In their final season for the Black Bears, senior forwards Spencer Abbott and Brian Flynn have made Whitehead look really good.

“I could probably write a book on their growth over four years,” Whitehead said. “It’s remarkable when you look at it. They improved the areas of their game that they needed to improve to become elite players. They are two of the very best players in college hockey. They’ve been the dynamic duo for four years.”

Abbott and Flynn are the only teammates in the country in the top five in points, with Abbott’s 47 leading the country and Flynn’s 39 tying for fifth.

“I never really thought anything like that would happen,” Abbott said of leading the nation in points. “I’ve played with a lot of great players and the coaching staff does a really good job of bringing a young player up here and growing them.”

Flynn agreed, citing the early ice time he received as the reason for his development while at UMaine.

“I can remember freshman year we were talking about just wanting to get into the lineup and play as much as possible,” he said. “I think we were both fortunate to come here in a year where we had only four seniors and four juniors so we were able to play right off the bat. I think that’s helped a ton with our development.”

Whitehead believes it’s that opportunity to play as freshmen that swayed them to join the Black Bears.

“When you look back to four years ago, I’m sure one of the most appealing parts about coming to UMaine was we had a lot of turnover at the forward position and these guys were going to get the opportunity to prove themselves,” he said.

While both Flynn and Abbott played in successful junior league teams, neither was a highly touted recruit. Flynn, a Massachusetts native, was overlooked by both Boston University and Boston College, while Abbott only received looks by mediocre programs such as Niagara University and Northeastern University.

“Spencer and Brian in particular came in quite untouted,” Whitehead said. “They had other interests, but we showed the most interest and believed in them the most.

“Spencer’s always had elite hockey sense and great poise with the puck and we felt he had elite skill,” he said. “He was not real strong defensively and wasn’t making the impact he could. Conditioning wise, he wasn’t in great shape. He would show flashes of brilliance and we thought there was a real diamond in the rough there.

“Brian’s always been a fierce competitor and relentless worker,” Whitehead added. “In a different way, we thought Brian had tons of potential to be an excellent player but for different reasons. He also had skill and great hockey sense but his greatest attribute back then was his competitiveness and his drive. We felt he was the type of player to get better and better.”

Since their freshman year, both Flynn and Abbott have each accumulated over 100 points. This season, they have both already eclipsed their last season totals. Both accredit their improvements to adding strength and gaining confidence.

“My defensive play and my strength have risen,” Abbott said. “When I was a freshman, I never hit the weight room as much as I have here. Every summer I’ve really gotten after it and put on weight. It’s harder for guys to knock me off the puck when I have it.”

“We were both able to play power play as freshman,” Flynn said. “Getting in there as freshmen while most would get that ice time sophomore year helped a ton. It gave me confidence and when you have confidence like that, you can get better and put a little more work into it.”

This season both Abbott and Flynn were thrust into leadership roles, with Flynn being named offensive captain and Abbott assistant captain, something that Whitehead thinks they’ve dealt with well, in addition to on-ice improvements.

“This last year in particular has been great. They’ve been able to slam-dunk this level, athletically and as leaders as well,” Whitehead said. “They’ve done a wonderful job working with our younger players.”

While a large amount of the success comes from the leadership of these two seniors, both say there’s a unity to the team that makes them successful.

“Every year I’ve been here we’ve had good teams,” Abbott said. “This year we have such a close team — a closer team than I’ve ever been on here. That’s why I think we’ve been successful. Everyone’s together.”

Both Abbott and Flynn were named preliminary nominees for the Hobey Baker Award. Of the 77 nominees, Abbott leads the voting with 18 percent while Flynn is tied for sixth place with 3 percent.

With their last season winding down, both Abbott and Flynn have thought about the next step in their career, but are waiting until the end of the season to fully address it.

“It’s almost impossible for it not to cross your mind, but you put it in the back of your mind and focus on the task at hand,” Flynn said. “The better we do this year, the better opportunity I’ll have after this.”

Abbott was pondering his post-college options last year but decided to finish his collegiate career at UMaine.

“I had a little bit of interest last year, but nothing concrete,” he said. “I’d really love to sign a contract at the end of the year and I’m doing everything I can to become a professional hockey player, but I’m trying to put that aside now with seven games left and then see what we can do in the playoffs.”

“They both could have signed last year,” Whitehead said. “They weren’t really on the map when they came to Maine. Now their prospects are very solid. Both Flynny and Spence have the potential to be impact players at the NHL level. I’m very confident in that.”

Black Bears prepare for important Hockey East weekend

The Black Bears leave the friendly confines of Alfond Arena for a crucial weekend of Hockey East play, as they look to pick up the season sweep against Providence College while avoiding the same fate from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.

“These will be tough games,” Whitehead said. “Both these teams are good at home. Providence dropped two games last weekend so they’ll be chomping at the bit and Lowell is playing their best hockey of the season.”

