What a major dissapointment this season has had to be for the former Maine player. The hopes were high for Amherst, but clearly they fell well short of expectations. I'm sure Lovell wishes he hadn't jumped ship and although he could be faulted for this ... I'm sure no one, including the Maine faithful could have wished this disastrous outcome and ending to an otherwise stellar HockeyEast career. Here is a recent USA Today snippet on Lovell. I'm not sure how much of this is true, it actually states Lovell was suspended for taking a penalty and I find that hard to believe. I thought it was for some off-ice behavior. Well, anyhow ... here it is. TORMENTED TIM: In 1996, Tim Lovell transferred from Maine to UMass-Amherst. Two years later, the Minuteman senior center has endured an up-and-down season, his first after sitting out 1996-97 to focus on academics. Lovell began the season as the co-captain and top center on a UMass squad projected to contend for home-ice in the Hockey East quarterfinals. And after scoring six points in the first two games, Lovell was doing his share. But he was held scoreless in 13 of the next 16 games, as UMass mustered only one tie against 11 league losses until a Jan. 30 win over Providence. After UMass coach Joe Mallen benched co-captain Brad Norton, the 6-6 blue-line behemoth bolted for the IHL, leaving Lovell as the lone captain. And when Lovell took a major penalty against UMass-Lowell on Feb. 8, Mallen stripped Lovell of his "C" and suspended him indefinitely. After the Minutemen upset UNH on Feb. 22, Mallen reinstated Lovell - sans the "C" - but the senior still feels alienated. "I wish there had been an alternate punishment," said Lovell, who has been demoted to the third line since his return. "But it's his team. It's his ship. He makes the decisions." HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.