Just to play devil's advocate I would counter your observation on
scoring by saying that Jimmy Howard is capable of carrying Maine to the
Hockey East title and offsetting the scoring difference.  Perhaps
Howard hasn't had his best year (you know, since he did set NCAA
records for GAA last year), but he is capable of that type of
performance.

I think if you look at Maine's schedule (and I am at work so I can't
take the time to look it up), they don't lose very often when they
score at least 3 or 4 goals.  Problem is we don't score 3 or 4 goals
often enough!!

Playoff hockey, scoring always goes down and the games become more
tight which plays into Maine's style and strength.

While my saying that Maine would win HE was tongue-in-cheek, I do
believe that Maine can beat anyone in Hockey East in the tournament.
Sadly, we can also just as easily lose.  We'll see.

-Deron

--- "D. B. Doucette" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Deron, the converse of your logic is what has driven me obsessively
> to
> follow the "Bracketology" analysis, weekly.  Maine in an "open"
> conference
> has a similar likelihood to lose it (noting the results at the Alfond
> in
> 2003) as well as to win it.
>
> An "at large" berth has been a given for UMaine hockey most years,
> except
> for THIS year.
>
> To hope for a string of four in a row (OK, it could be 2 of 3, then
> must be
> 2 straight), after the BC series at Conte Forum is a daunting task
> for the
> current Maine squad, IMHO.
>
> Notice how goal scoring seems to be on an uptick in the recent HE
> games ?
> Maine won't win with its current lineup and skill level, if this HE
> season
> ends as a string of high-intensity high-scoring contests.
>
> I'd love to see more up-and-down hockey, but I feel this year's
> roster is
> NOT prepared or structured to step up and deliver a response to that
> kind of
> contest.
>
> Dan
>
> Deron Treadwell wrote:
>
> >We are just going to go out and win the Hockey East Tournament...
> >
> >Seriously though, Hockey East in my opinion is as open for anyone
> has
> >it has been in years...IMHO, if you make it to the FleetCenter
> >you have as good a shot as anyone to win it.
> >
>