The Black Bears swept the Friars at home during the last weekend of October. UMaine needed overtime to win the series opener before handling the Friars 3-1 the next night.

Just two weekends later, the Black Bears experienced the low point of the season when the River Hawks swept the Black Bears in the Alfond for the first time since 1986.

“It’s been a long time [since that series],” Whitehead said. “Hopefully that memory is still in our players’ minds.”

At the time the sweep seemed unorthodox, but the River Hawks proved they weren’t to be taken lightly this season.

The River Hawks are enjoying one of their most successful seasons ever, sitting at 18-7 and No. 7 in the country.

The Black Bears have climbed to No. 12 in the rankings, mainly due to a 13-2-2 record since the sweep.

Last weekend, the Black Bears extended their win streak to six games, thanks in part to sophomore goalie Dan Sullivan. The York, Pa. native picked up his first shutout of the season in the series finale, but it was a crucial save late in the 4-3 overtime win that set the tone for the weekend.

Seconds after Abbott tied the game in the final moments, the University of Alabama-Huntsville broke through on a breakaway, only to have Sullivan stonewall the attempt with 10 seconds remaining.

“It was a tremendous save he made at the end of the game,” Whitehead said. “It’s a tough challenge for a goalie to be in a game where he’s not getting many quality shots and then to make a save in a key moment of the game. Dan rose to the occasion and made the save. That would have been very deflating if he had not. It gave us extra lift into overtime.”

Both UMaine and UMass-Lowell are currently tied for third in the country in offense, with each team averaging over three and a half goals per game. If the game comes down to special teams, UMaine has an advantage on the power play, converting just under 30 percent of their opportunities compared to the River Hawks’ 20 percent.

A component of that success has been the development of a second power-play unit, one that has helped relieve the pressure on the first unit. Sophomore forward Mark Anthoine leads the team with nine power-play goals and is currently tied for second in the country.

“It takes a lot of pressure off,” Flynn said. “We have another power-play unit that has been getting a lot of goals, which takes a lot off our power-play unit. We don’t feel the need to stay out there the whole 2 minutes; it keeps us fresh.”

The Black Bears may be shorthanded when they travel throughout New England, as both junior forwards Joey Diamond and Adam Shemansky are banged up. Diamond sat out last weekend with a hip injury, while Shemansky took a knock to the head Saturday night against the Chargers. Ice time for either is questionable this weekend, yet Shemansky passed his concussion test on Tuesday.

“[Diamond’s] questionable,” Whitehead said. “It’s more likely he’ll play in the Lowell game and not Providence, unfortunately.”

Friday’s contest at the Friars is scheduled for 7 p.m., as is the UMass-Lowell matchup in Lowell, on Saturday.

The Black Bears held tough, but the loss of their post presence was too much to overcome as Vermont scored 32 points in the paint en route to a 73-63 victory.

The Black Bears fall to 11-11 and 5-6 in America East, while the Catamounts improve to 16-10 and 10-2 in conference.

Despite being down by 16 points at one point, UMaine continuously clawed their way back into the game but couldn’t get over the top.

“That was a good fight-back, but it’s February and we’re not looking for a fight — we’re looking for a win,” said senior guard Gerald McLemore, who earned America East Player of the Game, scoring 20 points shooting 5-9 from the 3-point line.

Vermont lead 13-7 early, but McLemore cut the lead to 13-10 after hitting his second 3 of the game early after curling off a screen from the low block.

UMaine continued to hang around Vermont as senior forward Travon Wilcher came off the bench and immediately got his uniform dirty diving for a loose ball and forcing a tie-up, providing important minutes in Fraser’s absence.

Despite McLemore’s hot shooting early and the competitiveness of the Black Bears, Vermont continued to execute and take advantage of turnovers, pushing the lead to 34-19 with 4 and a half minutes left in the first half.

“We wanted to start the game playing better defensively,” said UMaine head coach Ted Woodward. “We had trouble kind of finding our rhythm on defense, no matter what it was, man or zone.”

UMaine trailed 37-25 at halftime, and Vermont went on a quick 6-2 run, but the Black Bears answered with a 14-2 stretch that put them right back into the game, including four points each from junior forward Mike Allison and freshman guard Justin Edwards. The highlight of the run came as Edwards drove the baseline, drawing a second defender as he wrapped the ball around and found Allison for an easy lay-in.

McLemore had six points during the run, including a conventional three-point play in which he drove the lane hard before falling away and hitting a jumper that seemed to bounce on the rim for an eternity before falling in, cutting the lead to 45-39.

“They had really good energy,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “They were a tougher team than us for the first half, maybe the first 15 minutes of the second half.”

After a couple of free throws by senior guard Raheem Singleton, UMaine was within four points with 12 minutes to go. However, they would not get closer. UMaine fought hard but missed too many opportunities against a fundamentally sound Vermont team who had six players score six or more points. UMaine had 16 turnovers compared to Vermont’s 11 and shot 10-18 from the free throw line compared to Vermont’s 18-23.

