Sports

Men’s Hockey: UMaine returns to friendly Alfond

Men's hockey goes for fourth straight win at home, welcomes BC for two-game set

Posted on Nov. 19, 2009, at 1:09 a.m.

One of the highlights in the University of Maine men’s hockey team’s 13-win season last year was a 2-1 win Nov. 9 against then No. 2 Boston College on national television. The Eagles were fresh off winning a national championship.

This weekend, the Black Bears will host the Eagles for a pair at Alfond Arena and are looking to continue their recent success at home.

“We’ve re-established our home ice advantage,” UMaine coach Tim Whitehead said. “We’re fortunate to have [BC] twice at home this year, so hopefully we can take advantage of that.”

UMaine (4-6-0, 3-3-0 Hockey East) has won three straight home games, including two against top-10 teams. They managed a rare road win last Friday against Northeastern University but could not complete the weekend sweep, dropping Saturday’s game 5-2.

“Saturday night was a great reminder for our team that we’ve come a long way, but not as far as we need to,” Whitehead said. “It’s a good wake-up call for our team.”

After UMaine left wing Brian Flynn’s goal tied the game 7:38 into the third period, the Huskies responded less than a minute later and pulled away with a pair of power-play goals. It was the fourth time this season UMaine has allowed a goal within a minute of scoring.

“It’s always tough when a team scores right after you’ve scored, because it takes away that momentum you’ve just gained,” Whitehead said.

UMaine junior defenseman Mike Banwell cited poor discipline.

“We gave them all the opportunity to score, and they utilized it pretty well,” Banwell said.

The Black Bears’ penalty-killing unit was without senior forward David deKastrozza, who left the Nov. 8 game against BU in the second period after sustaining a concussion. DeKastrozza practiced with a non-contact jersey for the first time on Tuesday and is expected to be in the lineup this weekend.

“We definitely felt his absence this weekend,” Banwell said. “He’s very strong on faceoffs for us, which is obviously a big key to the game. Especially on penalty killing, if you can win a faceoff that can be the difference clearing a puck and not clearing a puck.”

UMaine gained some confidence after winning Friday’s Hockey East game on the road. Their previous win in a conference opponent’s arena was Feb. 7 at the University of New Hampshire, a game played in Manchester rather than the Olympic-sized rink in Durham.

“We’ve been feeling pretty comfortable in our own rink, and we’ve had success here, but we really needed to get some road wins,” Banwell said.

In the 6-2 win, the scoring was spread out among six different players. Whitehead reunited former New Hampshire Junior Monarchs linemates Matt Mangene, Kyle Beattie and Adam Shemansky for the first time since the season-opening series against Union College. The line produced eight points in the two games against Northeastern.

“We always support each other really well,” Beattie said. “We can read each other pretty good because of all the experience we’ve had together.”

Whitehead praised their chemistry and defensive responsibility.

“As a freshman line, we were concerned that there might be some issues defensively,” Whitehead said. “But they certainly put those concerns to rest with a real solid effort.”

Shemansky’s goal on Friday gave him the team lead with six — one more than sophomore right wing Gustav Nyquist. Nyquist is the team’s points leader with 13.

Boston College (4-3-1, 3-3-1 HE) had a disappointing season after starting last year as the nation’s No. 2 team. The Eagles went 18-14-5 and missed the NCAA Tournament. Top scorer Brock Bradford has graduated, along with forwards Benn Ferriero, Kyle Kucharski and Andrew Orpik. All contributed at least 17 points.

BC’s greatest attribute is their depth at both the forward and defense positions. Junior forward Brian Gibbons has taken over the team scoring lead with 10 and is trailed by seniors Ben Smith and Carl Sneep. Sneep is the top defenseman.

“We know they’ve got a lot of weapons,” Whitehead said. “They’re well coached, as always.”

Banwell anticipates a game plan similar to when the Black Bears hosted Boston University, another team of skilled forwards that can score in a hurry. The Eagles beat Vermont 7-1 last Friday and Northeastern 5-1 the previous weekend.

“They’re quick at moving the puck, so we’re just going to need to make sure we can contain them in our zone,” Banwell said.

Many thought BC goaltender John Muse was experiencing a sophomore slump when he did not meet expectations after leading the Eagles to the National Championship as a freshman. The team later realized Muse was in constant pain between the pipes and underwent offseason hip surgery. Muse has bounced back to post a 2.85 goals-against average in seven starts.

“He’s a great goaltender and it’s going to be tough to beat him,” Whitehead said.

The biggest statistical difference between the teams is UMaine allowing nearly a goal more per-game. Sophomore goalie Scott Darling has shown improvement, but a primary focus for the Black Bears is team defense.

“BC is a really skilled offensive team,” Beattie said. “We have to play real tight team defense to be successful against them.”

Friday and Saturday’s games are scheduled for 7 p.m.

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