Dealing with a benching isn’t easy, especially if you are in a leadership role.
University of Maine junior defenseman and assistant captain Frank Djurasevic, the team’s top-scoring defenseman a year ago, found himself in street clothes for the Black Bears’ home game against arch-rival New Hampshire on Dec. 6.
Head coach Ben Barr explained that Djurasevic had been “coughing up some pucks and it really hurt us.”
Djurasevic said he hadn’t been benched since he was 18 years old and playing junior hockey.
But he used that as motivation and self-evaluation and has been outstanding since returning to the lineup, notching two goals and two assists over the last five games, blocking 16 shots and earning a plus-two rating in plus-minus while averaging nearly 23 minutes of playing time per game.
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 if the opponent scores one.
His goal with the extra attacker on Saturday night earned the Black Bears a 3-3 overtime tie at Denver. He had six blocked shots the previous night as UMaine beat Denver 5-2.
He was named the Hockey East Army ROTC Defender of the Week for his performance at Denver. He was plus two for the weekend with eight blocked shots.
Djurasevic said being benched “isn’t something you want to happen” as a player.
“I understand it from a coaching perspective. I understand it as a player. You’re frustrated because you want to be playing every night, especially in the role I’m in,” Djurasevic said. “I’m expected to do a lot every night. I had to take it on the chin and focus on what was coming up.”
He said he had a good bounceback game against UMass-Lowell, played well against Lindenwood and then went home for the holiday break and re-set.
“I came back and our team came back and played really well at Denver,” Djurasevic said.
He had seven goals and 21 assists at UMaine a year ago after transferring from Merrimack, and has two goals and seven assists so far this season and leads the team in blocked shots with 43.
“I didn’t hit the panic button. I focused on being more even-keeled,” Djurasevic said. “Not get too high or too low. Not let my mistakes get compounded. I tried to do a better job keeping the puck out of my own net and focused on the future.”
Barr credited Djurasevic for how he responded to the benching.
“There are two ways to go from those types of things. You can feel bad for yourself or you get better and he has gone about it the right way,” Barr said. “He has been as good as anybody since that happened and that’s a credit to his character and the type of kid he is. He is an unbelievable kid.”
Senior left wing and co-captain Thomas Freel said Djurasevic handled the situation well.
“I have so much respect for Frank as a player and as a person,” Freel said. “Something like that can be very humbling, especially when you’re an assistant captain. But he didn’t take it as a negative. He took time to build on himself and he came back and proved he was able to get back to the level he was at last year and to go even higher.”
Freel said Djurasevic has done an amazing job and is an important part of the Black Bears team.
“He has unwavering self-confidence and that’s something I really admire,” Freel said about his teammate.
Djurasevic shared the team lead with David Breazeale a year ago with 49 blocked shots and he had 43 in his freshman season at Merrimack.
Blocking shots is something he takes pride in.
“Shot blocking is sacrificing for the team and that’s something we talk a lot about,” Djurasevic said. “If you are able to go out there and block shots on the penalty kill or a five-on-five for the guys, the team gets juice and some momentum.”
He said he blocks a lot of shots with his stick and when you have a good stick, “you don’t worry about eating the puck with your body.”
He added that shot-blocking is also about “positioning and being in the right spot. Knowing the shooter’s hands and pre-scanning the lane where he’s going to shoot and try to make yourself big.”
Barr highlighted how Djurasevic made some big blocks in the weekend series against Denver, and said he has seen success by keeping his game simple defensively.
“It starts in our zone for him. When he is defending well and getting us out of our zone, good things happen offensively for him,” Barr said. “He has a good stick and he can really shoot the puck.”
Djurasavic said his first half didn’t go the way he wanted but his mindset right now is to come to the rink every day and make every day his best.
“I want to get one percent better every day,” he said.
He said getting a win and a tie which included a shootout win at sixth-ranked Denver was “really big for our team.
“We needed to come together on the road against a really good team and we did. We have to continue to do that,” said Djurasevic.
He feels it could be a turning point in the Black Bears’ season.
UMaine will return to Hockey East conference play when it travels to Providence for a two-game series on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m.