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University of Maine senior right winger Niko Dimitrakos said his productive weekend (4 goals, 3 assists) against Boston University that led to him being named Hockey East Player of the Week can, in part, be attributed to linemate Marty Kariya.
Or, more specifically, Kariya’s hockey sticks.
“I had been searching for a stick I liked and I tried one of Marty’s in practice last Tuesday,” said Dimitrakos, who found just what he wanted and has ordered some.
“His stick has more flex than mine had. It wasn’t as stiff. It was easier on the release. You could get more whip out of it,” explained Dimitrakos.
He also said he can shoot the puck with more accuracy.
“With my former stick, I had to make an adjustment when I shot. With Marty’s stick, I can just point at where I’m shooting and put it there,” said Dimitrakos, who will enter Thursday’s Hockey East quarterfinal series opener against Boston College with a six-game points streak (4 goals, 8 assists).
Meanwhile, Dimitrakos’ linemate over the past four games, junior left wing Lucas Lawson, has a career-high six-game goal-scoring streak. Kariya centers the line and has a goal and six assists in the four games.
Lawson has six goals over his last six games and has also contributed two assists in that span.
“I’ve got to credit my linemates. They’ve been getting me the puck,” said Lawson, who was with Kariya and Colin Shields for the first two games of the streak. “The guys on the team have been telling me I have a good shot and I should use it. So I’ve been shooting more and that has been paying off. You can’t score if you don’t shoot.”
He also said he has “more confidence” now.
Lawson, who said he hasn’t scored in six straight games since junior hockey, is two shy of Ron Hellen’s school record.
Hellen scored at least a goal in eight straight games from Dec. 12, 1984-Jan. 20, 1985.
Dimitrakos now has 123 career points (48 goals, 75 assists) and that elevated him to 28th place on the school’s all-time scoring list.
He is one point behind Paul Kariya and two behind Hellen.
Coaching search starts after season
By law, the University of Maine is required to open up a national search for a full-time head hockey coach next season.
Athletic director Sue Tyler said there will be a search committee appointed after the season and indicated that she hoped interim head coach Tim Whitehead will be one of the applicants.
The hockey jobs at two other prestigious hockey schools, Michigan State and Wisconsin, will also open up.
Michigan State’s Ron Mason is leaving to become the athletic director at the school and Jeff Sauer won’t be back at Wisconsin.
Reimann will be back Thursday
Reimann missed the BU series (9-6 win, 4-4 tie) with a sore back but he said he will be ready for Thursday’s series opener.
He said he got cross-checked in the back at the end of his team’s 7-0 win over UMass the previous Saturday. He spent the weekend rehabilitating his back injury.
Reimann is also nursing shoulder and hip injuries.
“It’s the playoffs. Everything [injuries] goes away,” said Reimann, who is Maine’s fifth-leading point-getter with 30 (11 goals, 19 assists) in 34 games.
Shields can play playoff opener
First-year right winger Colin Shields, who leads the team with 25 goals, will be able to play against BC Thursday.
He was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for his hit-from-behind on BU’s Frantisek Skladany in the third period of Saturday’s tie.
If referee Tim Benedetto had felt Shields had intended to injure Skladany, he would have assessed a game disqualification and that would have meant Shields couldn’t play the first playoff game.
Eagle defenseman Forrest is out
The Boston College Eagles will be without workhorse sophomore defenseman J.D. Forrest, who sustained tendon and nerve damage in his right forearm late in the third period of Sunday’s 2-1 loss to New Hampshire.
Forrest, a Hockey East all-rookie team choice last year, is BC’s fourth-leading scorer with eight goals and 19 assists in 25 games.
Bowdoin women in Sweet 16
The Bowdoin College women’s basketball team makes its second straight trip to the NCAA Division III “Sweet 16” Friday when it takes on sectional host Springfield College (Mass.).
Coach Stefanie Pemper’s Polar Bears boast a 25-1 record and were ranked No. 2 in the most recent D3hoops.com Division III national poll.
Bowdoin faces 27-3 Springfield Friday at 7 p.m., while 25-3 St. Lawrence and 21-7 Ohio Wesleyan square off in the 5 p.m. game. The winners meet Saturday for the right to reach the national semifinals March 15 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Bowdoin features a trio of former Eastern Maine standouts in sophomore guard Lora Trenkle of Surry and freshman forwards Alison Smith of Stockton Springs and Erika Nickerson of Benton.
Trenkle, the New England Small College Athletic Conference Player of the Year, leads the team with 15.3 points per game, is second with 64 assists and ranks third with 32 steals. Nickerson is averaging 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds and Smith has contributed 3.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
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