Bears’ Howard still confident despite slump

ORONO – It has been a tale of two seasons for University of Maine Hockey East Rookie of the Year Jimmy Howard.

After being among the national leaders in goals-against average and save percentage for most of the year, he slumped at the end culminating in consecutive early departures in the 5-3 and 4-2 losses to UMass in the Hockey East quarterfinals.

He allowed six goals on 21 shots in 39:20 over the UMass starts. Over his last five starts, he has surrendered 17 goals on just 107 shots for a dismal .841 save percentage.

But he doesn’t intend to let his slump damage his confidence.

“The way I look at it, it’s a game,” said Howard. “The first half of the season, the puck was bouncing my way. Right now, the pucks are hitting everything and going in the net.

“Sooner or later, as long as I keep working hard, the bounces will go my way,” added Howard. “One of the traits you have to have as a goaltender is to be able to put things behind you. You have to move on and play your game.”

He said the nine days off “was a good break for me. I put hockey on the back-burner. I went home [Ogdensburg, N.Y.] and saw my buddies, parents and grandparents. It was a good rest for me and I’m sure it was for everyone else. We had a chance to stop thinking about hockey for a week.

“Now we’ve got a four-game season left. That’s how everybody is looking at it,” added Howard who is sporting a 14-6 record, 2.45 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.

NCAA keeping an eye on war

The NCAA has “contingency plans” pertaining to the hockey and basketball tournaments which they will implement if necessary in lieu of the war situation.

That was the word from University of Massachusetts athletic director Ian McCaw, who is the chairman of the NCAA’s Ice Hockey Committee.

“We’re taking it very seriously. We’re going to work with the arenas, the hotels and the airlines,” said McCaw.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the NCAA decided to regionalize the NCAA Hockey Tournament’s regionals last season. There were six eastern teams in the East Regional in Worcester, Mass. and six western schools in the West Regional in Ann Arbor, Mich.

But McCaw said there are no plans to continue with that philosophy this season so eastern teams could be sent to one of the two western regionals and vice versa.

The tournament has expanded to 16 teams this season and four-team regionals will be held in Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, Providence and Worcester on the weekend of March 28-30.

USM lists captains in two sports

The University of Southern Maine has named captains in men’s lacrosse and women’s outdoor track.

Senior Tobey Farrington of Scarborough and juniors T.J. Bell and Nick Rich of Farmington and Yarmouth, respectively, have been named the lacrosse tri-captains while the track team will have five captains.

They will be sprinters Heather French of Smithfield and Kendall Guyette of West Farmington; pole vaulters Amy Swanberg of Lamoine and Nikki Freeman of Whitefield, and distance runner Jess Short of Bennington, Vt.