With the score tied midway through the third period of the University of Maine hockey team’s game against UMass Lowell last weekend during a UMaine power play, Donavan Houle took a pass from Lynden Breen, darted to the net and roofed a backhander into the far corner to give UMaine a lead it would never relinquish.
The Black Bear senior right winger was relatively close to UMass Lowell goaltender Luke Pavicich, so Houle had to elevate the puck to place it over the goalie’s blocker.
It was a goal he may not have been able to score in previous seasons.
“He has always been a big, strong, athletic kid,” said UMaine head coach Ben Barr. ”But he has put a ton of time in (working on his game) the last two and a half years and you can see it is paying off. He is able to make plays he couldn’t make a couple of years ago.”
Houle’s agility is better and he has more control when skating quickly, Barr said, while noting that assistant coach Jason Fortier does a lot of extra skill work with the players.
“[Houle’s] not going to be a two-points-a-game guy but as long as he keeps affecting the game in a positive way, he’s going to be on the ice a lot. He’s around the net and he’ll score,” Barr added.
The 6-foot, 196-pound Houle, who plays in all situations, has already equalled his season-high for points with 19 and he has 12 regular season games remaining. He has eight goals and 11 assists and is fourth on the team in scoring.
He had 19 points in each of his two previous seasons.
He is plus-12 in plus-minus. in which players receive a plus-one if they are on the ice when their team scores an even-strength or shorthanded goal and a minus-one when the opponent scores one.
“I don’t pay too much attention to stats. I just try to get better every day,” said the 24-year-old Houle. “I take care of my body, I work hard on and off the ice and I stick to the process. It’s good to be getting some production but I focus more on the team aspect. I want to do what’s best for the team and help the team win.”
The sixth-ranked Black Bears have done a lot of winning this season, racking up an overall record of 16-4-2 and a Hockey East mark of 8-3-1.
Houle is one of the team’s most physical players and he wins a lot of puck battles with his size, strength, speed and tenacity.
“I’ve always been a player who liked to play physical,” said Houle, a Montreal native. “When I play physical, I play a better game overall. I’m older and heavier now and that has helped me.”
UMaine junior defenseman and co-captain David Breazeale said Houle can change a game with just his physicality.
“He is an absolute animal out there. He causes chaos. He forces turnovers, he plays fast and heavy and that’s what we need,” Breazeale said. “That’s championship hockey and he plays it to a T.”
Houle’s boost in offensive production has been important, graduate student left winger and assistant captain Ben Poisson said.
“He’s been a huge part of our success. He adds that next layer of (scoring) depth,” Poisson said, noting that while leading scorers Bradly and Josh Nadeau have been putting up points, players like Houle allow the team to follow that with more productive lines.
Houle has always been a quality penalty-killer throughout his career at UMaine and he is having an outstanding year in that area this season.
His shorthanded goal in the 5-3 win over UMass Lowell a week ago tied the score 1-1 and triggered a four-goal outburst that included his go-ahead backhander on the power play goal.
UMaine now has three shorthanded goals in its past four games and he assisted on the other two.
UMaine has killed all 13 power plays during those four games and has now killed off 29 of 32 (90.6 percent) over its last nine games. UMaine is 14th-best on the penalty kill (84 percent) among 64 Division I teams.
“That’s something I take pride in. It’s hard work and it’s something I like to do a lot,” Houle said.
Houle has been happy with his season so far, but what he enjoys most about this season is the wins.
UMaine had gone 25-49-11 in his three previous seasons.
He credits the turnaround to hard work.
“Those first three years weren’t that great. Every year we got a little bit better but this is the first year we have a winning record. It’s motivation and it shows how hard work pays off,” Houle said.
“We’re really glad to see the results come up and hopefully it keeps on going forward.”
UMaine has this weekend off before traveling to play Northeastern on Feb. 2 and UMass on Feb. 3.