UMaine in Alfond opener tonight > Devin Mintz gets his chance against Nanooks

He has waited for 14 months. But the wait is now over.

Junior left wing Devin Mintz, who transferred to the University of Maine from Cornell a year ago, will make his Black Bear debut when the 4-1 Bears take on the 4-5-1 Nanooks from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks on Thursday and Friday evenings (7 o’clock) at the Alfond Arena.

Not only will this be Mintz’s first game, it will also be Maine’s first game in its Alfond Arena, which is undergoing its $3.9 million expansion and will have one side open (closest to the football field).

Mintz will play left wing on a line with center Randy Olson and right wing Steve Widmeyer.

“Devin is a real coachable kid who has a knack around the net,” said Maine Coach Shawn Walsh. “He was our third-leading goal scorer in our training camp practices and intrasquad games. He’s kept working hard and deserves a crack at the lineup.”

“I’m just going to try to play a solid game,” said Mintz, who played in only two games for Cornell two years ago before sitting out last season at Maine due to the NCAA transfer rules. “I want to play well positionally and not get caught making bad defensive decisions. I’m really excited to get back playing some games. I’ve been waiting three years to get some game time.

“Coach (Walsh) feels confident enough to give me a chance so it’s up to me to make the most of it,” added the 6-foot-3, 205-pound native of Regina, Saskatchewan.

The line has a real Saskatechewan flavor as Olson is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and played for Humboldt in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Widmeyer previously played for the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. Widmeyer is from Bedford, Nova Scotia, however.

“Since we all have ties to Western Canada, we have similar styles,” said Mintz. “We blend well together. We’ve got to communicate and go nuts out there.”

Mintz has been on a line with Widmeyer during Blue-White games both last year and this season and said, “We seemed to click really well.”

Mintz had been recruited by Walsh several years ago, but when there was no scholarship money available at the time, he decided to go to Cornell. He saw the vast majority of his playing time with Cornell’s junior varsity team during the 1989-90 season, notching 10 goals and 34 assists in 17 games.

He became disenchanted, contacted Walsh and was told he would be given the opportunity to make the team.

“I wanted to go to a good school, academic-wise as well as hockey-wise, and I also wanted to go to a program that knew how to use transfers,” said Mintz. “Maine has had success with several transfers. Even though I couldn’t play last year, Coach kept me really involved and the year went by really fast.”

Mintz practiced with the team last year and dedicated a lot of the summer to improving his leg strength.

“It’s helped my skating and balance,” said Mintz.

Walsh, Mintz and the Bears are going to have to play well to beat the Nanooks.

“They’re a good team,” said Walsh. “(Shawn) Ulrich is a big-time player. Ulrich, (Wayne) Sawchuk and (Wade) Klippenstein could play for any team in the country. We’ve got to continue where we left off against BU last weekend. We played four real solid periods and we’ve got to try to keep it going.”

Alaska-Fairbanks Coach Don Lucia said his team “will have to play above our heads to stay with them. And we’ve got to get great goaltending. Playing this caliber of team in this atmosphere will be a great experience for our kids.”