University of Maine women’s ice hockey head coach Richard Reichenbach is looking for improvement next season and said his incoming eight-member recruiting class is “by far, the best class we’ve recruited since I’ve been at Maine the last five years.”
Maine went 10-20-3 overall, 9-11-1 in Hockey East, and hosted a league quarterfinal series for the first time ever last winter. But the Black Bears lost their last eight games, including the quarterfinal series against Connecticut.
“I think this class will leave a legacy no other class has left in our program so far,” he added.
He credited his wife and assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, Sara (Simard) Reichenbach, with doing an amazing job landing the recruits.
“This will be the toughest, grittiest class we’ve had,” said Richard Reichenbach. “They will be impact players. They all play two-way hockey, it’s one of the most mature classes we’ve had, and a lot of them have had experience at national team camps.”
He noted that the class will give his team a significant boost in size.
Defensemen Alyson Matteau and Carly Menges and center Lydia Murray stand 5-foot-10, and forward Nicole Arnold is 5-8.
Maine had only five players who were 5-10 or taller this past season.
Murray, according to Reichenbach, reminds him of recently-graduated captain and center Jennifer More, “only [Murray] is 7 inches taller.”
“She has a little more offensive ability, and she plays the same tenacious style of defense,” said Reichenbach.
She led her Sault Ste. Marie Wildcats to the semifinals of the Ontario provincial championships.
Matteau, daughter of NHL player Stephane Matteau, who played on the New York Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup championship team, has a “cannon of a shot” and has the potential to run the power play, according to Reichenbach. She also can rush the puck and has good ice vision. She played for Canada at the U18 World Championships and won a silver medal.
Cailey Hutchison reminds Reichenbach of tenacious speedy checker and assistant captain Katy Massey. She played with Matteau at the Northwood School (New York).
Arnold has been coached by John Standbrook, son of former Maine men’s longtime assistant coach Grant Standbrook, and “is an excellent skater who goes to the net hard.”
Reichenbach said forward Estelle Duvin is a “pure goal scorer” who can score “many different ways.” Duvin plays for the French national team.
Defenseman Cassidy Herman from the Ottawa Junior Senators is “an excellent skater and very intense,” and defenseman Menges “understands the game extremely well” and has great size, the coach said.
Carly Jackson is a goalie from Nova Scotia who played with Matteau on the Canadian U18 team and is a quality puck stopper. Reichenbach said Jackson will either be a redshirt or will play for a Junior A boys team this season and come to Maine the following year.
Sahlberg, LaPage are All-Americans
Brett Sahlberg of Colby College in Waterville and Wyatt LaPage of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine have been named Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors Association of America.
Sahlberg, who graduated fourth in his class in May with a degree in biology, was named to the Division III Academic All-America First Team. He was an All-NESCAC selection, competing in the 400 hurdles and the 1,600 relay.
LaPage, was chosen for the Academic All-America Third Team. He graduated from MMA in May with a degree in marine transportation operations and had a 3.97 grade point average.
He was the Mariners’ cross country team captain and broke the MMA record in the 8-kilometer run. LaPage was a two-time North Atlantic Conference All-Academic choice.