I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Orono for both games vs.
UMass-Lowell this weekend.  The company was good, the hockey was not.
Here are some thoughts of mine for discussion...

I fully expect Maine to fall from #1 this week, despite still being
ranked first in the Pairwise Rankings.  This is partially wishful
thinking on my part because I would rather be the "hunter" than the
"hunted".  But I don't think anyone who saw Maine play this weekend
could honestly say they are the best team in the country, especially
given that for at least half of the time this weekend they weren't the
best team on the ice!!

On Friday, Maine played simply awful.  I don't think one Maine player
hit a Lowell player in the entire first period.  Of course, I am sure
that isn't true, but that's not the point.  Maine came out like a team
that thought the name on the front of the jersey alone would carry them
to victory.

Fortunately, Maine has Jimmy Howard who earned Maine two points.
Without Howard, Maine loses that game.  No question in my mind.  Lowell
outplayed Maine overall and it was one of those games that you feel
fortunate to have won.

On Saturday, Maine did play better, but did not get the same kind of
goaltending.  More on that later.  Twice Maine took two goal leads, and
twice Lowell came back forcing a 4-4 tie.  Anything less than two wins
is unacceptable when you are competing for a league championship and
you are playing the last-place team in Hockey East, at home.  I don't
care how tough Hockey East is, you've got to win those games.  A tie is
better than a loss and it has us in a 3-way tie for first, but that
point could be huge in deciding who plays #8 seed and who plays the #6
seed.

Maine had more jump Saturday, but were more sloppy as well.  They
turned the puck over, they did not make smart plays and Frank Doyle was
unable to keep the puck out of the net enough to secure the win.  You
score 4 goals, you should win.  Maine's defense did not help him at
times either.

I know that we've discussed this subject before with some disagreement,
but I am sorry, Frank Doyle is just not as good as Jimmy Howard.
That's not to say that Doyle is a "sieve", but when you have a guy like
Howard you have to ride him.

It was interesting for me to be able to watch them both play against
the same team in consecutive nights.  Howard is more sound, and is more
in control of himself and the game.  Doyle made some good saves and is
clearly a good goaltender, but it's getting down to the wire and you
have to put your best foot forward.  For Maine, that's Jimmy Howard.  I
believe I heard Larry Mahoney say on the radio as we left Saturday that
Howard has won 11 straight.  Doyle has given up 5 and 4 goals
respectively in his last two games, to two of the "lower half" teams in
the league.

Doyle is not the only problem.  Maine was sloppy and they did not
battle as hard as they have in the past.  I saw a lot of reaching for
pucks instead of making the extra effort -- lazy type of play.  A lot
of players trying to stick-handle through everyone, and ill-advised
attempts that created turnovers and helped Lowell.

Lowell is not that skilled, and their goaltending is weak.  But they
are well coached and they work hard.  I did not think Maine matched
their work-ethic man for man and that is a BIG concern.  Maine has been
successful because of their depth and hard work, Maine keeps winning by
out working their opponents.

It might seem funny to be discussing this kind of stuff about a team
that has only 2 losses and 20 wins before February.  But I'm not alone.
 Tim Whitehead himself has said that he has felt his team has "over
achieved" at this point.  One could argue that any team with only 2
losses has over-achieved.  But there is a long way to go before we try
our hand at National title #3.  We've got two huge games at UNH this
weekend, followed by a home game vs BC, then home against Merrimack,
and then Providence (who beat us, plus BC Friday night) and let us not
forget about two more games with Boston University, and the upstart
Minutemen from UMass.  Maine has a lot of tough games and the season is
far from over.  I think there needs to be more urgency to each game
than I saw this weekend.

Tim Whitehead and the captains better get things turned around and get
the boys ready to go.  Ten thousand fans in the Verizon center wait for
Maine Saturday and UNH is way too good for Maine to put forth this
effort.

I think Maine needs to play harder, smarter and Howard must go in goal
twice for the Black Bears to have the best chance at UNH.  Don't be
surprised folks if the Wildcats take at least two points this weekend,
because Maine is not playing very well.  For national tournament,
Hockey East picture, local bragging rights this is a HUGE weekend and
it is a perfect time to turn it around.

Whew.. that's it from now, but I'm quite certain at least a couple
people must have something to say about all of this!!

Regards,

Deron Treadwell - [log in to unmask]