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This story can be found online at:
http://www.pressherald.com/sports/college/hockey/040208umainehockey.shtml

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                        Sunday, February 8, 2004

                                                    Black Bears pushed again, take a tie


                            By  ERIC RUSSELL, Special to Maine Sunday Telegram

                          Copyright  2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.





 ORONO  --  It might not have helped Maine move up in the Hockey East standings, but a weekend series with nonconference opponent Ala- bama-Huntsville may have done the Black Bears some good. Coming off a strong series against New Hampshire, Maine got all it could handle from the Chargers, who pushed the third-ranked Black Bears to overtime Saturday night and held on for a 2-2 tie.

     "I was very impressed with them; this is a tough place to come in, especially for an opposing goaltender," Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said. "A series like this reminds you that there is a fine line between teams."

     Maine (20-6-2) got a pair of goals from senior captain Todd Jackson, but Alabama-Huntsville tied the game at 17:05 of the third period on a power-play goal from Brett McConnachie and the Black Bears didn't have the answer.

     "We wanted to come here and compete," Alabama-Huntsville Coach Doug Ross said. "We showed a lot of heart and spirit . . . this was a good opportunity for us."

     After a 1-0 loss Friday night, the Chargers (9-10-3) again got outstanding goaltending. Senior Adam MacLean made 44 saves, but Maine sophomore Jimmy Howard was also impressive, turning aside 28 shots to ensure the tie.

     "We knew they would play hard," Howard said. "You have to give their goalies a lot of credit."

     After two unsuccessful power plays early in the first period, Maine's third chance quickly turned into a five-on-three advantage, and the Black Bears converted.

     Colin Shields one-timed a pass from Mike Lundin toward the net. MacLean made the save but the rebound went to Jackson, who poked it home with 3:07 to go in the period for a 1-0 lead.

     "We had a lot of chances tonight, but their goaltender game up big," Howard said. "We need to fight a little harder for the pucks, but we're not going to dwell on this as a team."

     Alabama-Huntsville had its own two-man advantage early in the second period, and Jeremy Schreiber converted, one-timing a pass from Jared Ross past Howard to tie the game.

     The tie didn't last long, however, as Jackson broke free with Maine short-handed and tucked a backhander past MacLean for a 2-1 lead. Shields picked up his second assist of the game on Jackson's team-leading 15th goal of the season.

     "We weren't happy with the short-handed goal, but our guys found out we could compete at this level," Ross said. "Our goaltending this weekend was as good as I've seen it."

     The Chargers had two great chances to tie the game in the second, but Jackson Harren and Dominik Rozman both hit the post on breakaway chances.

     "Once they tied it up, our guys played a lot harder," Whitehead said. "This was a good weekend for our guys. It's disappointing any time you don't get a win, but it could have been a loss."