Reimann, Dimitrakos spark Bears UMaine plays first game since coach Walsh’s death, defeats Moncton

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ORONO – There is no way of knowing, at this stage, just how good the University of Maine men’s hockey team is going to be this season based on Friday’s 8-0 exhibition win over the University of Moncton at Alfond Arena Friday night.

But there were plenty of positives based on the Bears’ impressive performance against a Blue Eagle team that had good size, played a physical but clean style of hockey, and worked hard throughout.

Junior Tommy Reimann, who has been moved from forward to defense, showed he will be able to provide some offense from the blue line as he notched a hat trick.

“I was a little nervous, but I felt good out there. I still have a lot to work on defensively,” said Reimann.

Senior right winger Niko Dimitrakos, who has reduced his body fat by from 18 percent to 6 percent since the end of last year, displayed an extra step of speed and converted it into a goal and two assists.

“Working out hard all summer has paid off,” said Dimitrakos.

Senior goalie Matt Yeats was sharp and was a key in preventing the Blue Eagles from getting back into the game after Maine built a 2-0 lead. He finished with 12 saves and senior Mike Morrision also played well as he finished with nine stops.

“I was pleased that we did enough things consistently well to end up on the positive side,” said interim head coach Tim Whitehead, who is replacing the late Shawn Walsh. “The guys executed the things we’ve worked on in practice. And all the [six] new guys played hard.”

Maine received at least one point from 14 different players.

Yeats liked what he saw, also.

“I liked the way the guys were always on the puck. We won a lot of battles. The guys made smart plays with the puck. We didn’t have a lot of turnovers,” said Yeats.

Whitehead said it is important to note that the Bears still have a lot of things to work on before next weekend’s Icebreaker Tournament opener against Bowling Green.

“We’ve got to use the wall more to get the puck out of the defensive zone,” said Whitehead. “We turned the puck over too much in the middle of the ice.”

The Bears had a decided edge in team speed and parlayed that speed to generate several scoring chances and goals off transition.

“They were a step ahead of us all night,” said Moncton coach Charles Bourgeois. “They’ve got a nice hockey club.”

Besides Reimann and Dimitrakos, Maine received goals from Chris Heisten, Michael Schutte, and freshmen Ben Murphy and Chad Anderson.

“We’ve got a lot of talent on this team,” said Dimitrakos.

Maine opened the scoring on the power play 4:24 into the game when Heisten converted a Dimitrakos rebound.

“The puck was just laying there and I put it five-hole,” said Heisten.

Reimann and Dimitrakos teamed up on the second goal off a three-on-one after Maine pounced on a neutral zone turnover.

Dimitrakos threaded the needle to Reimann and he deposited it behind Eagle goalie Jonathan Pelletier, who had no chance.

“I just had to tap it in,” said Reimann.

Yeats came up with several point-blank saves over the final eight minutes of the first period and early in the second period before his mates broke it open by scoring four times in the middle period.

Dimitrakos accepted a Robert Liscak pass and beat Pelletier between the pads on a breakaway; Reimann was credited with his second goal when his centering pass for a streaking Dimitrakos glanced into the net off a Moncton defenseman’s skates; Liscak fed Anderson for a tap-in goal off a perfectly-executed two-on-one; and Murphy roofed a 20-footer off a Todd Jackson faceoff win.

Schutte and Reimann added third-period goals.

Maine outshot Moncton 45-21. Pelletier, a Chicago Blackhawks draft choice, played well despite giving up eight goals as he was peppered throughout.

Black Bears 8, Blue Eagles 0

Moncton (0-1) 0 0 0 ? 0

Maine (1-0) 2 4 2 ? 8

First period ? 1. Maine, Heisten (Dimitrakos, Nault), 4:24 (pp); 2. Maine, Reimann (Dimitrakos, Heisten), 9:38. Penalties: Moncton, Dube, interference, 2:42; Maine, Anderson, slashing, 11:04.

Second period ? 3. Maine, Dimitrakos (Liscak), 7:20; 4. Maine, Reimann (Nault), 10:28 (pp); 5. Maine, Anderson (Liscak, Richardson), 11:12; 6. Maine, Murphy (Jackson), 16:06. Penalties: Maine, Lynch, interference, 3:30; Maine, Lynch, high sticking, 5:53; Moncton, Beliveau, high sticking, 5:53; Maine, Lawson, hitting after the whistle, 8:37; Moncton, Beliveau, hitting after the whistle, 8:37; Moncton, Deschamps, elbowing, 8:47; Moncton, Prudhomme, interference, 13:48; Maine, Reimann, hooking, 16:37.

Third period ? 7. Maine, Schutte (Kariya, Ronan), 0:13; 8. Maine, Reimann (Murphy, Lynch), 9:41 (pp). Penalties: Moncton, Beliveau, roughing 8:06; Maine, Loya, interference, 14:12

Shots on goal: Moncton 5-7-9?21; Maine 16-17-12?45

Goaltenders: Moncton, Pelletier (45 shots-37 saves); Maine, Yeats (12-12), Morrison (9-9)

Power-play Opportunities: Moncton 0 of 4; Maine 3 of 4

Attendance: 4,204