Vermont v. Maine, Governors Cup, Preliminary Game 1
at University of New Hampshire, Durham 11/28
(face UNH in championship game 11/29 - 7:00 PM
UNH def. U Lowell 4-2 in Preliminary Game 2)
Final Score: Maine 3 - Vermont 1
Scoring:
1st 18:39 M1-0 Parmentier (5) PPG S. Kariya, Wansborough
2nd 5:36 M2-0 A.Lundback (3) PPG White, Tate
3rd 5:01 V2-1 Tremblay (1) Karlander, Hakala
5:52 M3-1 S.Kariya (13) PPG Cullen, Larose
Commentary:
Fairly small crowd to start game, a little more than 1/2 filled by the time
the home team game opened in game 2. Another drive north to a UMaine game
through a snow storm (albeit a small flurry) Tickets were available up to
game time. Already my second game of the day (came up from Beantown after
Bruins loss to Vancouver) Enough about me...
Maine opens game much more physical than I remembered from a recent visit
to Orono to see Maine v. Merrimack, especially when Maine was shorthanded.
Tate makes nice open-ice check on Vermont power play rush which blunts
their attack for remainder of a man advantage. Alfie very effective in
playing rebounds, leaving very few second shots to deal with. Kilbourne
for Vermont missed net on partial breakaway given him by Wansborough.
Allen, Vermont's freshman goaltender, despite being 6'4", plays flop-down
style; Maine gets several close chances on rebounds, as Allen nearly takes
himself out of play being sprawled on ice, flat on his back. Best example
of this when Anders Lundback misses two chances on goal, unable to lift
shot over the prone Allen.
On offense, Maine played first half of period with set plays, then moved
more to a dump-and-chase style.
Parmentier's goal was a rebound from a Kariya shot through traffic, over
Allen who had dropped for initial shot.
Second period -
Wansborough overcame early giveaway with nice defensive move in corner
during early Vermont rush.
Second Maine goal was wraparound play. Allen had dropped again on first
shot on other corner, taking himself out of position on initial save to
open opposite corner for goal.
Alfie Michaud very intent as game goes on, using a flashing glove save on
fine shot by Lampron. Maine giving Vermont even fewer good chances as its
physical game ramped up a bit more than first period. Vermont goes less
physical, playing more off their man after the second Maine goal.
David Cullen makes good slide check to stop Vermont rush on partial
breakaway.
Third period-
Maine continues a trend it showed earlier, not effectively clearing puck
out of their defensive end. Seems as though they were looking to make one
more pass, or made pass before skating past own blue line. This clearly
led to the Vermont goal.
Vermont nearly gets second goal as shot hits crossbar when Maine can't
clear zone.
Pretty uneventful period, otherwise (in my opinion, of course).
Overall comments -
Maine seemed to play varying styles of offense during the course of the
game. They made adjustments during the first intermission. Vermont made
an adjustment after being down by two goals. Shame that Alfie had to lose
shutout after defensive lapse in front of him.
Maine seems to have an old tendency of the Bruins, only in their own end.
They are looking for, or actually making, one pass too many. Just clear
the zone, OK.
On the other side of the Maine ledger, all three goals were on the
power-play. There's a point to be made from that, either about Maine when
even-strength or about the Vermont PK squads, but I don't know how to
interpret this.
Dan's three steins -- Sorry, all you PC types, I only award to Maine players:
1. Steve Kariya (loved the open ice, no doubt)
2. Alfie Michaud (almost a clinic on the night - would've been #1 if not
for goal)
3. Ben Guite (he didn't find the scoring column, but had good physical
play, and showed how the next day should go. Kept Vermont scoring chances
down)
For tomorrow -
After seeing 2-1/2 periods of UNH v. Lowell, Maine will be forced to play
even more physical than they did against Vermont. Playing against a UNH
crowd AND the home team is not an easy proposition. I think Maine plays
well on the Olympic-size rink, as it favors speed over size. If Maine can
keep play in the center of the ice, they should be able to dictate the pace
of the game. But what about when even-strength ?
Interestingly, the tallest player on UNH is their goalie, Matile. Talk
about contrasts in style - Matile is a classic stand-up goalie while the
Vermont freshman Allen drops on the slightest challenge. They are each
6'4" tall.
Nice grudge match setting up for the Championship game, eh ?
We'll see if those Maine-bashers are out in force.
Deron - I hope this was OK. As I said, I'm more used to verbal commentary
than the written word. Haven't lost my ability to keep scorecard of the
game, though, in my old shorthand. Only thing I forgot was to note when
Vermont pulled their goaltender for time-in-game. Oh, well.
Dan Doucette
UMaine 78 MPA 80
*** Beers may now be in the booth, but Jean-Yves Roy ***
*** should be kept with the big club in Boston ***
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