I was fortunate enough to take in the Blue-White game this Friday.
 
In a really nice moment, members of the 1999 National Championship team
were given their championship rings prior to the start of the game.  Former
Black Bear Jason Vitorino was in attendence to accept his ring in person.
 
This served as an introduction for the old players, and then the new
players were introduced.  Martin Kariya was left for last to be introduced
and received a lively welcome to Maine.  Let's hope he deals as well with
the pressure of playing in the Maine blue with "KARIYA" on his back as
Steve did.
 
Martin did not disappoint early, with a great pass to Robert Ek for the
game's first goal.  Overall, I thought Kariya looked good and should earn a
spot in the starting lines.  He does have some speed, but it was hard to
rate that in this game.  He may not have the breakaway speed -- yet, but it
may also be that he was well watched too.  I did not have high expectations
of Martin, but I came away impressed.
 
This season Maine will need to replace Alfie Michaud in goal and we
witnessed four goaltenders last Friday (Mike Morrison, Matt Yeats, Trapper
Clark and a goalie with the last name Pobiak -- sorry I can't recall his
first name).  Morrison did not look sharp, I believe he allowed 3 goals on
the first 7 shots, but in his defense a couple of those were wonderful
plays.  He seemed to struggle a bit with rebounds as well, and some of his
reactions seemed to indicate he was a bit frustrated.
 
Matt Yeats played very well.  One thing to recall about Yeats is that he
came to Maine in the Spring of 1998.  He had to sit out one year, then did
not play in the second semester of last season and was red-shirted.  So, he
has had 18 months (3 semesters) to practice and work with the coaching
staff.  He'll be anxious to earn a job and should already be well-trained
in the eyes of the coaching staff.  I would expect Shawn Walsh to alternate
Morrison and Yeats until one establishes himself (if that happens).
 
I also thought Pobiak played well (Trapper Clark did not face much activity
to my recolection), but I have to think Morrison and Yeats will be #1 and #2.
 
On defense, Maine this year will be looking for a leader to replace David
Cullen.  I didn't think anyone stood out as that person on Friday, but it's
early (both for the players and us fans who have to observe the
action!).  I thought Robert Ek looked excellent and had 3 first half points
(1-2--3.. the play was broken into two 25 minute halves).  Doug Janik
(sporting his Team USA gloves) looked real solid, but the good news with
the defense was that they were for the most part invisible, which you want
defense to be.
 
There were plenty of forwards to take a look at.  Unfortunately Tommy
Reimann (who we've heard so much about) did not take part in the scrimmage,
so we have still yet to see this highly touted player that one player said
last year had better hands than Steve Kariya.  Final four hero Niko
Dimitrakos, also did not play, nor did Magnus Lundback.
 
The BDN article from today notes that Walsh is leaving Barrett Heisten and
brother Chris Heisten on the same line.  These guys looked real good
together.  At times, their line was the most dominating line on the
ice.  Brendan Walsh and Martin Kariya played together well as well.  Martin
looks a bit bigger than Steve, but perhaps that is an optical illusion.
 
The forwards looked explosive to me and there appears to be plenty of
offensive talent up front.  As long as we play well in our own zone, we
should be on path to a lot of success.
 
In another note, I heard from a friend that the first game versus Minnesota
sold out in 35 minutes Monday!!
 
The puck drops soon.  It is a hard year expectations-wise when you win a
national championship, but the 1999-2000 Maine team should be very exciting
and give fans lots of reasons to cheer!
 
- Deron