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http://www.pressherald.com/sports/college/hockey/031011umaine.shtml

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                     Saturday, October 11, 2003

                                            UMaine buries Gophers


                        By JOHN FEY, Special to Portland Press Herald

                      Copyright  2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.





 OMAHA, Neb. -- For the University of Maine hockey team, the pain of the 2002 loss to Minnesota in the NCAA championship game festered.

    The Black Bears had to wait an entire season to get a shot at avenging the heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss in St. Paul, Minn.

    Funny thing, they had to travel halfway across the country to shock the two-time defending champion and top-ranked Gophers 4-0 Friday night in the first round of the Maverick Stampede at Omaha's new Quest Arena.

    Maine Coach Tim Whitehead couldn't help but smile when asked if he was  slightly surprised, a lot surprised or not surprised at all with his team's performance.

    "I guess I'm a little surprised," Whitehead said. "It was a great team effort. It was one of those games where we tried to focus on blocking shots and staying with our man."

    The Bears did all of that and more behind sophomore goaltender Jimmy Howard, who turned back all 25 shots the Gophers tossed his way.

    Todd Jackson scored twice, including the game's first goal -- a short-hander at 5:48 -- which set the tone. Derek Damon and Colin Shields sandwiched goals between Jackson's as Maine won a season opener for the seventh straight year.

    Jackson, the Bears' senior forward and captain, said the team had extra motivation for paying back the Gophers.

    "You don't forget about something like that (overtime loss)," Jackson said. "I think it showed tonight."

    Jackson's goal came while his team was playing short-handed on the game's first penalty, a hooking call on Tom Zabkowicz. Jackson found himself with the puck and tucked it in the right corner of the crease off Minnesota goalie Justin Johnson.

    "I think for a lot of guys, we didn't know how we'd stack up against Minnesota," Jackson said. "To score that first goal meant a lot."

    It meant a lot to the Bears to have a hot sophomore goalie. Howard wasn't tested as much as one might expect from the team that lost just three players off last year's squad and returned 88 percent of its goal scoring, including 11 of its top 12 scorers.

    Asked about posting a shutout on opening night, Howard said: "It's a great feeling. It was the icing on the cake to get the shutout. We worked really hard all week."

    Maine stunned the Gophers with Damon's quick strike 20 seconds into the second period. Shields' score came at 7:17, and Jackson pretty much sealed it with his second goal at 18:26 to close scoring.

    The Bears played cautiously in the third period, but still kept Minnesota out of the net.

    "We didn't play very smart," Minnesota Coach Don Lucia said. "They were a little more hungrier than we were."