Overall, Vermont scored 21 points as a result of UMaine turnovers.

“Way too many turnovers,” Woodward said. “[We] had some great opportunities at the free-throw line and when you are playing against Vermont you have to capitalize.”

UMaine went down by 12 but made one last push. After Edwards tipped in his own miss, UMaine forced a stop on the defensive end and pushed to McLemore, who pumped fake before hitting a 3 from the corner.

UMaine applied pressure on the inbounds and forced a steal as senior guard Andrew Rogers dove on a loose ball and called timeout to give the Black Bears one final chance with just over 3 minutes to play, trailing 61-55. Vermont regained their footing and forced two turnovers on the subsequent possessions after the timeout, sparking an 8-0 run and taking control for good.

Matt Glass led the Catamounts with 17 points, while Brian Voelkel chipped in with nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists. UMaine was led by McLemore’s game-high 20 points, while Edwards added 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Allison scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked five shots.

UMaine will travel to Boston University on Thursday before returning home to host Albany on Saturday.

In her fourth year with the team and her second year as the captain of women’s hockey, Sullivan has not missed a game for UMaine neither this year nor last year, despite a separated shoulder and “ribs that were popping out” this season. Her leadership as captain has helped lead the team to a 15-8-6 record so far this year. Sullivan currently has five goals and 11 assists for 16 points this season including two game-winning goals.

“She has a good balance between tough and sensitive, she is a hard worker, a scrappy player, and doesn’t make excuses,” said UMaine head coach Maria Lewis. “She was recognized by her teammates as someone they could look up to and possesses natural leadership abilities. Sully is the kid who others want on their line. She brings the line together. Her demeanor rubs off on others and it allows others to play their best.”

The biochemistry student has a couple of moments that stand out to her and her teammates over the course of her career at UMaine.

“This year, the weekend we swept [Boston University] was a pretty big moment,” Sullivan said.

“Earlier in the year her ribs were popping out, and she just played through the injuries and battled throughout,” Lewis said. “She has always been there helping the team out, whether it be a game-winner, making a huge back-check or [stealing the puck].”

Being on the hockey team has helped Sullivan off the ice as well.

“It has helped me in learning time management and getting work done,” she said. “When I first got here I immediately had 24 friends, and I’ve made a lot more along the way.”

As for the NHL, Sullivan’s favorite player is Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby.

“He’s from Nova Scotia like me,” Sullivan said. “I admire his hard work and how much effort he puts in day in and day out.”

As for her favorite hockey team, she takes after her father.

“My favorite team is the Montreal Canadiens,” Sullivan said. “My dad watched them when they won their championships when he was a kid, and it has just been passed down through the family.”

On the season, Sullivan has amassed five goals, 11 assists and 82 shots. As her team makes their final push toward the playoffs, it is a sure bet that Sullivan will be a vital part of the Black Bears’ run.

As the Black Bears embark on a new season, they are led by a new head coach, former UMaine softball player Lynn Coutts.

“Anytime you are a part of the Black Bear team, there’s a lot of pride in being here,” Coutts said. “It was always one of those things that I would love to come back and coach. The opportunity came up, I was in the state of Maine, and it worked out. I’m really happy to be back here. It’s a great place to be.”

The Florida road trip starts the Black Bears’ season with five games throughout the weekend. The host team will play in the tournament along with Illinois State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Long Island University and last year’s runner-up for the College World Series, the University of Florida. UMaine will play each team once.

“They are very anxious,” Coutts said of her team. “I think when you practice for so long, you just want to go play. There’s a good mixture of competition, so this gives us a good idea as to where we are and where we would like to be. It’s a good benchmark.”

Coutts lived just outside of Ottawa, Ontario growing up. In high school she moved to Maryland to live with her uncle, the coach of the Washington Capitals.

Coutts had the opportunity to attend college in Maryland, but UMaine recruited her for softball. Her softball contributions in Maine haven’t depleted since.

Coutts became head coach for the Orono High School softball team prior to her college graduation in 1987. From 1990 to 1994, Coutts joined the Black Bears again as an assistant coach, working closely with the pitching crew.

Throughout those four years, the softball team improved dramatically, starting with a .300 winning percentage, ending at .650. The Black Bears also became the North Atlantic Conference Champions during Coutts’ last year.

She was hired as the UMaine women’s softball coach on Nov. 14, 2011.

Deb Smith, the former head coach for UMaine, resigned from her position after three seasons with the team. Maureen Barron, wife of UMaine women’s basketball head coach Richard Barron, was the interim coach after Smith’s resignation.

Coutts said the squad still remained organized throughout their offseason.

“Our seniors pretty much organized practices and encouraged everyone to make sure they got their lifts in,” Coutts said. “That is definitely a testament to our seniors. They continued to lift five days each week through all of this. The girls were just anxious to get back into it and get a coach in there.”

