Barkley’s return boosts UM

It has been a frustrating senior year for injury-plagued University of Maine hockey center and tri-captain Mike Barkley. But the frustration could be replaced by a measure of satisfaction.

Barkley, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery in the offseason and then developed an infection when he had screws removed from his right knee more than a month ago, will be back in the lineup on Sunday night when Hockey East regular-season titlist Maine entertains No. 8 Merrimack College for a Hockey East Tournament quarterfinal game.

Game time is 7 p.m.

The highest and lowest seeded winners of the quarterfinals will square off in a Thursday semifinal at the Boston Garden and the middle seeds will meet in the other semi. Game times are 5 and 8 p.m. The championship game will be played next Saturday at 8 at Boston Garden.

Barkley will center the fourth line between Martin Mercier and Steve Widmeyer. He will replace the injured Dave LaCouture, who has been lost for the year because of a compression fracture of the sixth vertebra in his neck.

Barkley has played in only 12 games this season and has played in just one of the last nine games. The infection caused him to stay off the ice for two weeks and he has been skating for the last six days.

“It’s been tough, but if I’m in there at the end, it’s good enough for me,” said Barkley, who has one goal and four assists and is plus-6. “This is the best the knee has felt all year. It’s close to 100 percent. There’s no limp in my stride on the ice. I’m hoping for good things.”

The screws in his knee had caused him discomfort and hampered his play.

“Having him back will give us a big boost,” said LaCouture. “We need him out there. He’s done a great job for four years and he’s a leader. I’m happy for him.”

“He’ll pick us up just when he steps on the ice,” said senior right wing Randy Olson.

Maine Coach Shawn Walsh said “Mike is a good defensive player with a lot of experience. He’s our best faceoff man. He’ll also be used as a penalty-killer.”

“I’m a role player,” said Barkley. “I just want to win some faceoffs and play good defense.”

Barkley and the Bears will be heavily favored over a banged-up Merrimack team, but the Bears expect a tough game from the Warriors.

“We can’t afford to take anybody lightly,” said Olson. “They’ve got a lot of good, quick forwards. They play a tight box in their own zone. It’s like having five goaltenders out there. We’re going to have to get inside the box and get some good, quality shots.”

Walsh said, “We’ve got to be on top of our game. We want to attack the net and play a high-tempo game. We’ve got to respect their speed.”

Merrimack Coach Ron Anderson will be without standout freshman defenseman Mark Cornforth, who reinjured his collarbone last weekend, and he said junior defenseman Alex Weinrich, older brother of Maine sophomore defenseman Jason Weinrich, is questionable after getting banged up over the weekend.

“There’s no way Maine should lose,” said Anderson. “With all of their talent and the way they’ve been playing this time of year, there’s no reason for us to be very optimistic.

“We have to hope they don’t have a good night and we have a great night,” added Anderson. “Knowing Shawn and how well-coached they are, we know they aren’t going to have a bad night due to a lack of preparation. They’re the best team in the country and they’ve played like it over the course of the season. They deserve their No. 1 ranking.”

Walsh said he wouldn’t announce his starting goalie (Garth Snow or Mike Dunham) until game time. Merrimack will go with workhorse Steve D’Amore.