Bears vs. Yale in Alaska event tonight

College Hockey

He entered the season wanting to be more consistent than he had been in his previous two seasons at the University of Maine. He has improved his work ethic and the results have been evident.

Black Bears junior goalie Mike Dunham will take the ice for Thursday’s game against Yale in the Great Alaska Faceoff Tournament sporting a 5-0-0 record, a 2.19 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. He was the Hockey East Player of the Week after making a career-high 40 saves in last Friday’s 4-3 win over Boston University.

“Things have been going well,” said Dunham. “I’ve been playing the way I should be playing.

“I’ve matured a little over the last couple of years,” added Dunham, who was one of the backup goalies for the U.S. Olympic team last February. “I’ve realized that how I practice carries over into games. So I’ve worked on my game in practice and it’s paying off. I’m a lot stronger now and I’m playing with more confidence.”

Dunham’s additional strength is a direct result of his weight-training regimen.

“I lifted and worked out a lot more over the summer,” said Dunham. “In the BU game, if it had been my freshman year, I would have been worn down after the second period. But I felt a lot stronger throughout the game.”

“Mike has never played better. He’s on top of his game,” said Maine Coach Shawn Walsh. “He has really improved his strength.”

“Everybody knows Mike’s a great goalie but he’s been really aggressive this year,” observed senior left wing Kent Salfi.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Endwell, N.Y., product will enter the Fairbanks, Alaska, tournament riding an 11-game winning streak dating back to his impressive 33-save performance in the 5-3 loss to Northern Michigan in the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four in 1991.

“I don’t think about the streak,” said Dunham. “Last year, it was like I was just filling in for a few games. I’m more comfortable this year.”

Due to a hand injury, the World Junior Championships and the Olympics, Dunham played in only seven games last season, going 6-0-0 with a 2.20 GAA and a .897 save percentage. He was 14-5-2, 2.96, .890 as a freshman.

In the game against Yale, Dunham will be playing against 1994 U.S. Olympic Team Coach Tim Taylor, who will take a sabbatical from Yale. He played for Taylor on the U.S. Over-20 Team in Finland last summer.

Dunham doesn’t see the game as a chance to impress Taylor and improve his chances to play for the 1994 Olympic Team.

“He knows what I can do in international competition and in college,” said Dunham. “I’m just going out there to win and I’ll do anything I can to win. I’m not concerned about who is behind the opposing team’s bench and what he means in my future. Besides, if you try to impress somebody else, then you aren’t playing for your team and that can only lead to trouble. You put more pressure on yourself.

“I’m just going to play my game and let what happens, happen,” added Dunham, who has a career record of 25-5-2 to go with a 2.70 GAA and a .895 save percentage.

Dunham is looking forward to the challenge of playing Taylor and his Yale team, ranked ninth in two college hockey polls. Yale is averaging 6.25 goals per game.

“Tim Taylor is a great coach who really scouts his opponents. They’re always prepared,” said Dunham. “They’re in the top 10 and we can’t take them lightly. They’ve got good forwards and they score a lot of goals. But if we play our game, we should be all set.”

Dunham and his mates got used to the Olympic-sized rink on Wednesday.

“The angles are different on an Olympic-sized rink and Garth (Snow) and I will need to get used to them. There are more spots to shoot from. There’s more room to work with,” said Dunham. “I’ve played on those rinks a few times. It doesn’t take that long to adjust. It’s obviously better for our defensemen because they have more time to get rid of the puck.”