UMaine special teams strong in tournament Bear defense improved vs. Lake Superior State

ORONO – University of Maine hockey coach Tim Whitehead got exactly what he wanted during the Black Bear Classic over the weekend: a tournament title and a chance to evaluate his players.

Maine edged the University of New Brunswick in an intense struggle 2-1 on Friday night before dominating a Lake Superior State team with 10 freshmen in its lineup 8-1 on Saturday night.

“It was a very productive weekend. We learned a lot about our team,” said Whitehead. “We had four different players in Saturday’s lineup so a lot of guys got their feet wet which is important this time of year. There was a lot of improvement from the first night to the second night.

“The power play was a big bright spot [4-for-10], especially when you consider we haven’t had as much time to work on it as we normally would have. Both units clicked right away. Penalty-killing was a bright spot, too,” said Whitehead whose penalty-killers surrendered just one goal on 11 chances.

Junior left wing Todd Jackson and senior defenseman Cliff Loya said the team did a much better job defensively against Lake Superior State.

“Like our coaches said, we gave [New Brunswick] a free pass in the neutral zone Friday. But, on Saturday, our forwards came back and pressured [Lake Superior State’s] forwards and that really helped us out. That enabled us to step up [at the red line],” said Loya.

Jackson said, “We were a little anxious the first night but we settled down and got back to the game plan on Saturday.”

Two freshmen who left a lasting first impression were right wing Greg Moore from Lisbon and goalie Jimmy Howard, who were teammates on the United States National Development Program’s Under-18 team a year ago.

Moore dished out several crunching checks and scored a shorthanded goal on Saturday and Howard made 41 saves on 43 shots in five and a half periods.

“They looked like they had been with us all last year,” said Whitehead.

Both said they were happy with their performances and enjoyed their first games in Orono.

“It was definitely fun,” said Moore, who added that scoring his first college goal will take some of the pressure off him.

“I’m a lot more comfortable now that I’ve got that first goal under my belt,” said Moore.

Howard, meanwhile, played with great composure and squared his body to the shooters. He was the all-tourney goalie.

“That’s the way I play. I like to come out, cut down the angle and make the first save,” said Howard. “The crowd was fantastic. I’ll never forget it.”