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http://www.pressherald.com/sports/college/hockey/040410umaine.shtml
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Saturday, April 10, 2004
UMaine hockey rouses the state
By KEVIN THOMAS, Portland Press Herald Writer
Copyright 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Black Bear Hockey
Black Bear Hockey
BLACK BEAR HOCKEY
The UMaine Black Bears face Denver for the NCAA Division I hockey championship at 7 p.m. Saturday. MaineToday.com's UMaine Black Bears section includes the latest Black Bear news, brackets, message board and more.
BOSTON -- About 150 fans sat scattered throughout the cavernous FleetCenter on Friday afternoon, simply to view the University of Maine hockey team practice. Tonight, when UMaine plays the University of Denver for the NCAA championship, the crowd will balloon to 18,000, and most will be cheering for the Black Bears.
Back in Maine, thousands more will be tuned in to ESPN, anxiously watching the team.
Their team. Your team.
If there is a focal point for sports fans in Maine, whether they be casual or rabid, it is the hockey team at the flagship university. Fans stuff Alfond Arena in Orono all winter long and cheer on their Black Bears, and they hop in cars, buses and planes to follow them elsewhere.
A young Providence College athletic administrator named Patrick Nero witnessed the phenomenon in the late 1980s.
"I had visited the Alfond a few times and it was obvious to everyone that this was a special type of program," said Nero, who eventually took a job in Miami before becoming the UMaine athletic director last year.
"This team captures the attention of an entire state," Nero said. "That's what makes this program so successful - and these guys know it - it's not just about the 27 guys on the roster. It's about the 1 million people that live in the state of Maine, and this is their chance to be champions."
While UMaine practiced, Gil Pratt of Hermon watched, along with his wife, Sandy, and friends Jack and Wendy Frost of Northeast Harbor.
"My daughter (Judy) went to Maine in 1987 and was in the pep band. After her first hockey game, she called us and said we should come up and see one of these games," said Pratt, wearing a dark blue UMaine hockey jacket.
Now, 17 years later, the Pratts are still seeing games - and meeting plenty of Mainers wearing UMaine jackets, jerseys and sweatshirts.
"Every time we go to an away game, we'll see someone we haven't seen before in a Maine jersey," Pratt said. "We always strike up a conversation and find out they're from Portland, Lewiston or Kittery, or somewhere else in Maine. We make more friends. We met Jack and Wendy out in Minnesota (for the NCAA title game in 2002)."
When UMaine played Boston College in Thursday night's semifinal, it was supposed to be a home-ice advantage for Boston College. But the Eagles actually received boos when they came onto the ice, and UMaine skated out to thunderous applause.
"We knew the fans were on our side," said goalie Ray Jean of Randolph. "We seem to get more fans every place we go."
Pratt said the team's winning ways - "they always seem to find a way" - is one of its obvious attractions.
The players know that. This UMaine program has produced two national championships, in 1993 and 1999. The Black Bears have finished second twice, in 1995 and in that 2002 title game, when the University of Minnesota tied the game in the closing seconds and won in overtime.
Todd Jackson played in that 2002 game.
"How long did it take to get over that?" Jackson said, repeating a question asked of him. "I don't think I'm over it, so I couldn't tell you."
Jackson, of Cortland, N.Y., knows there are high expectations for UMaine teams, and that is why he came to Orono.
"This is a program that anything less than a championship is a disappointment," he said.
If UMaine wins, its three NCAA championships will tie for seventh for most titles. All of the other schools on the list have been playing hockey a lot longer.
Denver, for example, has been playing hockey since 1949. The Pioneers have won five titles, but the most recent was in 1969. Back then, the only hockey taking place in Orono was among students on the ponds.
UMaine started varsity hockey in 1977 and elevated to Division I in 1979. A new, energetic coach named Shawn Walsh arrived in 1984. Two seasons later UMaine was playing in the NCAA tournament, and in 1993 the team hoisted its first national trophy, to the applause of an entire state.
The Black Bears began a tradition back then. And they built a bandwagon that continues to grow.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
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READER COMMENTS
The UMaine Black Bears will face Denver in the NCAA Division I title game Saturday night. Give them some words of encouragement as they attempt a national title here....
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