Despite last year’s overall record of 18-31, Coutts displayed no concern for this year’s softball season.

“The girls know that their potential is greater than what their record was last year,” she said. “We don’t look back too much. We’re looking to build on what we can do this year.”

The America East Preseason Poll picked the University of Maine to rank six out of seven teams. However, Coutts’ recent step into head coach left little time to get to know her team.

“I have not seen them play in a real game with their uniforms on yet,” she said.

Coutts believes the weekend tournament in Tampa should give her an opportunity to learn more about the Black Bears.

“My job this weekend will be to evaluate what we do in a game situation,” she said. “Once you go up against other teams, the competition is a little bit different. Levels are different. I want to see how they do in that picture.”

Coutts added two new members to her coaching staff this year, including Barron, who formerly coached for Princeton University’s softball team.

Kevin Welch, hired as assistant coach lin January, has formerly coached at three other colleges and is entering into his 17th year of coaching.

“It’s all about softball,” Coutts said about her team and staff. “It’s that universal language that we want to go out, we want to work hard, we want to play. We want to win.”

And Barron will also be sticking around on a volunteer basis. According to a January release, she’ll work with pitchers.

“She’s great,” Coutts said. “The girls really like her. We have the same temperament and the same philosophy. She’s done a great job with being here when she can.”

Regular conference play for women’s softball begins in April. Before then, the softball team plans to compete in at least 10 more tournaments along with non-conference match-ups.

“We always have to prepare for the season,” Coutts said. “When you play the different types of competitions and levels, our goal is to go out and win, but it’s really to prepare for conference because that’s what it’s all about.”

In an interview with ESPN radio in Chicago on Feb. 2, Barkley said: “I cannot believe how bad the NBA is right now. I’m a fan first and foremost, [and] watching the NBA right now, […] I’m embarrassed about the product we’re putting out there right now.”

Even if Barkley is being a little dramatic (he can be at times), he might be on to something.

League-wide averages have dropped considerably when compared to recent years — most notably shooting percentage, which is at its lowest since the 2003-04 season. Free throw percentage hasn’t been this bad in six years, and three-point shooting percentage is at its lowest since the NBA’s previous lockout in 1998-99.

But statistics haven’t been the only problem.

Injuries have rocked the league as well — and the issue can largely be attributed to the lack of practice, rushed training camp and greediness of the decision to play too many games in too short a time period.

On Monday night, the league saw four star players fall victim to troublesome injuries: Knicks’ five-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony suffered a groin injury, last year’s league MVP and Bulls guard Derrick Rose was having back spasms, Nuggets’ forward Danilo Gallinari sprained his ankle and Clippers’ five-time All-Star Chauncey Billups is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.

Miraculously, standing strong at a time players are dropping left and right is Mavericks’ 2011 NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, but only after a four-game hiatus to rejuvenate an injured right knee.

Personally, I agree with Barkley. This season hasn’t quite done it for fans, even with the season’s highly anticipated Chris Paul/Blake Griffin combo in Los Angeles. The league now stands with roughly five “super teams” including the Heat, Clippers, Knicks and the slowly diminishing superiority of the Celtics and Lakers. This results in a somewhat unfair league, adding insult to injury in an already deficient season.

The worst thing for a league to do when coming out of a lockout is to show it affected them. In reality, it surely does, but for a business that plays a large role in the entertainment industry, it is imperative for the entire league to play at a certain level and show no signs of losing a step because of its current situation.

The 2011-12 NBA season was rushed, and we have all been made aware of the repercussions. A sense of urgency at the beginning of the season has now evolved into an evil infection.

For a while, I thought I was too busy to pay attention to my fantasy basketball team this season. I found myself forgetting to set my lineup and disregarding league news. Having an untalented team wasn’t the case — on my roster is Chris Paul, the league’s “best” statistical player.

I have a strange feeling I’m not the only one who has been run down by this condensed season.

“We’re not sneaking up on anybody this year.”

A fitting assertion by Trimper, considering the myriad success the team has enjoyed in the last few seasons.

Trimper and his team took the America East Conference crown last year in a season that saw 33 regular season wins, a trip to the NCAA Regionals and a win over Florida International University.

Despite the positive outlook for this year’s team, the veteran coach is keeping his goals conservative.

“First and foremost, we’re concerned with being better than yesterday,” Trimper said. “I think in college baseball, people set such high goals [that] it’s too easy to [say], ‘Omaha or Bust,’ or ‘Let’s win our conference.’”

Although the Black Bears lost a number of seasoned players to graduation and the MLB draft last season, Trimper said he’s more than confident in his starting nine, a comfort he has not always enjoyed.

“In my 19 years of coaching, I think there’s been many times where I have had teams where I was just trying to survive the weekend,” Trimper said.

