Snow ready to take center stage

Garth Snow will be center stage for the next few weeks and the University of Maine goaltender is ready to accept the challenge beginning with the fourth annual Dexter Shoe Classic on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Snow had been splitting the goaltending with freshman Mike Dunham, but Dunham is with the U.S. Junior team preparing for the World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan.

Snow will begin his stretch of at least five consecutive starts Friday night when the 11-4-1 Black Bears face 1-7-2 Brown University in the second game of the Dexter Tournament.

Clarkson University’s 9-3-1 Knights and Western Michigan’s 8-9-3 Broncos open the tourney at 4.

The consolation and championship games will be at 4 and 7 on Saturday.

“I’m excited,” said Snow, who is sporting a 6-2 record, a 2.66 goals-against average, and a .856 save percentage. “I know I’m going to play and tournameh different for me. I see more shots in practice than I do in games. I see over 100 shots in practice every day and that’s more than I’d see in back-to-back games, especially with this team.”

Snow doesn’t anticipate having any additional pressure.

“It’s just a game. I’m just going to go out and have some fun,” said Snow. “I’m not going to get nervous. If you get a little jittery, it may cost you a half-second of quickness and that might be all it takes (for a goal to go in).”

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Wrentham, Mass., native thinks he has something to atone for.

“I haven’t played that well the past couple of games against BU (Boston University) and BC (Boston College), and I’m looking forward to proving myself again,” said Snow. “I owe the team some wins. The team played real well against Boston College. It was a shame to lose it like that (a soft goal by David Emma that flicked off Snow’s glove and rolled into the net).”

Despite his impressive statistics, Snow said he hasn’t been satisfied with his performance.

“I haven’t been as consistent as I would like,” said Snow. “I’ve been pleased with the wins, but not with the losses. Coming into the season, I expected more of myself.”

His coaches and teammates have certainly been pleased with his play.

“Garth has given us solid goaltending,” said Maine Coach Shawn Walsh. “He hasn’t allowed hardly any soft goals.”

“I have as much confidence in him as I’ve had in any goalie here,” said center Jim Montgomery. “He’s a big goaltender who plays his angles smartly.”

The Bears have won the last two Dexter Classics after Bowling Green won the first one.

Maine will be clear favorites against Brown, but the Bruins have upset Clarkson and tied an impressive Alaska-Anchorage team that tied Maine in Orono earlier this season.

Brown Coach Bob Gaudet said, “Maine has impressed me as a highly skilled team that also works hard. You don’t always find that work ethic in skillful teams. We can’t get into a high-scoring affair with Maine because we haven’t been able to score goals (2.7 per game average) like we are capable of. We’ve got to play good, solid, disciplined hockey and capitalize on our opportunities.”

Former Maine two-sport star and assistant coach Carl “Stump” Merrill, the manager of the New York Yankees, will be honored before Friday night’s Maine-Brown game.