The University of Maine men’s hockey team had been one of the nation’s worst penalty-killing teams through its first 12 games.
Maine had been killing off penalties at a subpar 77.3 percent rate as opponents scored 10 power-play goals on 44 chances.
But over the last 12 games Maine has killed off 40 of 46, including 20 of the last 22 (90.9 percent) and 28 of the last 32 (87.5 percent). That has raised its penalty-killing percentage to 82.2.
The Black Bears held the highly skilled Boston College Eagles without a power-play goal on six attempts Sunday which helped key a 4-2 triumph.
Maine hasn’t allowed a power-play goal in five of its last eight games and only once did a team score more than one: New Hampshire in the Wildcats’ 7-4 victory in Portland. UNH went 2-for-4.
The Black Bears have gone 5-3 in their last eight games after snapping an eight-game losing streak.
“Our penalty-killing is one of the reasons we’ve been doing better,” said Maine head coach Red Gendron, who added the team has been well-coached by assistant coach Ben Guite.
“That’s what he did most of his pro career. He was a checking line forward and a great penalty-killer,” Gendron said. “He knows what he’s doing and has done a great job teaching the kids.
“We also have some pretty good forwards and defensemen who do a pretty fair job of penalty-killing when they focus on it,” Gendron added. “I also think our goaltending has improved as the season has worn on and that’s also a factor.”
Guite pointed out that goaltenders have to be a team’s best penalty-killers and freshman Sean Romeo and redshirt junior Matt Morris “have really emerged.”
He noted that Romeo made a great save on the penalty kill off a 2-on-0 on Sunday after the penalty-killers failed to clear it at the defensive blue line.
Guite said in addition to the goaltending, the other key component has been the fact his penalty-killers have adapted to a new system that was introduced this season.
“Most of the guys had never seen it before. We knew there would be some bumps in the road,” said Guite. “Right before Christmas, it started to click. The guys really bought into it. We’re pretty happy with where we are right now.”
They are still aggressive on the penalty kill but the new system focuses on protecting the net front and limiting the high-percentage chances.
“We were too aggressive last year and that would sometimes leave [former goalie] Martin Ouellette dealing with two-on-ones or two-on-ohs,” said Guite.
He said it is still important to pressure the player with the puck “because they’ve got their five best players on ice and we have one less guy. So if you give them too much time and space with the puck, they’ll make you pay.”
Guite said Maine’s penalty-killers have a couple key attributes.
“You have to be willing to block shots. You have to sacrifice to win hockey games. You also have to understand the game and the other [team’s tendencies] so you can anticipate. You need smart players who are willing to pay the price,” he said.
All seven of Maine’s defensemen kill penalties and there are four sets of (two) forwards who are also used although they try not to use All-American center Devin Shore in order to keep him fresh for even-strength and the power-play duty. The other penalty-killing forwards are Steven Swavely, Will Merchant, Stu Higgins, Cedric Lacroix, Cam Brown, Blaine Byron, Connor Leen and Brady Campbell.
Byron is one of 16 players in the country tied for the lead in shorthanded goals with two. Brown, Leen and defenseman Conor Riley have Maine’s other shorthanded goals.
The Black Bears have scored five shorthanded goals which puts them tied for third in the country with three other teams. North Dakota’s eight shorthanded goals and Union College’s six are tops.
Shore goal brings relief
When Shore scored the game-winner against BC, it was just his second goal in 15 games with the other being an empty-netter against Canisius in a 4-1 win on Jan. 2.
“It felt awesome. The best part is it helped the team get a big win,” said Shore. “It’s definitely relieving. Every game you go into, you approach the same way. You aren’t going to score every game. You just want to be as consistent as you can and when that happens, it’s nice to be able to help out.”
Shore also had an assist and when he has had a multiple-point game this season, the Black Bears are 5-0.
They are 7-4 when he registers at least one point and 1-11-1 when he doesn’t dent the scoresheet.
Shore has been Maine’s hottest scorer of late with two goals and nine assists in his last eight games.
Maine, 8-15-1 overall and 3-7 in Hockey East, will face the New Hampshire Wildcats (8-12-2, 3-6-1) in a home-and-home Hockey East series this weekend. They will play at Alfond Arena in Orono at 7 p.m. Friday and at the Whittemore Center in Durham, New Hampshire, at 7 p.m. Saturday.