This year’s roster figures to keep Trimper headache-free, as his entire starting infield is comprised of returning players. The outfield, on the other hand, will provide opportunities for rookies to make their mark.

“Our outfield is going to be young,” Trimper said, referring to freshmen Scott Heath, Sam Balzano and Brian Doran, all of whom will be vying for playing time at the start of the season.

UMaine’s first contest, which pits them against a solid team in Clemson University, also marks the beginning of a 26 consecutive road-game streak, a stretch that Trimper said he won’t lose sleep over.

“It’s UMaine baseball — we know that we have to go on the road,” he said. “What doesn’t break you makes you stronger.”

Trimper said UMaine’s rigorous away schedule will only help them come next season, when the NCAA will reward teams’ Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) based on road wins.

“There’s going to be major bonus points awarded to road wins next season,” Trimper said. “We could end up in the 75th spot at the end of the year, but because of those road wins, we could end up in 55th.”

Trimper says such a scenario would help the Black Bears greatly when the NCAA selection committee meets to choose at-large bids for Regional tournaments.

As far as winning this year’s first stretch of matchups against Clemson and Florida State University — two nationally renowned programs — Trimper’s approach is a simple one.

“Our focus is to play good, clean baseball,” he said, “because if you can throw the ball and catch the ball, you’re going to be in the ballgame.”

New to this year’s schedule is a “home-away-from-home” game against Boston College that will be played at Portland’s Hadlock Field.

“They’re promoting it like crazy,” Trimper said.

According to Trimper, the game is an attempt to promote UMaine baseball in the southern area of the state, as well as an effort to put them on the radar of future recruits.

“UMaine is a baseball [community],” he said. “I know there’s snow, but people love their baseball here.”

“Both are big skill kids,” Cosgrove said. “Max has big skills, we can see him playing tight end or [half-back], he has great ball skills, he fits into our framework. He reminds me of Matt Mulligan and Justin Perillo. He is a big, athletic kid, and we’re going to have him hit the weight room to get bigger, faster, and stronger. Matt was a hard-nosed and dedicated kid and hopefully Max will look at him for inspiration.”

“Josh was difficult for the defense to block at the high school level because of his size. He was a basketball player too as well. He will be a pass-rush kind of kid; he has the explosiveness and mentality for it. We’ll have to get him to the weight room to get him stronger as well.”

The other players who will be suiting up for UMaine next season include Davonte Burke, defensive back from Fork Union Military Acadamy in Galesville, MD; Daniel Collins, quarterback from Williamstown High School in Williamstown, N.J.; Sean Decloux, kicker/punter from Red Lion Christian Academy in Ottawa, Ontario; Alban Dedvukaj, defensive end/defensive tackle from Santa Barbara City College in Brookfield, CT; Nigel Jones, running back from Holy Spirit High School in Pleasantville, N.J.; Sacoy Malone, running back from Springfield Central in Springfield, MA; Christophe Mulumba, linebacker from Kent School in Montreal, Quebec; Sean Reuss, tight end from Monticello High School in Monticello, N.Y.; Patrick Ricard, defensive end from David Prouty High School in Spencer, MA; Calvert Schaefer, offensive lineman from Winters Mill in Westminster, MD; and David Toriola, defensive tackle from St. Francis Prep/Marist College in Corona, N.Y.

When recruiting players, Cosgrove and his coaching staff take good care to get the complete package in a player, including a good football player, good student and good person.

“We’re football coaches, so we recruit football players,” Cosgrove said. “We get introduced to these players first on video. Then we go and meet them. They have to be good students as well.  They have to demonstrate the ability to be good on the field and be a good student. Being a student-athlete is almost job-like, and if they can’t balance the football with their studies it disrupts the whole integrity of the recruiting system, so we have to make sure we’re getting the athlete, the student, and the person.”

Though many of the new recruits have great talent, Cosgrove wants to make sure they are prepared before they get onto the field.

“Older players, junior-college transfers [and] players with experience would be the ones I would expect to be ready to play quicker,” Cosgrove said. “I’d prefer the first year players to redshirt if they can so they can play a fifth year and use the redshirt to develop and get prepared. It has happened, a first year player making an immediate impact though.”

Cosgrove also makes sure they get the players at positions that the team is in need for.

“Personnel needs are assessed, and position needs are recruited a couple of years out so we can have a player ready to take a graduating players place,” Cosgrove said. “You never want to have it so that the recruiting class has to play for you. Size, speed and strength are bound to a lot of necessary attributes we look for. We look at every opportunity to better the team, it doesn’t matter where they are from if they are good enough. We’ll go anywhere to get anyone.”

With a class of ’13, UMaine will be looking at the tall order of matching the success from last year, but with hard work and stepping into graduated players shoes, they have an opportunity to do so.

The Black Bears fall to 6-17 and 3-7 in America East, while the Retrievers improve to 12-12 and 6-5 in conference.

