BU player to play for UMaine> Finnish player commits

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Hard-nosed sophomore center Brendan Walsh, who left Boston University’s hockey team in February due to philosophical differences with head coach Jack Parker, has transferred to the University of Maine.

Maine has also received a verbal commitment from its first Finnish-born player, winger Tuomo Jaaskelainen from Helsinki.

“I’m really excited,” said Walsh. “It’s a great fit. I played for coach [Maine assistant Grant] Standbrook at the Olympic Festival [in 1995] and I could go on and on about his systems, how he runs a team and his overall approach to the game. He’s a wizard.”

Walsh had five goals, eight assists and a team-high 83 penalty minutes in 27 games this past season.

He said he has no hard feelings toward Parker “but we butted heads over a few incidents involving team rules” and they decided to part ways in February.

Parker could not be reached for comment.

Walsh was BU’s leading freshman point-getter two years ago with eight goals and 16 assists in 38 games. His 90 penalty minutes led the Terriers.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Dorchester, Mass., native and former U.S. over-20 national team player said he is exploring an appeal to the NCAA to gain his eligibility for next season.

The other major factor in his decision was Maine’s future.

“The last three teams I have played on have contended for some type of championship,” said Walsh, referring to Catholic Memorial High School (Mass.), the Omaha Lancers of the U.S. Hockey League and Boston University. “I want to play for a contender and the way Maine has been playing, I expect them to be involved in the NCAA Tournament the next four or five years.”

In addition to Maine, the 22-year-old Walsh also wrote to Michigan, Michigan State and Boston College.

Walsh said he likes the academics at Maine, the work ethic and grittiness of the players and coach Shawn Walsh’s vocal leadership on the bench.

Maine coach Walsh cannot comment on Brendan Walsh but former Maine defenseman Jeff Libby said, “He’s feisty. He’s the type of player you hate to play against but you’d love to have on your team. He’s a hard worker and he’s always yapping.”

Walsh intends to curb his penalty minutes at Maine and admitted there will be a “little vengeance” involved when he plays BU.

Although some fliers circulated in the Bangor area say otherwise, University of Maine women’s basketball player Katie Clark will not appear at a Bangor sports memorabilia and card show next month.

Even though Clark would not have been paid to sign autographs and meet fans at Twin City Coin’s June 7 show, NCAA rules prohibit her from appearing.

“You can’t make any appearances and give autographs for promotional appearances,” said Clark, who is recovering from surgery on her foot and hip.

Clark had the surgery, which involved taking a piece of bone from her hip and fusing it to one in her foot, to alleviate a painful condition which has plagued her the last few years.

“It hurt to walk and all that. I had a coalition between two of the bones on my right foot. They were rubbing together with no padding between them. It’s very unusual,” said Clark, who expects to be on crutches only a couple of weeks.

The sophomore-to-be wasn’t aware there was a problem with her show appearance until she was contacted by the NCAA last week.

“I was going to call them when I got done my surgery, but they called me two days later and said they saw the fliers out and that I couldn’t do it,” she explained.

Show organizer Joe Teolis was disappointed with Clark’s forced cancellation, but doesn’t blame her or the university.

“She wasn’t getting paid and we weren’t charging anyone to get autographs, so we thought it was perfectly fine,” said Teolis. “But they said as long as someone, somewhere is benefiting from her appearance, she can’t do it.”

Clark said she hadn’t checked it out with coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie yet because she was more worried about her surgery and because Palombo has been on vacation.

Cynthia Pomerleau and Jamie Brewster of Colby College in Waterville earned national championships Friday at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Meet at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Pomerleau, a senior from Bowdoinham and a graduate of Mount Ararat High School in Topsham, won the heptathlon title and finished third in the shot put. Brewster, a freshman from Providence, R.I., took top honors in the hammer throw.

Pomerleau registered 4,878 points, breaking the previous Colby women’s record of 4,489 and setting a Veterans’ Memorial Stadium mark. She won the shot put trials with a throw of 43 feet, 11 1/4 inches, took second in the long jump at 16-11 1/2, and placed third in the 100 hurdles (15.65 seconds).

Pomerleau was third in the high jump (1.60 meters) and the 800 (2:24.08), fourth in the 200 (26.72), and 10th in the javelin (106-1). She graduates from Colby Sunday with a degree in biology.

Brewster won the hammer competition with a heave of 186-3, seven inches better than the runner-up’s throw.