You'll have to excuse some of my errors in spelling, etc... I am not that
familiar with Providence hockey and was listening to a station that just
barely came in.  That being said...
 
This was the 58th meeting of these two teams, Providence has a 12-11-0 record
vs. Maine at Schneider Arena.  PC was attempting to end a six game losing
streak which began on Nov 29.  Maine was coming off a split at the Denver Cup
in Denver and had Shawn Walsh as their coach for only the third game in a
year.  Dan Dennis started in goal for PC, Javier Gorriti started for Maine.
 I'm not sure what happened, but the announcers(WLKW, 790 AM) stated that the
arena was fairly smoky.  I don't know if that had any effect on the game-
probably not.
 
The game started fairly quickly with a good scoring chance by Larose(Maine)
on a feed from Libby about 3 minutes into the first.  Play went back and
forth as both Maine and PC had some chances early on.  I kept hearing
Dillabough, Cameron and Greene(?) for PC- they seemed to be all over the
place.  Libby(Maine) was apparently hitting really hard every chance he got.
 Play sounded good over the radio, but the announcers said both teams seemed
flat for the entire first period.
 
PC went on the power play at 6:24 in the first when Shermerhorn went off for
holding.  However, PC was not able to generate much(either 1 or 0 shots on
goal, depending on when the announcers were speaking), but Maine got a good
shorthanded opportunity by Parmentier, and then later by Cardinal and Libby.
 Omicioli(PC) had some scoring chances, but couldn't put the puck on net.
 Maine was apparently playing a 1-3 umbrella style penalty kill- one that
Coach Walsh has used quite a bit.  He wants his players to be aggressive on
the penalty kill, and they were.  PC was unable to generate much and gave
Maine the momentum.
 
At about the 10 minute mark, Cardinal was all alone on a feed from Roenick
with a 3-1 oppurtunity(don't know who else was with them), but was whistled
for offsides.  That seemed to be the trend as whistles really slowed the game
down from then on.  Maine went on the power play at 11:24 on an interference
call on Lent.  Dillabough was key for PC early on, giving a nice feed to
Guzior for a scoring chance, but Gorriti was able to block the shot.  PC did
a great job killing the penalty, but Maine then took control for the rest of
the first.  Maine again went on the power play at 16:12 on an interference
call against Gill.  It seemed pretty questionable, from the crowd and
announcers' reactions, but sometimes that happens.  Maine went up 1-0 on a
Parmentier goal from the top left circle that floated over the blocker side
shoulder of Dennis.  It was a feed from Libby and was apparently a fairly
soft goal.  At 17:40, Stadey went off on a holding call to give Maine yet
another power play.  Maine wasn't able to do much with this one though, and
allowed a 3-1 shorthanded opportunity that Gorriti was just barely able to
handle.  PC did a great job killing this penalty.  Dennis was really only
challenged a couple of times, and came through with a nice glove save against
Shermerhorn near the end of the period.  The announcers claimed that both
teams played really flat hockey and actually used the word 'lethargic' to
describe the play.
 
Maine stepped it up a notch or two in the second and came out with scoring
chances right away.  Roenick got stoned by Dennis after a feed from Guite at
about 2:30 into the second.  Guite scored his first collegiate goal soon
after for Maine from the top of the left circle right after a faceoff.
 Larose passed it out to him and it slipped right through Dennis' five hole.
 After the face off, Maine continued to apply pressure with some scoring
chances by Shermerhorn's line.  PC woke up shortly after and came through
with a few chances of their own by Dillabough and Greene(Dean?).  The play
seemed to go back and forth for a while after that.
 
Maine scored again to go up by three at 5:01 into the second.  Guite scored
his second ever goal after Dennis was pelted with shots.  Guite lifted it
over a prone Dennis- the defense just wasn't able to clear the puck out.
 Larose and Cullen were credited with the assists.  PC then called a
timeout(I think- lost reception for a few) to get themselves together.  They
were able to generate some scoring chances, but at 6:44, Maine went up 4-0 by
a Gustafsson shot from the top of the right circle.  It was an unassisted
goal that just squeaked between Dennis' shoulder and the crossbar.  Gorriti
later made a great save on a PC breakaway to keep PC scoreless.  Maine
continued to play well, while PC seemed to be just going through the motions.
 Only great plays by Dennis kept the game from getting really ugly.
 Providence was having turnover problems all night.
 
Play went to 4-4 after matching penalties against Cardinal and Mader.
 Cardinal was going to the protection of Karyia, who shouldn't need it
anymore now that he's listed at 5'9", 165 lbs(I think it's funny that he
started at Maine listed at 5'6"- he's really bulked up  (:  ).  Guzior had a
nice chance, but it sailed over the net.  Another chance by PC was barely
stopped when it got behind Gorriti, but he somehow kept it out of net.  Maine
then stepped it up again and decided to keep PC down at the other end of the
ice.  Dennis got lucky on a 2-0 breakaway by Cardinal and Roenick and kept it
4-0.  Another PC penalty at 16:57, this one by Mader for hitting after the
whistle, got Maine back on the power play.  Maine applied strong pressure,
but Dennis played very well and kept PC only down by four going into the
second intermission.
 
