Carney is sure winner in Maine-Lowell game

Keith Carney is going to be a very happy young man following Saturday night’s Hockey East quarterfinal playoff game between No. 2 Maine and No. 7 Lowell at Orono’s Alfond Arena.

He will be going to Boston Garden for Friday night’s Hockey East semifinals.

The question is, which Keith Carney will be happy?

Each team has a defenseman named Keith Carney, both are from Rhode Island and they played three years together at Mount St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, R.I.

Maine’s Keith Carney, Keith E. Carney, is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior from Pawtucket. Lowell’s Carney, Keith P. Carney, is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound sophomore from Cumberland.

“We used to get called to the office and both of us would go down,” said Lowell’s Carney, who will be playing his first game against Maine.

“They wouldn’t specify. They wouldn’t use the middle initial when they’d call us,” said Maine’s Carney. “I remember one time we went down and there was a check for one of us. I can’t remember which one.”

Their coach, Bill Belisle, used to differentiate with nicknames.

“I’m a little bigger so he’d call me Big Carney,” said Maine’s Carney, who would occasionally be paired with Keith P.

The two are friends and they have a mutual respect for each other.

“He’s a very good player,” said Lowell’s Carney. “He’s very skilled and very dangerous offensively. He can do a lot more things offensively than I can. I’m more of a stay-at-home defenseman.”

Maine’s Carney called his counterpart a “real good player.

“He’s more defensive-minded, he’s smart with the puck and he makes good decisions,” said Maine’s Carney.

Off the ice, both players described themselves as laid back.

Their contrasting styles of play are similar to the contrast between the two teams.

In their 5-4 win over Maine on Dec. 7 in Orono, Lowell’s only win over Maine in the last seven meetings, Lowell used a passive 1-4 forecheck, clogged up the center ice area to neutralize Maine’s speed and received great goaltending from freshman Dwayne Roloson (35 saves).

“Lowell took the crowd out of the game,” said Maine Coach Shawn Walsh. “We’ve got to make sure we execute our game plan, play with great intensity and get the crowd into the game.”

Lowell LW and captain Brendan Flynn said Lowell’s win at the Alfond “is definitely a positive thing because we know we can win up there.”

The Chiefs will also be playing with emotion because this is Coach Bill Riley’s 22nd and final year at Lowell. Lowell associate head coach and former Maine assistant Bruce Crowder will take over next year.

“We can’t let them slow the game down,” said Maine center and tri-captain Mike Barkley. “We’ve got to be strong on the forecheck and get lots of shots.”