Bears hope to reverse road woes UMaine needs more offensive production

The University of Maine men’s hockey team has been one of the best road clubs in Hockey East over the years despite the fact it covers more miles than any other team in the conference.

Entering this season, the Bears were 37-22-13 in league road games over the previous six years.

But the Bears have struggled on the road this season.

They will take a 1-5-2 league road record into this weekend’s series against the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass.

“We’ve haven’t produced enough offense to win road games,” said Maine coach Shawn Walsh, whose Bears have scored only 12 goals in their eight Hockey East games away from the friendly confines of the Alfond Arena. “We need somebody to step up.

“The 3-2 loss at BU was a tough one and the two ties were winnable,” added Walsh, referring to the 1-1 tie at Northeastern on Nov. 4 and the 0-0 draw at New Hampshire on Jan. 5.

“We haven’t been executing,” said junior goalie Matt Yeats. “We’ve got to snap out of it.”

“We can’t think about the fact we’ve been losing on the road. That would be counter-productive,” said junior defenseman Eric Turgeon. “In most of our road games, we haven’t been able to put together a solid 60-minute performance.”

Maine senior co-captain A.J. Begg said the Bears simply have to “play better as a team” on the road.

Junior defenseman Peter Metcalf said that will entail having the proper road mentality.

“We’ve got to play with a quiet intensity and we can’t take stupid penalties like I did at New Hampshire,” said Metcalf, who was assessed two minors in the series in which Maine tied 0-0 and lost 4-1.

Maine’s national reputation often means unusually large crowds at opposing rinks.

“But I like it better when there are more fans,” said Metcalf.

Maine will be playing on an Olympic-size ice sheet at the Mullins Center and that will force them to alter their game plan a little.

“Defensemen have to play more of a pro-style game,” said Begg. “We have to back in a little more rather than take a chance stepping up [at the red line or defensive blue line] and having their forwards go around us.”

On the flip side, Begg said the larger ice surface means defensemen “can get more involved in the offense.

“There’s more room to get lost [in the offensive zone],” said Begg.

Maine’s defensemen have been much more productive offensively of late as they have combined to score nine of Maine’s last 22 goals.

In an interesting development, Walsh has put three struggling forwards together on a line to try to jumpstart them.

Sophomore Tommy Reimann, who has gone 19 games without a goal, will center senior left wing Dan Kerluke and junior right wing Donny Richardson.

Kerluke has just two goals in his last 13 games and one was an empty-netter and Richardson, the Vermont transfer who became eligible at midseason, didn’t have a point in five games before being benched.

Richardson has been a healthy scratch for the last four games and Reimann was benched for the last one, the 3-2 overtime win over New Hampshire last Sunday.