After a lost weekend in Alaska, the University of Maine men’s hockey team looks to bounce back at home this weekend.
But the task will be monumental.
Union College is the opponent on Friday and Saturday. The Dutchmen are not only the defending NCAA champs, they are ranked No. 2 in the U.S. College Hockey Online and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
Maine, on the other hand, didn’t get a single vote in either poll.
The Black Bears are coming off a 3-1 loss to Alaska-Anchorage and a 5-2 loss to Alaska-Fairbanks in the Kendall Hockey Classic at Anchorage.
One of the major issues is a punchless power play.
The Black Bears went 0-for-9 with the man advantage in the two setbacks. Dating back to last year, they are 2-for-35 on the power play in their last nine games (5.7 percent) and 4-for-64 (6.25 percent) over their last 17 games.
“We have a myriad of things to work on,” Maine second-year coach Red Gendron said. “We have enough talented players on our team to have a power play that is more effective than it has been.”
Maine has scored two goals or less in 10 of its last 13 games.
The penalty-killing was a plus as the Black Bears killed off nine of 10.
“The penalty-killing was terrific,” Gendron said. “Kudos to our penalty-killers, our six defensemen and our goalkeepers for that.”
He was also satisfied with the goaltenders.
Junior Matt Morris made 26 saves and allowed three goals against Alaska-Anchorage in his first NCAA game since Jan. 5, 2013. He missed all of last season after hip surgery.
Freshman Sean Romeo made 17 saves and surrendered four goals in his first collegiate start against UAF.
“They both played well. I’m not worried about our goaltending. But they need to continue to get better as each weekend progresses,” Gendron said.
Gendron said his team had issues with “puck management” and “inconsistencies in the battle level.”
“Our Saturday battle level was great. On Friday, it wasn’t and that just can’t happen,” Gendron said.
Four other freshmen made their debuts. They are left wing Nolan Vesey, center Cedric Lacroix and right wing Jack Musil along with defenseman Mark Hamilton, each of whom played both games.
Gendron said the nature of the program is constant growth.
“Everybody has to improve on a weekly basis from the coaches to the players to the secretary, to the equipment manager to the director of hockey operations,” Gendron said.
He compared college hockey games to Stanley Cup playoff games.
“Every one of your 34 games matters for the purpose of making the NCAA tournament. Every league game matters because there are only 22 of them and you’d like to finish in the top four,” Gendron said.
The Black Bears play 36 games this season because the games in the Kendall Hockey Classic don’t count toward the 34 regular-season games allowed under NCAA guidelines.
Gendron said there is parity in college hockey these days which means there is a “very fine line between winning and losing. It’s a myriad of little things that either you do or don’t do [that determines the outcome].”
He said when he was an assistant at Maine in the early 1990s, things were different.
“Even if we didn’t play well, we could still win going away because we had a lot more talent than our opponents. There’s none of that any more. Everybody is good and anybody can win on any given night,” Gendron said.
Union goes into the series with a 2-0 record, including a 3-1 victory over New Hampshire last weekend.
Rick Bennett’s Dutchmen have won 14 in a row and are unbeaten in 19 games (18-0-1).
They had seven players register 30 or more points last season en route to 32-6-4 record but just two will be in the lineup this weekend. Leading scorer Daniel Carr (22 goals, 28 assists), No. 3 scorer, defenseman Mat Bodie (8 & 31) and No. 4 scorer Kevin Sullivan (9 & 29) have graduated; defenseman and No. 6 scorer Shayne Gostisbehere (9 & 25) passed up his senior year to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers and No. 7 scorer Max Novak (15 & 16) will be serving the final two games of a five-game suspension for a violation of team rules.
But left wing Matt Wilkins (6 & 14) and right wing Nick Cruice (6 & 1) will be back after sitting out three-game suspensions for a violation of team rules.