Please check out the previews for all the Hockey East games in the "Features"
section at:
                http://www.uscollegehockey.com
 
The current features are "Simply the Best" and "No Dumb Jocks."  "Simply the
Best" highlights BU's Chris Drury.  The amazing forward talks about his
progress from a "clumsy and chunky" kid to the top goal scorer in college
hockey.  "No Dumb Jocks" profiles Maine's Dan Shermerhorn, UMass-Lowell's
Craig Lindsay, and Merrimack's Rob Beck and Tom Johnson.  Read about the
difficulties of balancing athletic and classroom pursuits.
 
And, of course, check out what all nine Hockey East coaches are saying about
their teams and opponents in the Weekly Game Previews.  Here is the Maine
preview.
 
Maine (18-10-1, 10-7-1 HE) at UMass-Amherst
(12-17-0, 7-13-0 HE)
Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA
 
Maine resumes play after a week off; prior to their break, they
bested BC in an 8-6 shootout before losing 5-4 in overtime to
Merrimack. The Warriors tied that game in the last minute with
an extra skater and posted their second win over the Black
Bears, Maine's only two blemishes in an 8-2 record in 1997.
 
"We actually played [Merrimack] fairly well," said Maine coach
Shawn Walsh. "We out-attempted them 71-48. They got very
good goaltending and opportunistic goal scoring. It makes you
look at yourself a little closer and there's some areas we want
to try to improve on but we don't want to overreact either."
 
Recently, blueliner David Cullen was named Hockey East
Player of the Week. "He's really coming into his own," said
Walsh. "His confidence and his strength are catching up with
his puck skills. He's always been good with the puck. It's a
Cullen trademark, the good soft hands and sense.
 
"We've moved him to our top power-play unit and he's really
helped them. We were seven for nine on the power play over
the weekend. He's a very, very good offensive player who is
improving dramatically defensively."
 
Goaltender Javier Gorriti, who Walsh has rotated in the nets
to take the pressure off Alfie Michaud, has been sick and still
wasn't practicing as of Tuesday. He also played poorly in the
BC game before getting the hook. As a result, this weekend
Michaud could see his first full back-to-back games since
November. The top recruit has settled down after a rocky start
and, in contrast to the walk-on Gorriti, is likely viewed as the
Black Bear future between the pipes. As such, he could
command more than a split of playing time down the stretch.
 
Maine travels to UMass-Amherst for two games on their large
ice surface. How well the Black Bears use their speed there
could prove decisive.
 
"The biggest thing you have to do is stay close as units and
not get too far ahead of the puck. We did a good job of that at
Northeastern which isn't as big as UMass's rink but it's bigger
than regulation.
 
"I also want us to get a little better focus. We drifted a little bit
in that last Merrimack game. We'd kept up great intensity and
I just didn't sense that same enthusiasm, if you will, that we'd
had in our previous 10 or 11 games. Maybe that was a
wakeup call."
 
UMass-Amherst hung with Boston University for two periods
on Friday but lost 6-3.
 
"For the second time we've played [BU], we played even with
them five-on-five," said UMass-Amherst coach Joe Mallen.
"We actually outscored them five-on-five 3-1. I thought there
were some questionable calls by the officials in the second
period that allowed them to get back into the game. You have
to deal with those things but obviously when you go
five-on-three with BU a couple of times, you're opening the
door for them to take advantage of it.
 
"I thought we played a good game and had a chance to win it.
It's the second time this year that at home we entered the third
period tied with BU. That's a good sign."
 
They then took the Alumni Cup, awarded annually to the
winner of the Amherst-Lowell series, with a 6-4 win. The
Minutemen also took home the Cup last year, in its first year of
existence.
 
"When I first came on here three and a half years ago,
UMass-Lowell and Bruce Crowder wanted to start this Alumni
Cup between the two schools," Mallen said. "My first thought
was that I didn't even have a team yet. [We waited two years
and started it last year.] If you'd told me we were going to win it
the first year, I'd have told you you were crazy."
 
If you'd told me we were going to win it the first two years I'd
have told you that you were even crazier. For us to win the
Alumni Cup two years in a row may not be the Stanley Cup, but
for us it's a huge step in the right direction. They're an
established program and have played very well the last 10
years."
 
The win over Lowell also proved notable since that gave the
Minutemen another series win to go along with ones they'd
already taken against Providence and Northeastern.
 
Defenseman Tom O'Connor returned to action on Saturday
after missing time due to a knee injury. "He felt that he could
give it a go [against Lowell] so we put him in the lineup," said
Mallen. "That was a big boost for us. I don't know how
coincidental it is, but for five games we were in a slump and he
was out of the lineup every game. All of a sudden, he returns
and we win."
 
Every point in the standings is critical now for
UMass-Amherst. They have a remote chance of taking
playoff home ice, but also could be one of the bottom two
seeds, drawing UNH or BU in the first round.
 
"No matter what, we can't fear anybody," said Mallen. "If it's BU
or UNH, that's fine. But the fact is that we've played very well
against Providence, BC, Lowell and Merrimack. They've all
been tight games. To put ourselves in the position to go to one
of those places or perhaps have them have to come to us,
that would be huge."
 
The Minutemen now face two games with a Maine squad that
has played excellent hockey since Shawn Walsh's return. Of
the four remaining UMass games on the docket, three are
against the Black Bears.
 
"It seems like right now they're surging forward," said Mallen.
"That loss against Merrimack must have hurt a little bit, but it
seems that all the pieces are back into place and they're
playing a real good brand of hockey. Any time you face one of
Shawn's teams, you're going to see a real well-organized and
well-executed game plan.
 
"The one thing they have right now is a lot of speed, and in a
big rink that should be an interesting matchup. But they have
proven they are a beatable team this year. They aren't
undefeated. We've just got to play our best game."
 
PICK: Maine 5-3 and 5-4.
 
-------------------------------------------------
Dave Hendrickson     [log in to unmask]
Hockey East writer for U.S. College Hockey Online
         http://www.uscollegehockey.com