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Thursday, March 6, 2003
Black Bears hope to end slide, continue streak
By KEVIN THOMAS, Portland Press Herald Writer
Copyright 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
ORONO -- As the University of Maine begins its postseason tonight, much will be made of the way the Black Bears ended the regular season, with a not-so-impressive 4-5-2 record over their last 11 games.
But history is on Maine's side when the Black Bears play host to Massachusetts in the Hockey East quarterfinals, starting at 7 tonight at Alfond Arena. The second game is Friday night and if a third game in this best-of-three series is needed, the teams will play Saturday night.
Maine, seeded No. 3 in the Hockey East playoffs, and No. 6 UMass split a two-game series two weekends ago in Amherst.
But here are some facts to consider for this week:
Maine is 28-3-2 against UMass.
Maine is 18-0 against the Minutemen at Alfond Arena.
Since 1986, Maine has lost only one quarterfinal series, and that was in 1994 when forfeits dropped Maine from the No. 3 seed to No. 8.
Since 1995, when UMass entered Hockey East, the Minutemen have never won a quarterfinal game.
Since 1986, Maine has a 58-25 postseason record with four Hockey East and two national titles.
UMass has a 1-9 record in the postseason. In 1995, when Hockey East held a play-in game between the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds, UMass beat Boston College. Since then, the Minutemen have lost nine straight playoff games.
It must be noted that this is the best UMass team in its short history. Third-year coach Don Cahoon is turning the program around with solid, young recruits. This is also the highest seed for UMass (17-16-1, 10-14 in the league).
Maine (24-7-5, 14-6-4) has been tested by UMass, not only in a 4-2 loss two weeks ago, but in a 1-0 win over the Minutemen last November. Goalie Gabe Winer has a 3.07 goals-against average, but two of his best games have come against the Black Bears.
"We know he's played well against us - and he knows it, too," Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said. "We have to make sure we get a lot of traffic in front of him."
In UMass' last win over Maine, the Minutemen dominated play with aggressive forechecking.
Maine countered the next night (a 4-0 Black Bears win) with a lineup designed for improved puck-handling and harder hits.
Forward Tom Reimann was moved to defense to help bring the puck up ice and Whitehead employed a new checking line, which included 6-foot-2 former defenseman Paul Lynch. His hits are lasting.
Whitehead also reinserted defenseman Prestin Ryan, a tough defenseman who had trouble staying out of the penalty box. Ryan has stayed penalty-free in the past three games while still playing hard.
"We're really pleased with that," Whitehead said. "It's good to get him back on track. We need to solidify our defense down the stretch."
Whitehead liked the way his team played against Boston University last weekend - a 4-2 loss and 4-2 win. He called the games more positive steps after the 4-0 win over UMass the week before.
"We're just continuing to focus on the little things defensively, like protecting our net and limiting the number of turnovers, and our penalty kill," Whitehead said. "We're just focusing on the defensive aspect."
The playoffs are starting and the Black Bears should be focused. History says they will be.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
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