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.
The University of Maine men’s hockey team spent a brief time savoring Saturday’s shutout of the University of New Hampshire. A far greater challenge is approaching.
Boston University, the nation’s top-ranked team, heads north this weekend for a set at Alfond Arena Friday. The season series will conclude with a 7 p.m. Valentine’s Day game.
The Terriers (22-5-1, 13-5-1 Hockey East) are riding an eight-game winning streak, and have lost just one game since Nov. 22. They captured their record 29th Boston Beanpot title Tuesday, scoring three shorthanded goals in a 5-2 win over Hockey East front-runner Northeastern University.
BU has been ranked no lower than ninth the entire season, and concluded their ascent to the top by dethroning Notre Dame when the Feb. 2 polls were released. They recorded their 20th win on Feb. 6, setting the fastest pace to the milestone in team history.
UMaine upset then – No. 2 Boston College on Nov. 9, but the Eagles have since dropped to 15th.
“If you face the No. 1 early in the season, they might be No. 1 because they got off to a hot start, but BU’s been the top team in the country this year,” said UMaine senior center, Chris Hahn. “We’re going to have to stick to our guns and play good defense, and we’ll see where the chips fall.”
Hahn scored the shorthanded game-winner in the 1-0 decision over UNH on Saturday. His sixth goal of the season matches his career high and was his first career goal against the Wildcats.
“I definitely didn’t want to end my career scoreless against them, and I was just fortunate to get a nice bounce, and get the breakaway and buried it,” Hahn said.
UNH took the first two meetings by shifting the momentum with shorthanded goals of their own. UMaine coach Tim Whitehead admitted a feeling of redemption from Hahn’s goal.
“For Chris Hahn to get that shorthanded goal was certainly the turning point of this game,” Whitehead said.
Freshman goaltender Scott Darling returned to his early season form stopping all 31 shots he faced to earn his third shutout. It was his first start since being pulled from the Jan. 24 game.
“[Darling] really bounced back strong,” Whitehead said. “That was a very tough game to come back in. It’s not like he came back in for a lay-up. He came back in for a real tough game, and he handled it tremendously.”
“I just kind of figured it out over the two weeks that I wasn’t playing, just worked a little bit harder in practice, and it all came together on Saturday,” Darling said.
UMaine has won two of three since snapping a nine-game winless streak, and advanced one spot in the Hockey East standings to seventh with Saturday’s win.
“We know we’re up against a tough opponent, but we’re looking forward to this challenge,” Whitehead said. “We’re building some confidence back in each other, and I’m really excited to see our guys play against BU on Friday night.”
The Terriers have no evident weaknesses and are ranked top two in the conference in every statistical category. The offense has lit the lamp 107 times, an average of 3.82 per game, while the defense has surrendered just 55. Freshman goaltender Kieran Millan is 18-1-1 with a 1.65 goals against average, and is ranked fourth in the nation.
“That’s one of their strengths is that they’re solid at all three positions,” Whitehead said. “Also, they’re the only team in the league that’s got a better special teams plus minus than we do.”
The Black Bears must play to their defensive strengths to slow the explosive BU offense. UMaine has the league’s top penalty kill, and third-ranked defense behind BU and Northeastern University.
Their weakness comes on the offensive side, where they are ranked ninth in the 10-team conference, averaging 2.18 goals per game. UMaine points leader, freshman Gustav Nyquist is the only Black Bear with at least 20 points.
Seven BU players have reached the 20-point plateau. Sophomore forward Colin Wilson leads Hockey East in scoring with 36 points, five ahead of University of Vermont’s Viktor Stalberg and University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s James Marcous, both with 31.
UMaine is scheduled to play three of the top 15 teams in February, concluding with the final home weekend of the season February 27-28 against fifth-ranked Vermont.