The Black Bears took an early lead when back-to-back layups by Danielle Walczak brought the score to 12-8.

UMBC responded with a 9-0 run midway through the first half and never looked back. The Black Bears narrowed the deficit to one, but the Retrievers headed into halftime up 32-25.

Senior guard Brittany Williams led the Black Bears in the first half with eight points, while senior forward Samantha Baranowski grabbed 12 of her career-high 14 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

After a couple of Baranowski free throws opened the second half, the Retrievers went on a 10-0 run before another lengthy scoring stretch gave them a 54-31 lead midway through the half.

Each team exchanged baskets throughout the rest of the game as the Retrievers picked up their sixth conference win.

Four Retrievers scored in double digits, led by senior guard Erin Brown’s 18 points.

UMaine freshman guard Courtney Anderson hit a couple of 3s on her way to eight points, while Baranowski led the Black Bears with nine points to go along with her 14 boards.

The Black Bears return home this Wednesday to take on Boston University at 7 p.m.

Women’s basketball plays for Kay

The University of Maine women’s basketball team plans to raise $10,000 for the Play 4Kay program by Feb. 15.

Sandra Kay Yow coached the North Carolina State University women’s basketball team for 34 years. She led the United States women’s basketball Olympic team to a gold medal in 1988 and to a World Championship in 1996, the only women‘s coach in history to achieve both. With over 700 career wins, Kay Yow earned her spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Throughout successful ventures, Yow battled a terminal illness. In 1986, she was diagnosed with cancer. She died in 2009 at age 66.

Kay Yow, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, and The V Foundation for Cancer Research worked together to create the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. This organization holds charities for the funding of science development and research for breast cancer treatment.

UMaine head coach Richard Barron knew Kay Yow through coaching at North Carolina State. After Yow’s death, Barron became the assistant coach for NC State two years before becoming head coach at UMaine. According to Barron, each encounter with Kay Yow proved inspirational.

“She was a very gentle, caring, warm person,” he said. “She was extremely nurturing. She had a unique ability to bring people together, especially in a competitive environment.”

Barron has involved himself in the Kay Yow Foundation for the past few years. Within the program, Barron served on different advisory boards as well as contributing to the Play 4Kay contests.

“It’s always something I’ve been involved in,” Barron said. “It’s something we want every school to be involved in.”

After the Black Bears’ last victory at home, Barron pledged to shave his head after the game against the University of Hartford on Feb. 15 if the $10,000 goal was met. The Hartford game marks the deadline for the benefit. The entire team, as well as the coaching staff, will be sporting pink attire. Barron asks each fan to participate in the cause by wearing pink to the game and donating to the fundraiser.

Anyone interested in donating to the effort can contact Barron or visit the Black Bear’s Play 4Kay Central website. Cash donations will be accepted at the Hartford game.

The Black Bears improve to 15-8-6 on the season and 9-6-2 in Hockey East.

In a hard-fought and physical game on Saturday afternoon at the Alfond Arena, the University of Maine women’s hockey team defeated the University of Vermont in a defensively dominated game that featured 18 penalties, with 12 during the third period alone.

After a 1-0 UVM lead through two periods, freshman forward Tori Pasquariello netted two for UMaine in the third. The Black Bears went on to win 4-1.

“It is a team effort overall, and getting the goals helped us come back and get momentum. But it felt awesome,” Pasquariello said.

Right off the opening face-off, UMaine was pushed back into their own side of the ice, having to play defense right away. Junior goaltender Brittany Ott came up with some early saves, but 5 minutes into the first period, UVM got a good look after crashing the net and sophomore defender Megan Dalbec assisted junior forward Emily Walsh in scoring the game’s first goal, putting the Catamounts up 1-0.

UMaine responded with their own offensive attack and put pressure back on UVM.  Junior forward Danielle Ward had a chance in with a breakaway, but it went wide right. Off that miss, it looked as if UMaine tied it up when sophomore forward Kayla Kaluzny assisted Pasquariello, but after a review, the referees determined that Pasquariello high-sticked while scoring, and the goal was disallowed.

UVM continued to play excellent defense throughout the period, as UMaine outshot them 16-7 in the first period, and lost the face-off count 44-30 in the entire game. The Black Bears played well off the face-off but could not get a goal past sophomore goalie Roxanne Douville. UMaine had a couple of chances in the first with 3-on-2’s but Douville kept the puck at bay.

Late in the first period, UVM junior forward Erin Wente was sent to the penalty box and UMaine started the second with a power play. However, the Catamounts’ defense and goaltending remained strong. UVM was able to kill the penalty and got a chance for a power-play goal when UMaine senior forward Myriam Croussette committed a penalty.

Following a UMaine timeout, it looked like the Black Bears had gained some momentum when Pasquariello had a one-on-one and UVM freshman forward Krystal Baumann sat out for 2 minutes for cross-checking, but the Catamounts’ defense kept all 16 shots out of the net.

