Here is my preview of Maine's upcoming series.  You can check out the
preview of all the Hockey East games by going to the "News and Articles"
section at:
 
        http://www.uscollegehockey.com
 
 
Maine (4-2-1, 0-1-1 HE) at #9 New Hampshire (5-2-0,
4-0-0 HE)
Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham,
NH
 
"Brian LaRochelle should be delighted to hear we're coming," said
Maine coach Greg Cronin. "In four of our seven games the
opposing goaltender has been named the Star of the Game.
We're great for a goaltender's save percentage. It's almost
comical.
 
"Someone asked me what we should do to improve our goal
scoring," Cronin continued, warming up to the subject. "I said we
should put a bucket of pucks in the slot and see if we can shoot
them into the open net. Right now I'm not sure that I'd like our
chances. I guess you could say we're a little snakebit."
 
Northeastern goaltender Marc Robitaille stole a point in the
opening game, giving up only two power-play goals while facing
44 shots. He outdueled fellow rookie Alfie Michaud again in the
second game, turning a 41-23 shot disadvantage into a 4-3 win.
 
"This weekend we actually played two of our best games of the
year," said Cronin. "That sounds stupid, but we doubled them in
shots, attempts, and Grade A opportunities. I'm not taking
anything away from Northeastern. They played hard and their
goaltender was exceptional. But we also beat ourselves. We took
85 shots in two games and only scored five goals. If we keep up
those kind of percentages, it's going to be a long year."
 
Cronin looked ahead to this weekend, concerned about UNH's
offense.
 
"Northeastern had 25 Grade A opportunities in two games. With
UNH's firepower, they're likely to get that many in one night.
We've got to try to limit those opportunities and play a tight
defensive game. And we'll need better goaltending from Alfie
Michaud."
 
New Hampshire also ran into hot goaltending and one-goal
games, but emerged from the weekend with two W's. Rich
Moriarty almost pulled one out for the Minutemen on Friday night.
The Wildcats outshot UMass-Amherst 41-19 but could only get
a Mark Mowers power-play goal past Moriarty.
 
"Overall we played well," said coach Dick Umile. "We created
plenty of scoring opportunities, did the little things, and shut them
out. Moriarty was terrific. He almost made the difference."
 
On Saturday, UNH built a 4-1 lead in the second, only to watch
the Minutemen come back and force an overtime. The Wildcats
averted disaster, however, pulling out a 5-4 win.
 
Now they face a Black Bear squad still smarting from a loss and a
tie at home to Northeastern.
 
"Greg Cronin has done a terrific job," said Umile. "Maine has
certainly lost some people, but they're always in games. They
have similar lines. They play hard and tough. It should be a good
series."
 
Before Maine's struggles with Northeastern, this series had split
written all over it. Now, who knows? Flip the mental coin and it
turns up...
 
PICK: Maine 4-3 on Friday. New Hampshire 3-2 on Saturday.