The University of Maine repeated as Hockey East Regular Season
Champions with a 6-1 victory against BU here at the "Morgue"...
formerly known as Alfond Arena...Actually, the crowd was finally
into a game...for the first 2 periods, but as Maine pulled ahead by
4, 5 and 6 goals, the crowd died....no pun intended.
UMaine opened fast once again, with a Chris Imes blast just 55 seconds
into the game. That seemed like all the scoring in the first period
until Dave MacIssac launched a rocket past BU Goalie Scott Cashman
with 7 seconds left. The Ferraro Twins chipped in 2 goals in under
2 minutes (Peter scored first on the power play at 17:09, then Chris
stole the puck in front of the BU net, made a move around Cashman
and deposited a Short-Handed goal into the net with 59 seconds left
in the second period.
Everyone at Alfond was on edge...this was the third straight game
UMaine held a 4 goal lead against BU at Alfond...the first was last
January 31 when Maine led 4-0 after 1, only to end up in a 4-4 tie.
And, of course, last night's debacle that no UM fan will ever forget.
But a tip in by Justin Tomberlin off a Paul Kariya shot at 6:29 gave
the Bears an insurmountable lead, and the Hockey East Regular Season
Championship. But Jim Montgomery wasn't through for the night, as he
notched his 20th goal of the season with 11:36 gone in the third.
Now the only question that remained was whether Garth Snow would
record a shutout...with 3:32 left, DOug Friedman(1 goal, 20 PIM tonight)
got on the scoresheet for something other than a cheap shot...this one
was a tip in shot and ended Snow's bid. Greg Hirsch played the final
3:32, and never faced a shot.
This weekend was a bitter sweet one for Maine..."The Streak" and the
hope of an undefeated season ended. UMaine had not lost a home game
since December 7, 1990...and only 2 homes games this decade. But we
clinched the Regular Season crown, and we did it in style: At home,
following a BIG loss and against our number 1 rival. This weekend may
also have been a "re-birth" of sorts for all those corpses who have
been filing into the Alfond this season. Friday night's events had
the crowd so shocked and so outraged that tonight they were ready to
explode...but there was a point in the second period when BU had the
momentum, that their 40-50 fans were louder than UM's 5400...at which
time a certain student manager shouted, "I didn't realize we were in
Walter Brown Arena"...after giving me several dirty looks, the people
of section DDD did something they hadn't done all season...they stood
up and started to cheer. A few minutes later Peter Ferraro lit the
lamp, and the BU crowd was not heard from again (but neither was section
DDD).
All in all, it was a good night at the Alfond. We clinched the Crown
and rather handily avenged our only loss of the season. The Unbeaten
Season is no longer, but one Championship has been won, and two more
remain. The fans appear to be back to their form of seasons past and
Garth Snow was once again, a wall in front of the UM net. Now, it is
off to North Andover, and a weekend pair with the Merrimack Warriors.
Goals:
Period 1
M Chris Imes (8) (Montgomery, Kariya) :55
M Dave MacIssac (4) (Montgomery, P. Ferraro) 19:03 PPG
Period 2
M P. Ferraro (14) (Kariya, Ingraham) 17:09 PPG
M C. Ferraro (20) (Latendresse) 19:01 SHG
Period 3
M Tomberlin (10) (Kariya, P. Ferraro) 6:29 PPG
M Montgomery (20) (Kariya, MacIssac) 11:36 PPG
BU Friedman (13) (Koskimaki) 16:28
Scoring by Period:
1 2 3 Total
BU 0 0 1 1
Maine 2 2 2 6
Saves By Period:
1 2 3 Total
Cashman 7 13 5 25
Snow 7 6 5 18
Hirsch - - 0 0
Total Penalties:
BU *26* / *76* minutes
Maine *25* / *74* minutes
150 total minutes, including 4 Misconducts...the Band played
the "Rocky" theme a few times tonight.
Power Plays:
BU 0/7 (24 Consecutive Power Plays killed by UM)
UM 4/8 (Many thanks to Doug Friedman for blowing his top)
Three Stars:
1) Garth Snow 18 saves/ 19 shots (Most from point blank)
2) Paul Kariya 4 assists
3) Peter Ferraro 1 goal 2 assists
1) Garth Snow 18 saves/19 shots (almost all from point blank)
2) Paul Kariya 4 assists
3) Peter Ferraro 1 Goal 2 assists
Officials:
Referees: Frank Cole Drew taylor
Linesman: John Jones
Records:
BU: 22-7-2 15-5-1 HE
UM: 31-1-2 18-1-1 HE (Hockey East Champions)
Note: I would have included the penalties, but they were
still typing page 2 of the penalty report when I left...
John Forsyth
UMaine Class of '9?
Hockey East Champions Once Again!
Shout til the rafters ring Maine Fans!
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