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Subject: UMaine faces strugging UMass-Amherst at Alfond
Date:    Thu, 21 Feb 2002 14:31:57 -0500


UMaine faces strugging UMass-Amherst at Alfond
By: Jeff Mannix


02/21/02
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Last weekend was important for the University of Maine men's hockey team and
everyone knew it.

After squandering a golden opportunity to pull into first place in Hockey East
by losing to Boston College and Merrimack the weekend before, UMaine rebounded
with a win and a tie at Providence last weekend.

"I like the way our team played," UMaine head coach Tim Whitehead said. "We
stuck to the game plan pretty well and the guys played for each other, and
that's what you need to do if you want to be successful."

Friday's game was a defensive chess match, a 1-0 win for UMaine. Saturday
night's 3-3 tie involved controversy. Providence's third goal of the game was
disputed because UMaine goalie Mike Morrison had gained control of the puck and
was pushed into the net by two Providence players. Parents of a Providence
player, who were sitting behind the play, told Whitehead after the game that there was "no way that that puck crossed the line."

The apparent non-goal gave Providence a 3-2 lead with 1:29 left, but Lucas
Lawson scored only 18 seconds later for the tie.

"The guys didn't panic," Whitehead said. "We used the timeout for extra time to
refocus. The guys knew that we had come back from 3-1 down with 10 minutes to go
in the game [in Orono]. They knew that they needed to score and they made a nice
play."

UMaine gained a point on top-seeded New Hampshire in the race for the Hockey
East regular season championship but lost a point to second-place Boston
University, who swept UMass-Lowell last weekend.

UMaine will play its final two regular season games at Alfond Arena this Friday
and Saturday against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. UMass is in last
place in Hockey East and will be looking to gain the final conference playoff
spot. The Minutemen did not make the playoffs last year, because only the top
eight teams advance to the postseason.

UMass (8-20-2 overall and 3-15-2 in Hockey East) has eight points in the
conference standings. But Whitehead says that the record may be deceiving.

"They're in every game," Whitehead said. "Anybody can beat anybody this year,
and UMass-Amherst already has some big upsets this year. Certainly they will be
playing with desperation to make the playoffs."

UMass has lost nine games by one goal. In their last game, which was two weeks
ago at UMass-Lowell, the Minutemen squandered a 3-0 third period lead and
settled for a 3-3 tie. UMass did play an exhibition at home against the United
States Under-18 team. They lost 4-1.

Rookies have been a key for the Minutemen all season. Coach Don "Toot" Cahoon
usually has eight to 10 freshmen available per game. Forward Greg Mauldin, who
leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points, has given
Cahoon the most production.

The other key players up front for the Minutemen are junior Tim Turner (10-9-19), freshman Craig McDonald (6-6-12) and senior Martin Miljko (4-8-12).

Sophomore Thomas Pock (5-7-12) will make his return to the lineup after missing
the past three weeks while playing for the Austrian national team in the Winter
Olympics. His teammates there were two former UMaine players Matthias Trattnig,
who played his final year at UMaine last season and Kent Salfi, a member of the
1993 national championship team.

On defense, UMass is led by two Finnish stars, Samuli Jalkanen and Tony
Soderholm. Soderholm, a senior, leads team defensemen in scoring with two goals
and 13 assists for 15 points. Jalkanen, also a senior, has three goals and seven
assists for 10 points.

Senior goaltender Mike Johnson is 8-15-2, with a 2.82 goals against average and
a .902 save percentage.

"They have a few weapons," Whitehead said. "We'll have to be prepared. I feel
that we are doing that we'll come to play."




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Story Source: Maine Campus