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ORONO – They aren’t your typical freshmen.
The University of Maine hockey team’s road trips will seem like a cab ride to the Bangor Mall for Black Bear newcomers Doug Janik, Barrett Heisten, and James LaLiberty.
Seven months ago, the three players were eating robin eggs during a 10-day excursion to Russia with the U.S. National Development Under-18 team, coached by former Maine interim head coach and assistant Greg Cronin.
They also took trips to Sweden and Finland and traveled north of the border to play several Canadian Major Junior A teams.
“I think that program will really accelerate the development of the players,” said Maine coach Shawn Walsh. “Eighteen of those players went to major colleges.”
Walsh said two things will be noticeable.
“First, their understanding of the overall game will be far superior because of the coaching they received. They had Division I coaching last year,” said Walsh. “Secondly, their physiological development is very high because of the attention to detail Greg paid in the weight room with them.”
He said they will have to adapt to playing for championships again because they weren’t in a league last season.
Cronin said his players faced every adversity imaginable.
“They played in every hostile [Major] Junior environment they could possibly play in. They were in brawls and stick fights. In Russia, they got a very good education about what Third World countries live like. There was poverty and alcoholism all over the place,” said Cronin.
“I’d go to war with those kids. I’ll never forget them because of their bravery and integrity. It was a very difficult schedule, but they stuck through it and they all graduated [from the local high school in An Arbor, Mich.],” said Cronin.
Janik said, “It was a real positive experience to prepare us for this. We played in some harsh environments and things didn’t go our way. We learned to push through it and make ourselves better.”
Waterville’s LaLiberty added, “You learned to deal with those types of situations and that mental toughness overcomes adversity.”
Heisten said the team was an underdog in most of its games, “so we always had to come back and fight to win.”
The trip to Russia left lasting memories.
“It was really depressing. It’s bad to see people living like that. We were thankful for what we had,” said Heisten.
The players said Russia is inundated with large apartment buildings; they had to skin their apples before eating them; and they didn’t eat anything that wasn’t boiled first. The team also brought over large containers of peanut butter and jelly.
Forward Heisten had 11 goals and 24 assists in 48 games for Cronin, defenseman Janik had 7 & 20 in 55 games, and forward LaLiberty had 8 & 12 in 54 games.
The players enjoyed playing for Cronin and said they adapted well to the new school.
“They had a guidance counselor on us the whole time, making sure we were in school and that we were taking care of our homework. The teachers understood what we were doing there and they gave us a lending hand,” said Heisten.
The players said Cronin’s use of boxing as a conditioning tool and a way to defend themselves against Major Junior thugs was helpful.
They also said they were excited to be at Maine and they’re looking forward to the season.
Maine’s first official practice was at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
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