Rob Michel’s status is unknown after suffering a knee injury in the first period of Friday night’s 7-4 win over Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.
The Black Bears’ junior defenseman and alternate captain was helped off the ice and couldn’t put any pressure on his left leg.
He was in street clothes Saturday night for UMaine’s 5-3 victory and is being evaluated to determine the extent of his injury.
“I have no more information right now,” UMaine head coach Red Gendron said Monday.
If Michel is sidelined for an extended period of time, he would be missed.
Michel has notched three goals and five assists through 15 games this season and is among the team leaders in minutes played. He quarterbacks one of the power-play units and is a valuable penalty-killer.
He has two goals and two assists on the power play.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound native of Camillus, New York, a mobile, hard-nosed defenseman with exceptional offensive instincts, is coming off an impressive sophomore season in which he scored nine goals which tied him for fifth among the country’s defensemen.
He also had 10 assists in 34 games.
Michel posted seven goals in 20 Hockey East games, which was among the conference leaders on the blue line. He was fourth on the team in goals, fifth in points and third in power-play goals (four).
Michel had eight assists in 34 games as a freshman.
The Black Bears showed their resilience and depth on the blue line against Quinnipiac as Michel suffered his injury when they were trailing 3-0 in the first period of the first game. UMaine wound up sweeping the series.
The UMaine defense corps has produced 11 goals and 27 assists for 38 points.
Sophomore Patrick Holway leads the way with four goals and eight assists and freshman Brady Keeper has matched Michel’s 3 & 5 scoreline. Freshmen Alexis Binner and Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi have 0 & 4 and 1 & 2, respectively; junior Sam Becker has two assists, senior co-captain Mark Hamilton has one assist and junior Keith Muehlbauer has yet to register a point.
Freshman Cameron Spicer and redshirt freshman Oliver Herner have yet to play.
Michel is the second veteran defenseman to suffer an injury. Hamilton was sidelined for four games and UMaine went 2-1-1 without him. He was among the nation’s top shot blockers a year ago with 90.
“This team has balance. We have depth at every position,” Gendron said.
The Black Bears (8-7-1 overall, 4-4-1 Hockey East) are unbeaten in their last five games (4-0-1). They are in finals week before heading home for the holidays.
UMaine doesn’t play again until Dec. 29 and 30 when they visit Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the first of two 4 p.m. contests. They return to practice on Dec. 26.
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