For University of Maine Coach Shawn Walsh and assistants Grant Standbrook and Red Gendron, the National Hockey League’s decision on whether to put Dream Teams on the ice for the 1994 Olympics can’t come quickly enough.

The NHL is supposed to make a decision on the proposal some time next month.

If the proposal to use NHL players in the Olympics is shot down, then the Bears could lose from three to six players to the U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams.

So the recruiting process has been hampered.

“I am concerned. It’s tough, planning-wise,” said Walsh. “You’ve got to prepare for both situations. We could have anywhere from three to nine scholarships available, depending upon what happens. And the NCAA has cut back from 20 to 18 scholarships next season. So there’s a double effect.”

“The fortunate thing about next year’s class is that there aren’t any guys who are head and shoulders above anybody else,” added Walsh. “There are some real good candidates, but there aren’t any can’t-miss ones like last year. And the real good ones will wait for the good schools.”

“The Dream Team thing is making our recruiting very tentative,” said Standbrook. “It is preventing us from fully committing to top players because we don’t know how many spots will be available. It means a lot of players who are interested in us will not be available. They won’t want to wait.”

“It places all the schools in the same situation, so you have to do your homework,” added Standbrook. “You have to have a backup list.”

Walsh and Standbrook pointed out that some schools put time constraints on their recruits, asking them to make a decision within an allotted amount of time.

“When one school puts a time constraint on a recruit and you aren’t in position to make a final decision, you’re likely to lose that player,” said Standbrook. “A scholarship in hand is worth more than a promise.”

“Recruiting deadlines should be illegal,” stated Walsh. “It isn’t fair to the kids.”

Walsh said a lot of colleges are panicking and signing players early, but he isn’t an advocate of that philosophy “because you run out of money and, sometimes, you make a mistake on a player.”

“I’d rather make sure we’re correct,” added Walsh.

Maine has signed two players so far in defenseman Jason Mansoff and forward – – –

Maine’s sweep of Boston University extended Maine’s unbeaten streak against Hockey East teams to 22. Maine is 19-0-3 in that span, including three wins in the Hockey East playoffs a year ago. The Bears’ last loss to a Hockey East team came at Northeastern on Jan. 24.