The announcers again mentioned the lackluster play of PC, and went as far as
to say that Cleskey(sp?) was the only player who showed up to play.  They
speculated on whether Walsh has made the difference in Maine's play, or if he
is just benefitting from the maturing of a young team.  Either way, it's nice
to see a return to 'Maine hockey.'
 
The third period started out well for Providence, as a great save by Gorriti
was all that kept PC scoreless.  Maine went on the power play at 1:06 as
Shermerhorn was whistled for interference behind the play.  They played very
aggressive on the forecheck and hardly allowed PC over center ice.  PC
managed no shots on goal during their power play.  This was the second time
that Maine managed to shut down PC's power play.  PC kept floating along
until 4:58 when Mansoff went off for tripping.  I was glad something
happened, because the announcers seemed to have forgotten that there was a
game going on.  Maine managed a shorthanded scoring chance, but PC still
wasn't able to generate any offense.  Three power play chances, only one(or
none- depending on when you asked) shots on goal.  The announcers took this
opportunity to say that this was PC's worst performance this year.
 Wansborough scored at 9:22 on a feed from Kariya.  Wansborough used his
strength to force his way in front of the net and Kariya somehow threaded him
the puck.  Shortly thereafter,  the game got strange- it was like different
teams on the ice.
 
PC scored about thirty seconds later(9:55) as Cameron fed Brannare from
behind the net on a wraparound.  I expected Walsh to put Michaud in, now that
Gorriti's shutout was spoiled, but the timing just wasn't right.  At 10:46,
PC scored again.  Guzior shot from the circle and the rebound bounced out to
Bescetti(sp?) who sent it home.  Maine quickly called timeout to gain
composure, as both goals were against the same lines.  Gorriti stayed in
goal(can't take him out after 2 quick goals- would kill his confidence).  PC
continued to add pressure- something they were unable to do all night.
 Roenick got the puck on a breakaway as two PC players got tangled up at the
blue line, but he shot high.  Larose later bumped Dennis in the crease, but
it must have been incidental, because no one complained- he made the save
anyway.  Providence stepped it up for the rest of the game- it was like a
different team.  They made great plays in front of Gorriti who managed to
hold his own for the most part.  matching penalties at 17:23 again made it
4-4 action as Mader and Roenick took their seats(missed the reason why).
 Libby levelled Gill, but PC managed another goal at 18:26 by Stadey on a
feed from Dillabough and Coe.  At the time the announcers called it a
'cosmetic goal' only.  It was now 5-3.  Omicioli carried it basically coast
to coast, but couldn't put it in.  The announcers had pretty much given up on
the game and were discussing how PC ended on a high note for their next
games.  Little did they know that the scoring wasn't done.  Deenis left the
ice at 18:55 to make it 5-4 for another 28 seconds(matching penalties not
done yet).  At 19:21, Dean made things really interesting with a goal on a
pass from Dillabough.  Dennis left the ice after the faceoff, and Dean was
able to put the puck on net, but couldn't quick punch it in.  The game ended
with a final score 5-4, Maine.
 
This was like listening to several different games.  It started out ok with
some nice back and forth action, but was kind of slow.  Later, Maine
dominated and threatened to run away with the game.  Dennis was the only
saviour for PC at that time.  With about 10 min left in the game, PC decided
they just didn't want to lose and poured it on.  Maine was barely able to
keep up.  Hopefully this will prove as a learning experience for Maine who
heads into the roughest part of their season from now on.
 
Maine continues Hockey East play tomorrow night against UMASS/Lowell and has
only HEA games from here on out.  2 games at Merrimack, 2 home vs. PC, @
Northeastern, @ BU, home vs. BC, home vs. Merrimack, 2 @ UMASS/Amherst, home
vs. UNH, 2 home vs. BU, and ends with UMASS/ Amherst at home.  Since the
likelihood of an NCAA appeal is low, Maine will probably just be playing
spoiler for the rest of the league.  Except for UNH and BU, HEA is up for
grabs.  UNH lost big tonight to BU, so things could get interesting, but #3
and #4 spots are definately not determined yet.  Any team could make a
serious run at the playoffs, regardless of where they are now.  PC has
tomorrow night off with two tough games next weekend(I forget who they play
at the moment).  I look forward to an exciting New Year.
 
Hopefully Deron will help me out with some of this- it's my first attempt at
a game recap.  How'd I do?
 
Rob Grover
UMaine 1996
Go Bears
 
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