament.

Red Sparrowes. Instrumental music is best because it’s not as distracting as music with lyrics.

Chelsea Cameron, Copy Editor

Muse. It’s what I do homework to. I also like show tunes.

Nick McCrea, Editor in Chief

BB King.

Lisa Haberzettl, Head Copy Editor

Transiberian Orchestra.

Zach Dionne, Style Editor

Explosions in the Sky and Rodrigo y Gabriela. I can listen to anything if I’m reading for pleasure – Swedish metal, instrumental, classical, soundtracks. Reggae is solid.

Heather Steeves, News Editor

I like the hum of the political arena of CSPAN.

Dylan Riley, Assistant News Editor

Music distracts me too much.

Kaley Roberts, Copy Editor

Something classical. Puccini usually.

Alicia Mullins, Production Manager

Yael Naim. I like listening to her French songs because the words don’t distract me.

David Dauphinee, Advertising Manager

Mainly movie and television scores. They tend to have a good deal of emotion in them. Thomas Newman and Michael Giacchino do some of the best.

Amy Brooks, Assistant Photo Editor

Secondhand Serenade.

Adam Clark, Sports Editor

I actually listen to a lot of 50 Cent.

Andrew Catalina, Production Assistant

Air. It’s not lyrical music.

William P. Davis, Web Editor

Johannes Brahms.