NCAA Semi-final, Thursday March 30, 1995, 1pm (according to tickets) Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI. #2 East University of Maine (31-5-6) #1 West University of Michigan (30-7-1) It's going to be a great weekend of hockey in Providence, and to start it off will be a terrific match-up between Michigan and Maine, the two teams who battled all year for #1 in the polls. This game will pit the nations best offense in Michigan, against the nations best defense in Maine. Michigan incidently is 2nd in the nation in defense, so don't expect them to be weak in that end. According to earlier posts this year, Michigan's defense has seemingly improved quite a bit this season. I remember some discussion involving Michigan's defense, and the poster was ripping it. But to be holding opponents under 3 goals a game is great accomplishment. The Maine papers have given Michigan the "privaledge" of being compared to the great Maine team of 1993 that beat Michigan 4-3 in OT in the Semi-finals that year, which was also the last time these two teams played one another. Michigan has some great scorers in Brendan Morrison (23-52--75), Mike Knuble (37-22--59), and Kevin Hilton (19-31--50) but all four lines are considered dangerous and can score on any given shift. Freshman Marty Turco minds the nets, and he is not too shabby himself as he earned CCHA Rookie of the Year honors with a 2.78 GAA and a .891 save percentage. This is the fifth straight tournament for Michigan, and also their fifth straigh 30 win season. For Maine, they bring an untested team into the Phinal Phour. They are led by a balanced attack of defensemen and forwards with 4 players over 40 points, and 4 more over 30 points, Maine's production comes from all sides. Defensemen Jeff Tory leads Maine (12-40--52) as they only have one player (Hockey East Player of the Year, Chris Imes) who skated in the 1993 Championship game. Sophomore forward Tim Lovell (22-25--47) is second on the team, followed by Maine's leading goal scorer junior winger Brad Purdie (28-18--46), and Sophomore Dan Shermerhorn (23-18--41). Ironman Blair Allison minds the nets for Maine. He has every decision for Maine this year, and holds a 2.64 GAA, with a .886 Save percentage. His play will be key for Maine. He has played well of late allowing only two goals in his last two games and sporting a .950 Save percentage. The loss to Providence in the Hockey East Semi-finals seems to have served as a wake-up call for the Bears, as they have played with a renewed commitment to what got them here, defense, and as the saying goes, Defense wins Championships. MAINE/MICHIGAN COMPARISON: MAINE MICHIGAN Power-Play 28% 29% Penalty-kill 86% 84% Goals/game 4.64 5.70 GAA 2.57 2.76 1 Goal Games 9-2 5-4 2 Goal Games 7-2 3-1 Longest W Streak 6 5 Powerplay Goals 75 65 Shorthand Goals 12 14 Shutouts 2 4 The key to this game lies in the defense of both clubs. Both these teams are young, Maine has more experience in the tighter games, and that may help them, but if Maine doesn't contain Michigan early, it will be all over. Incidently, when Maine leads after one period they are 22-0-4. I'm not sure another team can top that, so it is imperative for Maine to grab the early lead, and play Maine hockey if they have a chance to win. I'm off the Providence tonight, we are in SEC 206 Row T Seat 18, stop by if you're there and tell me your from hockey-l, I'll be in the white Maine jersey! GO BLUE! --- Deron [log in to unmask] University of Maine (31-5-6) DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS.. GO BLUE! Bring the Hardware back to Maine!! ---