Here's my two cents on the Quarterfinal matchup between Providence and
Maine.
 
It certainly was a great series and it speaks to the quality of the teams
in Hockey East when Providence can come to Maine and be as competitive as
they were.  Maine is certainly not an unbeatable team at home, but I'm
sure the other 8 teams in HE would rather not put their season on the line
at the Alfond.
 
The 5-4 overtime win for Maine on Friday was one of the best games I've
seen this season.  Providence came out and took leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2
by the time the second period ended.  The quick 2-0 lead looked key
because the game was very even from that point on, but PC was still
holding off Maine because they were scoring very timely goals in answer to
all of Maine's scores.
 
What happened over the next 30 minutes of hockey may be a sign of things
to come for Maine.  As you may have read in post-game articles, Coach
Walsh challenged Matt Yeats to play better, even though it wasn't really
his fault.  He was leaving too many rebounds, perhaps, but Walsh
challenged him to shut the door and he did, also controlling his rebounds
better.  Walsh likened Yeats' play to that of Alfie Michaud last year.  We
know well that it takes good goaltender play to win a national
championship.  Yeats stepped up and gave Maine that, and should be be able
to continue to do that Maine will certainly benefit.
 
But more important was the character this team showed.  This game was very
important on a number of levels.  Of course you don't want to get into a
sudden death situation or give Providence any confidence, but also that
Maine has steadily been climbing the Pairwise Rankings and a loss would
have hurt, even though Providence is a team under consideration.  Maine's
3-0-1 mark against Providence the last 4 games helped Maine's tournament
position, and *may* have secured a berth in the East Regional.
 
It was also important because this team has had difficulties with spotting
teams leads (read: BU, BC and UNH games in the second-half of the season).
 Providence is a very good team, and Maine showed great determination
tying the game in the third period and then winning the game in overtime.
Such resolve can only point to good things in the future for Maine.
 
Even more impressive is Maine doing this without Doug Janik on Friday
night.  Janik was out with an injury (he is expected back for the
semifinals), but I thought two players stepped up their game and that was
Peter Metcalf and Robert Ek.  Lots of fans like Ek, but to be honest I've
never been as high on him as some.  On Friday, he made a believer out of
me as well.  Ek was very smart with the puck and was a force defensively.
Metcalf, while playing solid defense, really took over on the offensive
end.  Metcalf seemed to get stronger and more comfortable in his role as
the game went on.  Metcalf has been somewhat quiet this season, but he
picked a great time to step up.
 
I also thought Cliff Loya was very solid on the blue line as a freshman
defenseman for Maine.
 
Maine lost a lot with Steve Kariya, David Cullen, Marcus Gustafsson and
Bobby Stewart graduating, but others are starting to fill those roles,
like Metcalf and Ek.  On Thursday, it were the veterans who stepped up,
Dimitrakos (1 g-2a--3pts), Ben Guite (2 goals) and Brendan Walsh and Cory
Larose also had multiple point games.
 
On Friday, it was the young guys who shined.  3 of the 5 Maine goals were
scored by freshman (Reimann, Heisten and Lawson), including both of the
goals in the third period to tie the game (Heisten and Lawson).  Let's not
forget that Martin Kariya had 3 assists in the game as well.  Kariya may
have been one of the best forwards all weekend for either team.
 
The top 4 teams are in the semifinals and anyone can win.  Maine can beat
every team (and has already) joining them in Boston and can also be beaten
by any of these teams (as has also occurred).  Maine's a dangerous team
because they are so deep.  Different guys burned Providence each night and
the freshmen are making huge contributions as well.
 
Maine currently sits as the #1 eastern team in the Pairwise rankings, but
hot behind is UNH and BU.  If Maine beats BU on Friday, they will likely
be staying out east and still be in line for a bye.  Should UNH also lose
to BC, that might sew up a bye for Maine.  A lot also depends on how St.
Lawrence does in the ECAC playoffs.  If a team wins the regular season and
postseason championships they are extended a bye (we saw how well that
worked for Clarkson last year).
 
Great weekend and a great job by the Black Bears!  Good luck in Boston!
---
Deron Treadwell - [log in to unmask]
GO MAINE!
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