A tale of two Mikes gets better

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A tale of two Mikes….

Any way you look at it, University of Maine sophomore goalie Mike Dunham has a great situation with the United States Olympic hockey team. He has everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Dunham was invited to try out for the Olympic Team this weekend following his tremendous performance for the U.S. team in the World Junior Championships.

If he makes the team, even as the No. 3 goalie, he will get acclimated to the Olympic Games, the atmosphere surrounding them and the level of competition.

Remember, there’s another Winter Olympics in 1994 and Dunham would have to be considered one of the prime goaltending candidates for that team.

This would be invaluable experience for him.

If he doesn’t make the team, he will join fellow Bear netminder Garth Snow and try to lead Maine to a national title. Even if he makes the Olympic team, he will probably miss only seven of Maine’s last 15 games.

The fact he is receiving this opportunity says a lot about Dunham and his performance in the World Junior championships. It also tells you that the braintrust of the Olympic team isn’t convinced that 28-year-old Scott Gordon and 27-year-old Ray Leblanc can give them the goaltending necessary to win a medal.

Last winter, U.S. Olympic Coach Dave Peterson said he wanted to go with goalies who had extensive pro experience.

Gordon and Leblanc have plenty of minor league experience and former Boston College goalie Gordon played in 13 games for Quebec last year.

But neither has emerged as a big-time puck-stopper, yet.

Peterson was the Olympic coach in 1988 and he went with a pair of young goalies in 23-year-old Chris Terreri and 21-year-old Mike Richter. They were respectable, but didn’t play well enough to earn the U.S. a medal.

The current U.S. team must receive exceptional goaltending to win a medal.

They will be able to skate with anybody, but I question their goal-scoring capabilities and their defense doesn’t appear to be extraordinary.

So, you can expect them to be involved in a lot of close games and those games are often decided by the men between the pipes.

Dunham is a good gamble for the Olympic team.

His confidence is way up and he has just finished playing on a big Olympic ice sheet in Germany.

He has the size (6-foot-3), quickness and composure to play at that level. But he will have to stay on his feet and remember not to sit back in his crease. The latter is his primary fault. He will have to play his angles very, very well and exhibit tremendous concentration.

“We’re just looking for the hot goalie,” said Art Berglundof player personnel for the Olympic Team. “We’d be foolish if we didn’t at least give Dunham a chance.”

From Mike Dunham we go to former Bear shortstop Mike Bordick.

With Oakland second baseman Mike Gallego now wearing New York Yankee pinstripes, Winterport’s Bordick should get the opportunity to battle for the second base job.

Bordick proved he’s a legitimate major leaguer while filling in for the injured Walt Weiss at shortstop for the A’s last season. Weiss will be back healthy and will regain his job.

Bordick hit .238 in his first stint as a major league regular and, remember, he was seeing a lot of pitchers for the first time.

Bordick has the work ethic, coachability and versatility nein the big leagues.

Every team likes to have a jack-of-all-trades, somebody who can play several positions. Bordick has played third, short and second in the majors and, in due time, I don’t see why he couldn’t learn first base, also.

He may never hit .300, but he is certainly capable of something in the .255-.265 range. He’s a good bunter and a smart player who will sacrifice himself to move runners into scoring position. He is definitely a team player who can do a lot of things to help a team.

He made 11 errors in 90 games and has good range and a strong arm.

In addition, Bordick said he loves turning the double play at second, which is one of the more dangerous aspects of baseball.

Baserunners come barreling full speed into the second baseman trying to break up his relay throw and he has to plant himself and make the throw first before jumping out of the way. If it’s a close play at second, the second baseman is a sitting duck. Bordick enjoys that challenge.

Let’s hope the Athletics give him a serious look at second instead of signing somebody else.