I was more relived than anything that Maine won on Friday.  They had to
win that game with UNH so short on players.  It might not have been as
dominant as I'd like, but a win is a win.

Perhaps it was a bit much to hope for a sweep, but I would have liked
to see a better performance Saturday.  UNH was motivated and took it to
Maine -- but is anyone surprised by that?  Greg Moore is quoted in
today's Maine Sunday Telegram:

"We didn't come out ready," Moore said. "Yeah, they had some guys
fresh, but that's no excuse for us not coming out and playing as hard
as we can."

(I wish I had a dollar for every time a Maine player or coach made a
comment about not being ready.)

Again I ask the question:  why should anyone be surprised that UNH
would play MUCH better on Saturday with some of their best players in
the lineup?  (Also, what is up with Moore suggesting Maine was not
playing as hard as they could?)

UNH was jumping on Saturday, but Maine should have been more ready for
that.  They were home and in front of their own crowd, yet they were on
cruise control until a 10 minute stretch of the third period.  It sort
of just cemented the disappointment for me that had they come out with
that kind of intensity it could have been a different game. 
Inconsisent again.

Anyway, I'm now sold on the fact that Maine will need to win Hockey
East in order to make the NCAA Tournament.  (Maine tied for 20th in
Pairwise)  What is interesting is that there are three points
separating third place from sixth place in Hockey East, so home ice is
still within reach which will be very important when you consider you
might be playing Providence, Vermont or UNH in that quarterfinal game. 
The games don't get any smaller as Maine goes to Vermont.  Two wins
there would be huge.  It's all about the Hockey East Tournament now.

Nice to see Mike Hamilton get onto the scoresheet and Greg Moore was
good again.

Deron