Walsh committed a tripping penalty late in the second period, giving UMaine the personal advantage to start the third. UMaine’s offense and physicality picked up in the third period, and they wasted no time getting the equalizing goal. A minute into the third period, Pasquariello was assisted by sophomore forward Brianne Kilgour. Two minutes later, UMaine team captain Dawn Sullivan committed a body-checking penalty, the first of 12 penalties in the third period, with seven going against UVM and five against UMaine.

For the majority of the period, there were less than the typical 10 players on the ice, with four-on-four seeming to be the norm. UMaine played excellent defense and did a good job keeping the puck on the offensive side, allowing only nine Catamount shots the whole period, as opposed to their 20.

“We just try to ignore it, and fight and play through it,” said UMaine head coach Maria Lewis. “The refs are hard to figure out. Sometimes you can talk to them and try and help yourself out, but the best thing to do is to just play through it. It can be frustrating but we have to keep playing.”

Midway through the third, the Pasquariello-Kilgour duo put another goal in, giving UMaine a 2-1 lead. Both teams continued to play a physical game and the penalties continued to come one after the other. Following a penalty by UVM freshman forward Brittany Zuback, junior forward Brittany Dougherty scored on the power play to put UMaine up 3-1 with 2 minutes left in the third.

Ward finished up the scoring in the final minute of the third with the hockey equivalent of a half-court shot, flipping the puck over the heads of the Catamounts defenders from center ice and into the empty net to give the Black Bears the 4-1 win.

“The important thing is getting those two points,” Pasquariello said. “We don’t look at this as a series but as individual games and take it one game at a time. We need the points to keep our goals in our own hands.”

Pasquariello finished with five shots and two goals for the Black Bears, including what would be the game-winning goal in the third. Kilgour had two shots of her own, but more importantly had the assists on both of Pasquariello’s goals. Dougherty led UMaine with seven shots and went 2-1 in face-offs, and Sullivan led UMaine in face-off wins with 13 to go along with her three shots and one assist. Ott finished with 18 saves and Douville with 30.

The win is important for the team, as well as getting the points toward the standings.

“They are going to have to make a decision to play hard, decide they want it and refuse to give up the battle,” Lewis said.

The Black Bears finished off the sweep Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 shutout of the Catamounts. Sullivan and Dougherty each scored another goal, while sophomore goalie Missy Denk also added one.

Sullivan and Dougherty gave UMaine an early lead, scoring two goals in the first period. Ward assisted on both goals, bringing her total to 14.

After a scoreless second period, Denk put the game away with less than 5 minutes remaining, giving UMaine the shutout. Fresh off being named Hockey East Goalie of the Month, Ott picked up her third shutout of the season.

It took more than 60 minutes for the Black Bears to complete the comeback Friday night, upending Alabama-Huntsville in overtime 4-3. Early Saturday night the Black Bears jumped on the Chargers, scoring twice in the first and second periods on their way to a 5-0 victory.

Winners of six in a row, UMaine improves to 16-8-3, while the Chargers drop to 2-26-1.

“The way Alabama played was hard-nosed, physical hockey,” said freshman center Stu Higgins after the first game. “That’s definitely a better team than most people think. We knew if we came out and worked hard it would come out in our favor.”

UMaine needs overtime Friday night

The first period was penalty-filled — six total, five coming from the Chargers. However, the Black Bears were booked first when freshman forward John Parker was called for cross-checking.

After the Black Bears killed off the penalty, they had two chances in a 3-minute span on the power play yet couldn’t convert on either, considering Alabama-Huntsville sophomore goalie Clarke Saunders’ excellent play in net.

Over midway through the period, Alabama-Huntsville’s hustle paid off in the form of a goal, after junior center Justin Cseter won the puck in UMaine’s defensive zone before finding freshman forward Kyle Lysaght wide open in the slot. Lysaght deked freshman goalie Dan Sullivan and beat him with a backhand shot for his seventh goal of the season.

The Black Bears had three more chances on the power play throughout the period but couldn’t find any consistency in their offense. Senior defender Ryan Hegarty had a great look in the slot, but his slap shot clanked off the crossbar.

Saunders stopped 15 shots in the first period, while the Chargers attempted only three on target.

“I thought we were getting in lanes and clearing rebounds,” Saunders said. “Just doing a good job of keeping Maine to the outside.”

After a stagnant first period, it was expected that the Black Bears would come out fast in the second, but it was the Chargers who stepped on the gas pedal.

The Chargers killed off the second half of a power play to begin the second period before getting two chances of their own on the special teams. While Alabama-Huntsville faltered on those opportunities, they doubled their lead with less than 7 minutes remaining right off a face-off. Sophomore forward Mac Roy controlled the puck and surprised Sullivan with a quick shot.

