I have to disagree with some of what Leigh said in an earlier post,
there was no question Saturday night that Maine was the best team.
UMass had a very good game plan early on, but what I was impressed
most with was Maine's patience which I think is key as the games get
bigger and bigger down the stretch.  UMass had nothing to lose, and
they came out and played just like that, and did not get rattled when
Maine scored 20 seconds into the contest.  What people tend to forget
about Maine is they are just as young and inexperienced as any team
around right now.  They have some great senior leadership in Imes, but
the bulk of this team has none, or a court-ordered playoff series against
#1 BU last year.  To me, Maine looked tight early on, and UMass capitilzed
on a couple mistakes in the first period.  Maine was very patient though,
and did not look to me to get frustrated, they just played their hockey
and won the game convincingly 7-4.  In my opinion, in contrast to Leigh's
which is not meant in disrespect, I did not think the game was even as
close as that score was.  But that isn't really the issue here.  As a
Maine fan I was concerned coming into the game in a couple areas.  The
team has had troubles of late, but they looked pretty good on Sat.
night.  As many of you know, when UMass beat Maine earlier this year, I
gave Joe Mallon and his team all the credit in the world.  They have
played very well, the simply were just outmatched this time.  Mallon
has a lot to work with now though, with the win over Maine, and the
playoffs, he may be able to lure some recruits down and start winning
some ballgames.  While this is bad for Maine, it is great for Hockey
East and great for this game which we are all fans of.
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Deron [log in to unmask]
University of Maine going to the Garden, one last time!