Northeastern University (9-9-3, 5-5-3) 4th in Hockey East
at
University of Maine (20-1-5, 8-0-5) 1st in Hockey East
 
By looking at the records alone, one might think that the Huskies would come
up to Alfond Arena and go home with their tail between their legs, but this
is unlikely to happen.
Northeastern has a very talented team, more so than their record shows.
Jordan Shields is among the top of Hockey East in scoring, and their team
contains one of the most talented players I've seen in Hockey East all year
in J.F. Aube.  Northeastern's problem is they are very inconsistant.  I got
a chance to see several games involving them over the break.  I think that
the UNH/NU game typlifies what has ailed them this season.  They let UNH
overcome a 4-1, and 5-2 deficits to win in overtime.  NU seems to grab a
lead quickly, which is not surprising seeing some of the talent on that
team, but they seem to go into a shell, and breakdown defensively.  With
Mike reporting that NU goalie Mike Viesor injured, and NU playing one of the
top defensive teams in the country, they will need to concentrate on playing
conistant defense, and being patient and waiting for their chances.
 
Maine is coming off wins over BC (5-1) and St. Lawerence (7-1, 3-1).  The
Black Bears were banged up after the weekend.  Defensemen Jacque Rodrigue
had a broken thumb, and Chris Imes had the flu.  Both are back, practiced
all week and are expected to see regular shifts.  Freshman forward Shawn
Wansborough (10-12--22) will not be back for the NU series.  The news on him
is better than at the beginning of the week.  Shawn had to be carried from
the ice Sunday in Maine's win over SLU, and he was initially said to have
serious damage to tendons in his knee, and would need surgery.  However
Maine assistant coach Greg Cronin said yesterday that Shawn will not need
surgery and will be back in three weeks tops.  Junior forward Wayne Conlan
may also not be be out for the year as originally thought.  No timetable has
been set on him.
This series is almost critical for Maine, and both the teams and the fans
are preparing for it.  Maine's next 8 games are against teams ranked 5 and
below in Hockey East, including 3 against last place Mass-Amherst.  A
weekend sweep of the Huskies would make Maine very tough to catch.
Maine brings incredible depth into this weekend's series.  Seven active
Maine players have more than 20 Points.  Shawn Walsh has talked about
inserting sophomore Dan Shermerhorn (16-7--23), who leads the team in goals,
into the #1 line in place of the injured Wansborough.  Other members of the
line include Brad Purdie (15-8--23), Scott Parmentier (8-12--20).  Sophomore
Tim Lovell (12-15--27) continues to lead the team in scoring, he has
Sophomores Jamie Thompson (7-7--14) and Trevor Roenick (6-9--15) on his line.
Blair Allison looks to get the start, he has been the workhorse starting all
games so far this year, and I believe has the second lowest GAA in the
country, but I could be mistaken.
 
Local TV has the game Saturday, Channel 6 in Portland, Channel 2 in Bangor..
7pm.
 
** Did you know?? **
        Something that some other hockey fans might not know, and I didn't
really think about it till this weekend.  Maine only has 3 seniors and the
majority of their lineup is freshmen and sophomores, intersting?!
 
ENJOY THE GAMES THIS WEEKEND!
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| DERON TREADWELL - [log in to unmask] |
|         University of Maine (20-1-5)       |
|     1994 Great Western Freezeout Champs!   |
|        1995 RPI Invitational Champs!       |
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