The Chargers took a commanding lead into the third period, adding another goal with less than 4 minutes remaining in the second. Cseter added a goal to go along with his assist, beating Sullivan for Alabama-Huntsville’s third goal.

“They had the territory, they had every loose puck and they deserved that lead,” said UMaine head coach Tim Whitehead. “The third period we were able to regroup and tilt the ice back the other way. It was a matter if we got enough bounces to tie it up.”

The Black Bears finally came out aggressively in the third period, getting on the board just over 2 minutes in. After sophomore defender Mat Hagen was booked for a high sticking, junior forward Matt Mangene redirected senior forward Spencer Abbott’s shot and lit the red lamp for UMaine.

“I took a few steps in from the blue line, shot it and Matty screened it and it bounced off his leg,” Abbott said.

Midway through the period, the Black Bears made a game of the matchup when freshman forward Andrew Cerretani picked up his first collegiate goal. After a barrage of shots by the Black Bears, Cerretani snuck the puck through the back door left open by Saunders.

“You’re always concerned when you’re down 3-0,” Abbott said. “Our guys were frustrated after the first [period] with all those good looks and nothing to show for it. Their goalie played really well and we can’t take anything from them. They probably deserve a better fate.”

Entering overtime with all the momentum on their side, the Black Bears completed the comeback in the first minute, when a resilient effort by Higgins sealed the victory. After Abbott fired the puck toward the net, Higgins corralled it on his third attempt to beat Saunders.

“I figured I’d [initially] let Abbott have it and it worked out,” Higgins said. “He had a shot out front and the goalie saved it, but I got a lucky bounce, kicked it to my stick and hit it. The goalie was out of position and he couldn’t find the puck through the scrum.”

Black Bears blank Chargers Saturday

With five goals coming from five different players in the series finale, the Black Bears took down the Chargers 5-0.

“We spent a lot of energy Friday night and it wasn’t our legs that hurt us the most tonight, it was our head,” said Alabama-Huntsville head coach Chris Luongo. “The first thing that goes when you’re fatigued is your mind.”

Abbott led the Black Bears with a goal and three assists, picking up seven points on the weekend to increase his total to 47, highest in the country. Sophomore defender Brice O’Connor also scored his first collegiate goal.

“Everyone was geared up because we knew we dodged a bullet and we wanted to come out and play hard,” Abbott said.

Sullivan picked up his first shutout of the season, stopping all 20 shots his way.

“That was a good feeling to get the shutout,” he said. “It looked like a completely different team in front of me tonight.”

The Black Bears showcased their special teams early in the game after a high stick was called on sophomore defender Lasse Uusivirta. After threatening throughout the power play, UMaine cashed in with seconds remaining on the man advantage when sophomore forward Mark Anthoine scored his team-leading ninth power-play goal.

Less than a minute later, the Black Bears had another power-play opportunity after sophomore defender Nickolas Gatt was called for tripping.

Although UMaine failed to connect on the power play, O’Connor scored his first collegiate goal seconds later after following up on his rebound.

“I lucked out. I didn’t know where the puck went,” O’Connor said. “I [initially] thought it went in. I got good wood on it but it trickled through his pads and I snuck behind and tapped it in.”

The Chargers had one chance with their special teams on the ice after freshman defender Jake Rutt was booked for interference, but Alabama-Huntsville couldn’t get on the board.

The Black Bears outshot the Chargers 19-6 in the period.

“The key was to get off to a good start,” Whitehead said. “Getting the lead really helped, but we knew there was no quit in them. It’s good to play with the lead and extend it. A lot of good, honest effort.”

The Black Bears opened the second period with a goal, scoring on the remaining moments of a power play from late in the first period. Abbott found senior center Brian Flynn open in the slot for Flynn’s 14th goal of the season.

The Chargers couldn’t stay out of the box and it continued to cost them, as UMaine made it 4-0 early in the second period. Less than a minute into a power play, Abbott fired a shot toward Saunders, who got a pad on it before Mangene beat him with the rebound attempt.

A slew of penalties populated the rest of the period, but neither UMaine nor Alabama-Huntsville could connect on the opportunities. The Chargers had a brief five-on-three play but couldn’t capitalize.

“It would have been nice to generate a little momentum off that to see where it would lead,” Luongo said.

The Black Bears wrapped up the win in the final period when Abbott scored his 15th goal of the season after rebounding a shot by Rutt.

Abbott finished the weekend with seven points, including two goals and five assists.

“I’ve just tried to get the puck to the net,” Abbott said. “I’ve changed my mindset and am trying to shoot a little more and make opportunities to bank home rebounds.”

With an idle weekend from Hockey East play, the Black Bears fall to fifth in conference with 24 points, one point behind Merrimack College and Boston College. UMaine does move into the top 10 in PairWise rankings, sitting alone at ninth.

The upcoming weekend of Hockey East play is vital for the Black Bears, as they travel to Providence College on Friday night before an important showdown at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell on Saturday.