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The eighth-seeded University of Maine men’s hockey team wasn’t supposed to be hanging around Agganis Arena for an extra day. The Terriers were the nation’s top team, nearly doubling UMaine’s scoring average, and allowing almost a goal less per game.
The better team prevailed in the decisive third game of the Hockey East quarterfinal series with a 6-2 win and advanced, but not without a renewed sense of the reputation UMaine hockey carries.
“We were very pleased with how our players competed on the weekend,” coach Tim Whitehead said. “We were able to earn some respect and really build some momentum, build some excitement towards next season.”
After winning just two games in the second half of the season, the Black Bears clung to the final Hockey East playoff spot and drew the number one seed as their first round opponent. Anyone who walked off the street into the arena Friday night who was unfamiliar with the playoff picture could have easily been convinced it was a 4-5 matchup.
The Black Bears struck first in Game 1 with a power-play goal, only to have the Terriers squelch their upset aspirations with two goals of their own, the second coming with just 2:56 remaining in the third period.
UMaine returned the following night and allowed a shorthanded goal in the first period, leaving them with a 3-1 deficit to overcome, and BU fans a chance to leave their seats and purchase tickets to the semifinals.
The offense that averaged just over two goals per game in the regular season not only tied the game at three in one 30-second burst before intermission, they went on to score three more after that without a response from their opponent and won 6-3 to force a third game. It was the first time BU had allowed three goals in a period and more than five goals in a game all season.
The Black Bears finished the year at 13-22-4 (7-17-3 Hockey East), after opening the season going 10-5-1. It was their second straight 13-win season.
“Unfortunately, your record in sports is pretty much where you’re at, from the outside looking in,” Whitehead said. “But within the locker room, our players and coaches do feel that we were very close to putting together a very strong season, but unfortunately it didn’t happen that way.”
Preseason expectations were defined for the fifth-youngest team in the country. The Alfond faithful expected nothing short of a twelfth trip to the Frozen Four from the roster filled by 19 underclassmen. By the end of the season, the questions of what could have been returned for those remembering Ben Bishop, Teddy Purcell and Andrew Sweetland, who all left UMaine early to turn pro.
“Obviously life isn’t always fair, and we’ll never know just how good we could have been this year with Purcell, Sweetland, Bishop, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we would have been pretty darn good,” Whitehead said.
“We have to forge ahead, and control what we can control, and that’s our effort, and our focus, and our rebuilding process. We’re going to continue to do that, and we’re excited about the direction we feel our team is going to be going next year.”
Anticipation builds as the Black Bears enter the offseason. There is reason for optimism as UMaine graduates four seniors. Matt Duffy’s blistering slapshot and 6-foot-7 Simon Danis-Pepin’s reach will be missed on the blue line, as will the aggressive presence of forwards Chris Hahn and Jeff Marshall, but the top scoring line of freshmen wingers Gustav Nyquist and Brian Flynn and sophomore center Tanner House will return along with a stingy defensive core.
Nyquist was the team’s leading scorer with 32 points on 13 goals and 19 assists and was selected to the Hockey East Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team. Flynn and House followed with 25 and 24 points respectively.
Jeff Dimmen (6 goals, 9 assists) and Mike Banwell (2 and 6) are expected to lead the defensemen as juniors, along with soon-to-be sophomores Will O’Neill (4 and 12) and Ryan Hegarty (0 and 3). Hegarty is recovering from a neck injury that kept him off the ice for the playoff series.
Brett Carriere (2 and 0) will be among four seniors. He and O’Neill showed versatility by playing in both offense and defense positions this season.
The goaltending tandem of Dave Wilson and Scott Darling will have behind them a year of experience, in which both saw significant playing time. Darling saw the bulk, though, when Wilson was injured in the final month. Darling was 10-14-3 with a 2.76 goals against average and three shutouts in 27 games in his freshman campaign. Wilson played in 10 games after backing up Bishop in his first two seasons. He compiled a 3-8-1 record and a 2.82 GAA.
Special teams was the consistent backbone for UMaine’s ability to stay in games. At one point the penalty kill was ranked as high as sixth best in NCAA Division 1. Close games often failed to end in their favor though, as they lost 11 one-goal games.
“There were a lot of positives, and that’s what we’re going to focus on now, in addition to working on improving our weaknesses as we head into next season,” Whitehead said.
A highly-touted recruiting class is expected to make an immediate contribution to the anemic offense. Among incoming freshmen are forwards Joey Diamond (top scorer for Ontario Junior A Hamilton) Manchester Junior Monarch’s Kelen Corkum (Son of UMaine Associate Head Coach Bob Corkum), Adam Shemansky and Matt Mangene, and Notre Dame Transfer Robin Bergman.
“We’re looking forward to another strong recruiting class coming in next year. We certainly believe they can help us right away, and that will be a big plus,” Whitehead said.
The Black Bears will meet with fans one last time before parting for the offseason. The annual Awards Banquet will be held on Friday, May 8 at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer. Information is available on the UMaine Athletics Web site.
Bangor Daily News