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.
Five hundred miles north of Canada’s border with Minnesota, the town of Snow Lake, Manitoba is home to approximately 1,300 residents. A single school enrolls 273 students, grades one through twelve combined. Not exactly the recruiting hot spot of Canadian hockey.
The University of Maine coaching staff struck gold in the mining village two years ago when they attracted unclaimed right wing Lem Randall to Orono late in the signing period.
“It was kind of them picking me,” Randall said. “I didn’t really have a place to go play. I was going to go with Division 3, and then right at the end of our season, in May pretty much, I got a call from the coaching staff, and they wanted to look at some of my video, and they liked it. So I came down and checked out the school, and everything’s been excellent so far.”
The sophomore quickly earned the nickname “Big Country” from his teammates, referencing his rural roots and 6-foot-1, 205-pound build. Senior Chris Hahn hails from an equally northern portion of neighboring Saskatchewan, and responds to “Little Country,” due to his 5-foot-9 stature.
Randall previously skated for Manitoba’s OCN Blizzard junior team, where he compiled 101 points on 37 goals and 64 assists in 63 games and made the Manitoba Junior Hockey League All-Star second team. He also earned the GM award for community involvement.
Randall scored two points in his freshman campaign and recorded his first collegiate goal against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
He has since emerged as an all-situations player for the Black Bears, tallying nine points on four goals and five assists in his second season, while also serving on the penalty killing unit that is sixth best in the nation. His first goal of the season was the game winner in a 2-0 shutout of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks at the season opening Brice Alaska Goal Rush.
“I think the thing that Lem brings is his tenacity every night,” said Associate Head Coach Bob Corkum. “He competes every shift. He works very hard off the ice as well and in the community. On the ice he is a very physical player, but he’s also a great penalty killer. He’s very good on face-offs. He does a lot of little things that really help the team. He’s a great leader in the locker room as well.”
Whether it’s digging a puck out of the corner, diving to block a shot or delivering a bone jarring check, Randall has thrived in his role as a physical forward. He garnered the “Human Wrecking Ball Award” in his final year with the MJHL.
“That’s kind of how I grew up playing. I was taught how to play tough and in your face. So it’s kind of what I bring to the team and I hope it fills some gaps for us,” Randall said.
He likely won’t catch team scoring leaders Gustav Nyquist, Brian Flynn and Tanner House before the end of the season, but Corkum stressed the importance of physical role players like Randall playing to their strengths.
“It takes everybody playing their role for the team to have success, and when you try to do something that’s not really in your makeup, you end up hurting the team,” Corkum said. “He’s very conscious of what his role is on this team and he does his role very well.
“Not everybody can be a goal scorer, and those guys are very much as important as the guy that’s putting the puck in the net,” Corkum added. “A lot of times without the guy going in the corner and digging it out, the goal wouldn’t have been scored in the first place.”
A diving shot block late in the Nov. 9 upset of then second-ranked Boston College helped preserve the 2-1 lead and illuminated Randall’s value to UMaine’s success.
“It’s one of the things I was taught growing up. You do anything it takes to win, and a game like that, I think they were number two in the country at the time; you’re just trying to do anything to help your team win, whether it’s block a shot or take a hit,” Randall said.
The durable forward solidifies a deep sophomore class that was thrust into leadership roles sooner than expected. With a youthful roster containing 19 underclassmen, freshmen and sophomores have combined to score 74.6 percent of UMaine’s goals and are responsible for 75 percent of the scoring.
“I like to think that I’ve helped out a lot more this year offensively,” Randall said. “Our whole class from guys like House and [Josh] Van Dyk, [Jeff] Dimmen, we’ve all tried to take a little bit on ourselves this year, and I think it’s showing with a lot of the poise that some of the guys are showing.”
Randall has appeared in all but three games this season for the Black Bears, which Corkum credits to his consistent effort.
“Every time we have Lem on the ice we know what to expect out of him. He’s going to go out there and give you one hundred percent. He’s going to run some bodies over, and he’s going to chip in the occasional goal.”
