Bears get short breather> It’s BU again after winning Freeze-Out championship

Coach Shawn Walsh and the University of Maine hockey team had no sooner arrived in Orono from Los Angeles on Monday when he began making preparations for “Round 3.”

The Black Bears, riding the momentum of a 6-5 overtime victory Sunday over Boston University in the championship game of the Great Western Freeze-Out, won’t have the luxury of celebrating for too long.

Maine must now turn around and play the Terriers in a Hockey East showdown series Friday and Saturday nights at Alfond Arena.

“The most sobering thought is the fact that we have to play them again in 96 hours, and they have to play us,” said Walsh on Monday, obviously happy with his team’s performance in California.

“It was one of the more classic hockey games I’ve ever been in,” he added, referring to Maine’s win over the top-ranked Terriers.

Dave MacIsaac scored a power-play goal with 24 seconds left in regulation Sunday at the Great Western Forum. In overtime, BU’s Chris Kelleher lost control of the puck in front of the net and Dan Shermerhorn scored the game-winner.

Maine, ranked fourth nationally in this week’s WMEB poll, brought home plenty of positives from the West Coast.

The first is confidence.

“I think it’s really helpful against, arguably, the best team in the country,” Walsh said. “They make you better, because if you make a mistake, you pay for it against them.”

Maine, which pushed its unbeaten record to 10-0-3, showed its determination while overcoming 3-1 and 4-2 deficits Sunday, then coming up with clutch goals late.

“I think now we know we can play with anybody,” Walsh said. “They (the Terriers) were much better than they were in October. That’s why I’m very pleased, because of our resiliency and our persistence.”

The Bears’ continuing improvement was evident by the fact they did not rely on special teams to set the tone in the Freeze-Out.

Going into the tournament, Maine had scored 24 of its season’s 46 goals (52 percent) on the power play. The Bears tallied nine goals in the Freeze-Out, only one of which came on a power play.

Walsh also found out that Maine can hold its own playing a more aggresive offensive style in certain situations.

“What I’m real encouraged about is we had to change the makeup of our game because we got down by two (goals),” Walsh said. “It became a run-and-gun team. Blair (Allison) made the saves when he had to, but the game opened up. It was a hectic third period. I was a little bit worried to do that against them, but we handled it.”

Prior to Sunday’s contest, Maine had not scored a 5-on-5 goal against BU in the last five meetings with the Terriers. The Bears scored six even-strength goals Sunday, getting the game-winner during a 4-on-4 situation.

Shermerhorn, a sophomore center, ignited the Maine offensive effort, matching his season’s goal output with three during the Freeze-Out. He has scored five goals in his last six games.

Three other players, among Maine’s most aggresive forecheckers, broke scoring slumps with key goals. Wayne Conlan registered his first point in seven games, while Tony Frenette netted his first goal in six outings and Brad Purdie scored his first after a four-game drought.

Senior Chris Imes, Maine’s defensive leader and a frequent mention lately as a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, had four assists in Sunday’s game.

Walsh said Sunday’s win over BU should help earn yet another measure of respect for the Bears.

“It was nice to win a championship, number one,” Walsh said. “Number two, it’s an NCAA win against a great opponent. In the big picture, it was very important.”

Chris Smith, cross country coach at the University of Maine-Presque Isle for eight years, has been named the NAIA Northeast Region Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year.

The Owls won the NAIA Northeast Regional title and the Maine Athletic Conference championship this fall and competed in the national meet in Wisconsin. Smith was the NAIA District 5 Coach of the Year in 1992 and ’93.

Smith, who has had runners qualify for the NAIA nationals in each of the last six seasons, also has served as chair of the NAIA District 5 and Maine Athletic Conference cross country committees.