Here are some notes I took from WZON's radio broadcast of the
Maine/Minnesota game this evening:

- Maine played 9 new players tonight (18 skaters dress for each
game!!).  The nine were:  Jeff Mushaluk, Michel Leville, Mike Lundin,
Josh Soares, Mike Hamilton, Tom Zabkowicz, Dustin Penner, Luciano
Aquino, Jon Jankus (who previously played at Maine, but not last year).

- Minnesota coach Don Lucia is now 1-8-2 in his career vs. Maine.  Of
course, the one win is as big as it gets (2002 National Championship
game).

- Maine used the following lines/defense pairings:
C-LW-RW
Damon-Jackson-Moore
Murphy-Aquino-Ronin
Leville-Shields-Penner
Jankus-Soares-Hamilton
DEFENSE:
Ryan-Mullin
Lundin-Barnes
Mushaluk-Zabkowicz

- There were very few whistles overall in the first period, including
offsides and icing.  This is a good indication that both teams were
quite sharp for the first game of the year.

- During the first intermission Dan Hannigan did an interview with
freshman Keith Johnson.  Keith Johnson is brother of BU’s Greg Johnson.
 Keith says Greg was “pretty open” about letting Keith make his own
decisions regarding which school to attend.  Should add another nice
touch to the BU/Maine rivarly.

-WZON is beginning a new promotion where users can e-mail questions and
get them answered on the air.  You can also e-mail
[log in to unmask] and get your questions answered faster!!

-Athletic Director Patrick Nero joined Hannigan during the second
period.  Regarding the new 14,000+ Qwest Center Nero said it was nice
but "We want a home ice advantage."  Nero said that he's been working
with the architects on the Shawn Walsh Center.  They have added or
adjusted plans to include a new enterance, new Bears Necessities, a
Hall of Fame and a new sound system.  He also said he'd like to find a
way to add 1,000 seats, but that was said in passing and I don't think
that is something that is seriously being explored.

- Tonight's shutout was the 4th in Jimmy Howard's short Maine career.

-Deron