Men’s Hockey

NCAA EASTERN REGIONAL FIRST ROUND

No. 5 Maine vs. No. 4 Minnesota

Time, site: Friday, 8:30 p.m.; Worcester Centrum, Worcester, Mass.

Records: Maine 19-11-7, Minnesota 27-12-2

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 10-8; Maine won 5-4 on Oct. 17, 1999

Key players: Maine – C Marty Kariya (12 goals, 21 assists), C Chris Heisten (5 & 19), LW Michael Schutte (13 & 10), RW Matthias Trattnig (11 & 12), D Doug Janik (2 & 14), D A.J. Begg (2 & 5), G Matt Yeats (17-8-4 record, 2.35 goals-against average, .897 save percentage); Minnesota – C Erik Westrum (25 & 33), D Jordan Leopold (12 & 35), RW Johnny Pohl (18 & 24), C Jeff Taffe (12 & 23), LW Grant Potulny (20 & 11), D Dylan Mills (2 & 21), G Adam Hauser (26-11-2, 2.51, .903)

Outlook: The winner meets Boston College in Saturday’s quarterfinals. It will be Minnesota’s speed and skill against Maine’s defensive tenacity and tournament experience. None of the Gophers has played in an NCAA Tournament game. Maine has 13 players with tourney experience. Look for the Bears to play a physical game and not give the Gophers much skating room. They also have to stay out of the penalty box as Minnesota has the second-best power-play percentage in the nation (25.1 percent) thanks to Potulny, who leads the nation in PPGs with 15. The Bears must play extremely well in transition. Minnesota has lost four of its last six and five of its last eight. Three were at the hands of St. Cloud State, the No. 2 seed in the Western Regional. Minnesota will have to adjust to the small rink because the Gophers play on an Olympic ice sheet. They have beaten only three teams on small ice sheets. Taffe is a first-round NHL draft choice (St. Louis, although he has since been traded to Phoenix). Maine has never lost at the Centrum in NCAA play (4-0) and is 4-1 against Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament. Goaltending will have a large say in the outcome. Both have been good but a little inconsistent.