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                        Wednesday, February 4, 2004

                       COLUMN: Kevin Thomas



                             He gets to play and makes the plays




                          Copyright  2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.





ORONO ‹ When Michel Leveille arrived on the University of Maine campus, he lived in his car for a week. If he wanted to play hockey last year, he had to pay to get on the ice.

     Oh, how these college athletes are coddled.

     Leveille, 22, is Maine's top hockey playmaker, ranking fourth nationally with 23 assists. He was named Hockey East Rookie of the Month for January after amassing 13 points.

     Leveille is coming off an emotional weekend, when the Black Bears swept rival New Hampshire before two packed Alfond Arena crowds. He said he feels great.

     Last year, Leveille felt like dirt.

     "A tough year," said Leveille, who was classified as a "non-qualifier" because his high school grade-point average and SAT scores weren't up to NCAA standards.

     Not only couldn't Leveille play for Maine, he couldn't practice and couldn't accept one penny of the scholarship Maine offered.

     "I don't like the NCAA right now," Leveille said. He spoke with a smile while wearing the glasses that make him look more accountant and less hockey center.

     He smiles, but it is a bitter smile. Several different times during a conversation Tuesday, Leveille (pronounced LAY-V-YEH) returned to the subject of the NCAA and its rules.

     "The NCAA is really unfair. They should take it case by case instead of having all these rules," he said. "I tried to call them but could not talk to anyone."

     Leveille, from Levis, Quebec, just across the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City, said he struggled with the SAT because he was still learning English at the time. He did well with the math portion, but not with the verbal.

     Because of the poor SAT score, Leveille's high school grade-point average was factored in - and here is where he has to take some responsibility.

     "I never put enough effort into high school," said Leveille.

     After high school, Leveille played two years of juniors in British Columbia. After that he felt he was mature enough to go to college. Others did, too. Maine beat out Boston University among others to sign Leveille.

     Leveille knew he might have to sit out a season because of his high school grades, but thought he would still get his scholarship and practice with the team. He found out in the summer of 2002 that he would get no money, nor ice time.

     "I wasn't going to come. My dad died when I was young and my mom was already paying for my sister to go to school," Leveille said. "I told the coaches I could not come. They called back an hour later and said it would be worth it.

     "I had a good talk to my mom and I decided to come."

     Denise Leveille, Michel's mother, would find a way to pay for his first year, of course. Since Michel's father, Yves, died 19 years ago, "she wanted to realize my dad's dream."

     Yves Leveille, a huge Quebec Nordiques fan, loved hockey. When his son was a toddler, he built a small net and father and son played hours of mini-stick hockey.

     "Every night I'd go, 'come on dad, let's go play hockey.' And he did," said Leveille, who doesn't remember those moments but heard about them often from his mom.

      So Michel Leveille would come to Orono to play hockey - eventually. Because he couldn't play with the Black Bears last year, Leveille hoped to play on weekends in an amateur league back home, 4 1/2 hours away.

     "But there is an NCAA rule saying you can't play in another league," said Leveille, rolling his eyes. "All those rules."

     The only time Leveille could play hockey would be during the open "stick-and-puck" skates with other students at Alfond Arena. But that cost $3 a session. Leveille was on a budget and limited himself to two sessions a week.

      When last summer came around, Leveille finally was able to skate with teammates during the annual summer camps. Leveille searched for the words to describe the feeling.

     Was it like getting freed from prison?

     Leveille's eyes widened. "You're right about that," he said.

     Leveille also hopes to be rid of any rumors about his academic ability. When he arrived at Maine, he came upon an Internet message board of hockey fans. He found his name among the subjects.

     "One guys asks, 'Why isn't Leveille playing?'

     "Someone else responded, 'because he's not smart enough,' " Leveille remembered.

      Last Sunday, Leveille was recognized as one of Maine's scholar-athletes, carrying a grade-point average over 3.0.

      On the ice, Leveille is considered only a freshman, although he plays with poise and grit.

     He's a playmaker but also a physical player, applying checks that are "quite effective," Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said. "His physical play surprised people. It surprised me."

     The physical play came from playing pond hockey in Quebec "with big guys who would hit us into the snow."

     Growing up, Leveille constantly was told he was too small. "But I always played," said Leveille, who now stands 5-foot-9.

     He anchors Maine's most effective line, with wings Greg Moore and Colin Shields.

     "Real smooth and real creative, always looking to pass," said Shields, adding with a grin that "he has a little bit of a feisty side for a little guy."

     Leveille takes his share of hits, too. But he always gets up. After last year, what's going to keep him down?

     Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at: [log in to unmask]