Did anyone catch the 10-minute game misconduct penalty charged to the
UMass player at the 20:00 mark of the third period?! And do they know
why it was assessed?  I didn't see any post-horn activity but there
must have been something that went on. -Jake
 
UMaine gets even with UMass, 5-0
By KEVIN THOMAS
Staff Writer
Copyright ) 1999 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
ORONO - The University of Maine got even Sunday, squashing UMass 5-0 in
a Hockey East game at Alfond
Arena.
 
The Black Bears got a bit of revenge for their miserable outings in
Amherst, Mass., in November, when they lost and tied the last-place
Minutemen.
 
In that series, Maine went 0 for 9 on the power play. Sunday, the Black
Bears scored three times on their first six power plays.
 
Maine (16-2-4, 8-2-2 Hockey East) moved one point behind first-place
New Hampshire in the conference.
 
Maine outshot the Minutemen (5-14-1, 2-9-1) 38-20. Five Black Bears
scored. Steve Kariya had a goal and three assists, giving him 38
points.
 
''He's coming on and seems to sense that he can lead this team to the
national tournament,'' Maine Coach Shawn Walsh said of Kariya, his
senior captain.
 
Kariya's linemate, freshman Barrett Heisten, also shined, with a goal
and two assists, giving him eight points in his last four games.
 
Maine needed its forwards to excel to beat goalie Markus Helanen, who
made 87 saves in the November series.
 
''We got all those shots last time and only two goals,'' Heisten said.
''We knew we had to get in front of him.''
 
Heisten scored the first goal in front of the crease and assisted
another by screening Helanen.
 
On the other end, junior goalie Alfie Michaud recorded his second
shutout of the season and fifth of his career - tying Garth Snow's
school record. It was a light afternoon for Michaud, who needed to make
only 20 saves.
 
''It's tough to play when it's like that,'' Michaud said. ''You talk to
yourself to try and stay in it . . . We played great, patient defense.
We played a really solid 60 minutes.''
 
UMass had a solid start, holding Maine to one shot in the first 8
minutes. Then came Maine's first power play.
 
David Cullen gathered a pass from Kariya, but his slap shot was slowed
by a crowd of players. Heisten collected the loose puck and backhanded
it in at 8:33.
 
Penalties continued to hurt the Minutemen, who like to use a neutral
zone trap. But they were penalized four times for interference in the
first 25 minutes.
 
''The referee made the calls that we didn't get in November with the
interferences,'' Walsh said. ''And we made them pay with our power
play.''
 
On Maine's fourth power play, Kariya redirected an Ed Wood slap shot
5:52 into the second period.
 
That is when UMass Coach Joe Mallen began encouraging his players. But
at 19:16, on a four-on-three power play, Heisten won a faceoff to
Kariya, who shoved it to Cory Larose, who wristed it past Helanen, who
never saw the puck - thanks to Heisten's screening for a 3-0 lead.
 
''That was a back-breaker,'' Mallen said. But he still gathered his
players at the next intermission and talked of a comeback. ''Let's get
a goal and get back into it,'' Mallen told them.
 
But UMass got only one shot on goal for the first 13 minutes of the
final period, which included two Minutemen power plays. Maine finished
the scoring with a Doug Janik slap on a four-on-four play, and Ben
Guite's goal, Maine's only five-on-five goal.
 
''Maine is No. 2 in the country and we played them five-on-five
evenly,'' Mallen said. ''We have to come out of this with something
posititve.''
 
NOTES: Maine plays a two-game series at Merrimack (5-6-1, 9-11-1)
Friday and Saturday night . . .
Forward Brendan Walsh (knee) and defenseman Peter Metcalf (ankle) are
still out with injuries, although Walsh could be back this weekend.