March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Similar teams are far apart for Friday’s hockey game

The University of Maine and Lake Superior State University have a lot in common when it comes to hockey.

The Black Bears and the Lakers are both among the country’s premier programs. The two teams also clashed for the 1993 NCAA championship last April in Milwaukee, with Maine winning 5-4 in dramatic fashion.

Then, there’s the number 14. Only this time, those two digits represent exactly how far apart Maine and Lake Superior State are this season.

Coach Jeff Jackson returns 14 veterans off his national runnerup squad, while Shawn Walsh’s Black Bears have lost 14 of the players who led Maine to its greatest triumph ever.

That means, at least on paper, that Lake Superior State should have a decided advantage when it plays Maine Friday in the first game of the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis. Game time is 2:05 p.m. (EST)

In Friday’s 5:05 p.m. game, 6-7-3 Minnesota takes on 2-3-2 Cornell. The consolation game is set for 4:05 p.m. Sunday, with the championship game slated for 8:05 p.m.

It should be an interesting weekend for the 9-6 Black Bears, ranked ninth nationally by the WMEB College Hockey Poll, who await the return of head coach Shawn Walsh. He has been sitting out a university-imposed five-game suspension since Dec. 8 for failing to provide his superiors with information about the eligibility situation of freshman defenseman Jeff Tory.

Walsh will rejoin the team Saturday and will be back behind the bench for Sunday’s game. Interim coach Grant Standbrook and assistant Greg Cronin will handle the coaching chores Friday afternoon.

As for the rivalry with Lake Superior, the Lakers likely haven’t forgotten the disappointment of the championship game loss. Paul Kariya set up Jim Montgomery for three third-period goals in a span of four minutes, 35 seconds, dashing the Lakers’ hopes of a national title.

Lake Superior boasts a 13-5 overall record and was ranked third in the same poll. The Lakers return eight forwards from last season, led by sophomore Sean Tallaire, who had scored 21 points, nine goals and 12 assists, through 16 games.

Clayton Beddoes (8-10), Kurt Miller (6-11), Wayne Strachan (9-7) and Rob Valicevic (7-7) round out Lake Superior’s top five scorers. Of the Lakers’ 11 leading point producers so far this season, 10 played regularly a year ago.

If that isn’t enough, the Lakers are blessed to have five of their six defensemen back, in addition to junior goaltender Blaine Lacher.

All of the above factors are a far cry from the situation facing UMaine as it prepares to test the frozen waters against the Lakers.

The Bears have only seven players in uniform who played against Lake Superior last April. One of them, senior defenseman Lee Saunders, is bothered by a groin injury and is doubtful for this weekend.

One who did play against the Lakers in the title game was senior defenseman Jason Weinrich, who will return to action Friday after missing almost eight weeks with a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Weinrich appreciates the sentiment about Maine playing Lake Superior again, but said things are different now.

“It will probably bring back some memories, but once you get out there it’s just like playing any other team,” Weinrich said. “It will be a great test for us to start the second half of the season. All the times we’ve played them, they’ve given us a great game. They’re pretty similar to our team because they’re really defense-oriented.”

Senior winger Cal Ingraham said the outcome of last year’s title contest is likely to create an even more difficult situation for the Bears against the Lakers.

“I think they’re going to be out to get us back for what happened last year,” Ingraham said. “We can’t look at it like that. It’s just another game and we’re trying to get ready for them as just another team. We’ve got to focus on what we have to do as a team and not worry about them.”

With that in mind, Maine should be stronger defensively this weekend with the return of Weinrich and Jason Mansoff. The freshman blueliner has missed eight games with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee against Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 26.

Sophomore Brad Purdie is expected to continue seeing time on defense, while senior Justin Tomberlin is likely to return to a forward spot after playing defense for seven games.


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