It is always difficult to step in after the departure of a highly successful coach.
That’s what former University of Maine All-American and all-time scoring leader Jim Montgomery did a year ago when he took over as the head coach at the University of Denver for George Gwozdecky, who was fired after 19 seasons and two NCAA championships.
Gwozdecky’s Pioneers were the only team in Division I to win 20 or more games for 12 straight seasons.
Montgomery led Denver to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament championship in his first season which earned it an NCAA tournament berth. Boston College dispatched Denver 6-2 in their NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal and Denver wound up 20-16-6.
Montgomery and his Pioneers, 23-13-2, will get another crack at the Eagles on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the NCAA East Regional at Providence, Rhode Island.
The 45-year-old Montgomery, who racked up 301 points at Maine and captained the 1992-93 team to a 42-1-2 season and the school’s first NCAA championship, said he learned a great deal from his first experience as a head coach at the Division I level a year ago.
“I understand the academic rigors at Denver and the importance of giving players more time off, especially during finals,” he said.
There was an uncertainty among the players a year ago as they tried to adapt to him.
“I replaced a legend. They were wondering how they would be used,” said Montgomery. “And my style of play is completely different than George’s.”
This year’s team has been consistent. The Pioneers haven’t lost more than two games in a row and have gone 18-10-2 over their last 30 games after a 5-3 start.
Montgomery said coaching has been a lot easier now that the players are familiar with his systems and expectations.
“And we have seven seniors and a junior captain [Grant Arnold] who hold everyone accountable and they get the team to buy in,” said Montgomery.
Like the Maine teams he played on, Montgomery’s Pioneers are a high-scoring unit, averaging 3.29 goals per game, which is ninth best in the country, thanks to the eighth-best power play (21.6 percent).
He feels his defense corps rivals Boston College and North Dakota’s as the nation’s best.
He said the tournament is wide open.
“There isn’t a dominant team so it will come down to which team plays the best (throughout the tourney),” said Montgomery.
The Pioneers split two 2-1 games with Boston College in Denver on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
He continues to keep tabs on his alma mater and, despite the team’s disappointing 14-22-3 campaign, he feels coach Red Gendron will restore the program to its former elite status.
“Red has them headed in the right direction,” said Montgomery.
Ex-Bears seeking Olympic berth
Former UMaine field hockey teammates Holly Stewart and Alicia Beckett Frisch are one step closer to playing in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Stewart and Frisch played for Team Canada in the World League 2 Tournament in Dublin, Ireland, and the Canadians finished second to the host team which enabled them to qualify for the World League 3 semifinals in Valencia, Spain, in June.
Just the top two teams move on and Canada secured its spot with a shootout win over Chile which sent them into the final.
In June, the top three teams from each of the World League 3 semifinals will advance to the Olympic Games.
Stewart scored Canada’s only goal against Ireland, tying the game in the 37th minute.
The teams battled to a 1-1 tie but Ireland won the shootout 5-4.
Stewart, who graduated in December, concluded an exemplary Black Bear career with 37 goals and 20 assists in 74 games.
Frisch, the backup goalkeeper for Team Canada, was Maine’s starting goalkeeper in 2012, posting an 8-6 record, a 1.84 goals against average and a .722 save percentage.