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Saturday, April 10, 2004
UMAINE NOTEBOOK: Kevin Thomas
This team's fate rests in character, not stars
Copyright 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Black Bear Hockey
Black Bear Hockey
BLACK BEAR HOCKEY
The UMaine Black Bears face Denver for the NCAA Division I hockey championship at 7 p.m. Saturday. MaineToday.com's UMaine Black Bears section includes the latest Black Bear news, brackets, message board and more.
BOSTON - Let us say, for the sake of fantasy, that the University of Maine jumps out to a 3-0 lead five minutes into tonight's NCAA championship game against Denver.
You might see a timeout called by the coach to settle down his team.
After all, Maine Coach Tim Whitehead and his players might not know how to handle such prosperity.
The Black Bears (33-7-3) ride a 10-game winning streak into the FleetCenter tonight. The last eight wins have been by one goal. One victory came after Maine was down, 2-0. Another came with Maine losing, 4-1. Two of the wins have been in overtime.
"It's a little bit of luck," admitted senior defenseman Prestin Ryan. "But the biggest thing is composure. It starts right back with our goalie. And our (defenseman), up to our forwards. When you have composure and confidence at the end of the game, you're going to make smart plays."
Ryan and captain Todd Jackson made several smart plays at the end of Thursday's 2-1 semifinal victory over Boston College. The Eagles pulled their goalie, but Ryan kept stalling BC, gaining control of the puck and flipping it high into the neutral zone, careful not to ice it.
Jackson was just as pesky. In the closing seconds, he simply took the puck against the boards and killed off the clock.
"Close games are nothing new," Jackson said. "We're comfortable in those situations now. Staying calm and composed while we keep pressing are the keys for us."
There are several reasons for this calm, while thousands of fans are screaming and a game is on the line.
Whitehead and most of the players will credit Jimmy Howard, their goalie who attained All-America status this week. Howard not only keeps setting Maine records, he looks so in control while doing it.
During a moment in the third period, when BC was trying everything to get the tying goal, the Eagles rushed the net and a scrum ensued. Howard held his ground and, at the right moment, pounced on the puck.
"Jimmy is great in traffic," Whitehead said. "He really appears the most composed guy in those scrambles. He has an exceptional ability to concentrate."
Howard said he learned a lot last year when his concentration faltered at the end of the season. He was yanked from two league playoff games and benched for the NCAAs.
Now there are no lapses in concentration. Still, Howard quickly defers praise to Maine's overall defense.
"The D-men are blocking everyone out, and the forwards are coming back to prevent the odd-man rushes," Howard said.
And that is another reason for the Black Bears' calm. They have bought into Whitehead's defensive scheme and are confident when executing it.
In the first period against BC, the Eagles' Patrick Eaves sent a pass toward the crease, where his brother, Ben, was charging. But Maine forward Greg Moore had held Ben Eaves up just enough, so Howard got to the puck first and swatted it away.
"The guys have done that all year," Howard said.
The guys have to. This is not the most gifted group. Whitehead said a comparison with the 1993 national champion Maine team is out of line.
"That '93 team might have been a team for the ages," Whitehead said. "We're more similar to the 1999 (championship) team."
That '99 team, coached by the late Shawn Walsh, was not deep. The roster was pieced together with a bunch of hard skaters, a few stars, and a hot goalie, Alfie Michaud. In the 1999 Frozen Four, Maine won both games in overtime.
"I remember Coach Walsh saying about the '99 team that there wasn't a lot of margin for error," Whitehead said. "That's how I feel about this team. One of our strengths is that we recognize that.
"We don't kid ourselves into thinking we're anything like the '93 team, because we're not. That's allowed us to be successful."
In other words, these Black Bears are not full of themselves. They are confident because of their success in close games. But they're not stupid. These players know that one critical lapse in any of the last three NCAA games, or a bad bounce here or there, and Maine would not be playing tonight for the title.
But the Black Bears are playing tonight. They have stuck to their system, played as a team and showed some grit along the way.
"This has been a tough road," Jackson said. "It's not necessarily the most talented team that's going to win. A common thread among championship teams is character. That's why we're here."
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
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READER COMMENTS
The UMaine Black Bears will face Denver in the NCAA Division I title game Saturday night. Give them some words of encouragement as they attempt a national title here....
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