Paul Falco, a rugged winger who plays for former Bear Dave LaCouture, has verbally committed to the University of Maine men’s hockey program.

Falco, who plays for LaCouture’s Walpole Stars in the Eastern Hockey League, said his decision to attend Maine wasn’t a difficult one.

“The program speaks for itself,” said Falco. “I want to win a national championship and Maine will give me the best chance to win one. I’ve got a couple of buddies there [former Stars Mike Mantenuto and Chris Heisten] and I couldn’t picture a better home rink to play in than Alfond Arena.”

Falco is a Weymouth, Mass., native who, according to LaCouture, is a combination of former Bear Brendan Walsh and current freshman Brendan Donovan.

“He’s a strong, gritty kid who is good with the puck,” said LaCouture. “He always gives 100 percent. He was our second-leading scorer last year [behind Mantenuto].”

He is a recruited walk-on who could earn a scholarship with his play.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Falco had more than 60 points last season but has been slowed by a sprained medial collateral knee ligament this season. He has resumed practicing and is expected back in the lineup soon.

The 19-year-old Falco said he intends to play hard at both ends of the ice.

Falco said he grew up wanting to play for Boston University because George Sullivan, father of former Terrier Mike Sullivan, was his youth hockey coach for three years and Mike helped teach him how to skate.

But his allegiances have changed.

“I couldn’t have picked a better spot,” said Falco.

Thomas may own 3-point mark

Thomas College in Waterville is awaiting word from NAIA headquarters on whether the Terrier women’s basketball team has set a national Division II record for 3-pointers in a game.

Thomas connected for 20 3-pointers Sunday during a 101-33 Maine Athletic Conference victory over the University of Maine-Fort Kent. The feat is believed to be an NAIA record, but officials told Thomas coach Chris Aube it would take weeks for the organization to confirm it is a new mark.

According to the NAIA Web site, the Division II record for 3-pointers in a game is 19.

Shooting numerous 3-pointers has been part of the game plan for the 9-7 Terriers this season.

“Our game is to shoot a lot of 3-point shots,” Aube said. “Three-point shots certainly add up quicker than two-point shots, that’s for sure.”

Sophomore Erin Lovely of Oxford hit six 3-pointers in the win over UMFK, while senior Heather Farrell of Calais made five. Betsy Pratt contributed four 3-pointers, Tiffany Nason hit three and Kati Morrell added two.

Lovely, the MAC’s leading scorer with 18.9 points per game, has connected for 54 3-pointers this season. Farrell is averaging 12.7 points and has knocked down 50 3-pointers in 16 games.

Maine women break through

The UMaine women’s hockey team turned a sizeable corner this past weekend when it beat Northeastern 5-4 and tied Providence 3-3. Maine had gone 0-30 against established ECAC powers Brown, Harvard, Dartmouth, New Hampshire, Providence, and Northeastern in its three years in the league.

“This was huge in a couple of ways. It takes the monkey off our backs. Not beating those teams created a mental block the last couple of years. And it makes us feel better about ourselves. We’ll look at each game a little differently from now on,” said fourth-year coach Rick Filighera, who is recruiting in Toronto this week. “This will give us a little notoriety and help us in the recruiting process.”

“Now we’re looking to make the playoffs,” added Filighera, whose team occupies the eighth and final playoff spot in ECAC with a one-point lead over Niagara and Princeton.

He pointed out that his team is ranked 12th in the nation in the power ratings and has the 11th-best winning percentage in the country at .525 (10-9-1).

Maine has the weekend off and will resume play with a two-game road set Feb. 3-4 at Brown and Harvard, respectively.

However, the Bears will be without junior center Raffi Wolf for the next four games.

Wolf will leave next week to play for Germany in an Olympic qualifying tournament.

Wolf is Maine’s fourth-leading scorer with seven goals and eight assists in 20 games.