Top UM hockey players may go Olympic route

Junior defenseman Keith Carney, junior left winger Scott Pellerin and sophomore right wing Jean-Yves Roy were three of the key ingredients in the University of Maine hockey team’s 32-9-2 and third NCAA Tournament Final Four appearance in the past four years. Carney and Roy were named First Team Titan All-Americans and First Team All-Hockey East.

They are eligible to return to Maine but whether they will or not remains to be seen. All three could be Olympians as Carney is expected to try out for the U.S. team and Pellerin and Roy have been invited to try out for the Canadian Olympic team.

“I just hope I get the opportunity to try out for the Olympic team,” said Carney.

Carney feels the Olympic situation is very much up in the air. A lot depends on whether Coach Dave Peterson and his staff invite a lot of pro players to try out.

“They may go with older and more experienced players. That’s probably what they should do,” said Carney. “If I get a chance, I’ll be confident. Things have been going well for me, especially the last few months. But I’ve got to get better.”

Carney said if he makes the Olympic team, he intends to return to Maine and finish out the 1991-92 season. Former Bear defenseman Eric Weinrich did that in 1988, returning from the Olympics and racking up 4 goals and 7 assists in 8 games.

Carney is a fourth round draft pick of Buffalo (1988).

Pellerin and Roy played for the Canadian team in the Goodwill Games last summer and have received invitations to attend a five-day Olympic camp in May in Calgary. The next camp would be in August. Pellerin said they haven’t heard anything “concrete” about it lately but they are hoping to hear soon.

Pellerin said trying out for the Olympic team “is something I’ve been really looking forward to. It’s a chance to represent your country and you never know if you’ll ever get that chance again.”

As for his chances of making the team, Pellerin said, “It will depend on what types of players they’re looking for.”

Pellerin is a solid two-way player and could be a valuable asset on a physical, checking line.

He has not talked with the New Jersey Devils, who drafted him in the third round in 1989, and he said he intends to return to school if he doesn’t make the Canadian Olympic team.

“I want to finish my education off,” said Pellerin, who is a business major. “I’m going to be taking courses up here this summer in case I make the team.”

He intends to return to school if he doesn’t make the team.

In addition to Roy’s Olympic aspirations, he is also a free agent who has received a few casual overtures from NHL teams but nothing serious.

“I’ll just see what happens,” said Roy. “Dave King (Canadian Olympic coach) said I have a 50-50 chance of making the team. I’ve got to keep lifting weights and try to put on a few pounds.”

Roy, who weighs 175 pounds, added that his status with the Olympic team would also depend on his playing time.

“If I make the team but play a game and sit a game and don’t get much ice time, it’s like losing a year,” said Roy. “I’ll come back to Maine. The more I think about returning to Maine, the better it seems.”

As for the pros, Roy said it would take a “serious offer” to lure him away.