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http://www.portland.com/sports/college/hockey/020407umside2.shtml

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                     Sunday, April 7, 2002

                                            They hit the high notes, right on cue


                        By ALLEN LESSELS, Special to the Telegram

                      Copyright  2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.









ST. PAUL, Minn. -- So there was senior Niko Dimitrakos the other day against New Hampshire, breaking over the blue line, spinning a 360 and sending Todd Jackson in alone.

 Maine didn't score on that play, but that didn't matter; the Black Bears scored on plenty of others. It was vintage Niko. Flashy. He came in flashy and he's going out flashy.

 More importantly, Dimitrakos and Peter Metcalf and Matt Yeats and Mike Morrison came in as winners and were less than a minute of going out the same way Saturday night before Minnesota tied the NCAA final, then won in overtime.

 The spin move?

 "The crowd was oohing," said Lucas Lawson of Maine. "He's fun to watch. He's fun to play with."

 Dimitrakos' take on the spin? "It just happens, I guess. It's part of my game. I've been practicing stuff like that since I was a kid playing street hockey."

 Dimitrakos has his spin moves, Lawson has his speed and his own scoring touch and Martin Kariya has playmaking.

 The three teamed up to form a dangerous line that helped Maine's seniors come so close to adding a bookend championship to the one they captured in 1999 with a 3-2 overtime victory against New Hampshire in Anaheim, Calif.

 The unit has been scoring since it was put together in late January. The trio had at least one goal in 10 of Maine's last 12 games, a total of 18 goals in that stretch.

 Lawson matched a school record with goals in eight straight games through mid-March.

 Kariya again is one of the lead setup guys on the team. A year ago he had the last pass on the goal that tied Minnesota with 2.7 seconds left in an NCAA first-round game.

 Lawson had the line's only goal against New Hampshire after scoring two huge third-period goals, both of which gave Maine leads, in the 4-3 victory against Boston University that got Maine to the Frozen Four.

 Dimitrakos knows more than a thing or two about big goals.

 He scored the first goal in the NCAA first-round win over Harvard, and the winning goal in the Hockey East semifinals against Boston University.

 As a sophomore he was the Most Valuable Player in the Hockey East tournament with three goals and a couple of assists. He had the winning goal against Boston College in the title game with 2.5 seconds left.

 As a freshman he had two goals and an assist in the Frozen Four and made the all-tournament team.

 Dimitrakos finished Saturday night with a proud legacy. One national championship, 139 games, 51 goals , 77 assists.

 "It's been a good run," he said. "Three out of four years in the Frozen Four. I'm proud of what this team has accomplished. It's been a little different. I'm one of the senior leaders and I wanted to be remembered as a leader.

 "And I wanted to go out on a good note, especially with all the stuff we've been through."

 Dimitrakos, Lawson and Kariya have had career years in points. Lawson doubled his best year to 18 goals. Dimitrakos finished with 20 goals; his best previous total was 11. And Kariya had 44 points, topping his high of 36.

  Yeah, they went out on a good note.