Goalie Jimmy Howard and right winger Greg Moore, both freshmen this past season on the University of Maine men’s hockey team, are getting a heavy dose of country music this weekend.

They are in the land of the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, Tenn., for the annual National Hockey League draft on Saturday and Sunday.

The first three rounds will be on Saturday with the remaining rounds on Sunday.

“I can’t wait. It’s going to be an awesome thrill,” said Howard, who went to Nashville on Thursday with several family members.

“I’m looking forward to experiencing the show itself,” said Moore, who reached Nashville on Friday with his parents and a family friend.

According to the draft preview story in The Hockey News magazine, Howard was listed as the 50th top prospect, which would make him a second-round selection.

Moore was listed as the 86th prospect, which would make him a third-round selection.

Teams retain the players’ rights throughout their college careers.

Howard was the Hockey East Rookie of the Year with a 14-6 record, a 2.45 goals-against average, and a .916 save percentage. His three shutouts tied the school record.

Moore had nine goals, including four power-play tallies, and seven assists for 16 points in 33 games.

Neither one cares where they are picked or by whom. And both intend to return to Maine in the fall.

“It doesn’t matter to me. I’d be just as thrilled in the third round as I would be in the first,” said Howard, a native of Ogdensburg, N.Y. “I’m definitely coming back to Maine. The thought of leaving hasn’t crossed my mind. I can’t wait to get back to Maine.”

“Where you’re picked doesn’t do anything for you. It’s what you do after that,” said Lisbon’s Moore.

Howard was ranked among the top goalies in the country in goals-against average and save percentage until struggling over the last third of the season.

He said his end-of-season slump will probably hurt him a little on draft day “but not a whole lot.”

“I’m only human and, sooner or later, I figured I would slip up a little. But not as much as I did. I had never been a part of a stretch like that before. It wasn’t a great feeling. But now I know what it feels like and how to react,” said Howard.

Moore felt his first season as a Black Bear was “successful” and he’s looking forward to trying to help fill the void left by the departure of six senior forwards.

“There will be an opportunity for me to have a lot of different roles,” said Moore.

He has been playing in a men’s league at Augusta’s Kennebec Valley Ice Arena, but will leave in a week to work at USA Hockey camps in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“I’ve been focusing on my agility. I want to be more explosive. I want to be just as agile as a small player,” said the 6-foot-1, 208-pounder.

Howard said he has been working out, and he attended a two-day combine in Toronto two weeks ago in which players were given a variety of off-ice conditioning tests.

“I’ve also played a little golf to take my mind off [the draft],” said Howard.

Maine bids for Portland regional

The University of Maine has made a bid to host the 2004-2005 NCAA Hockey Tournament’s Northeast Regional at Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center.

The school will learn if it landed the regional next Friday.

The Worcester (Mass.) Centrum and the University of Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena will be two of the regional sites in 2004-2005, but the NCAA needed hosts for the Midwest and Northeast Regionals as they will again for the 2005-2006 regionals.

There are four, four-team single-elimination regionals leading to the Frozen Four.

Next season’s regionals are in Manchester, N.H., Albany, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Colorado Springs.

“We feel we could run a first-class tournament there,” said Maine Director of Athletic Media Relations Pete Lefresne. “It’s a nice facility and when we’ve played there, we have always been drawn very well.”

“That would be awesome,” said Maine goalie Howard.

“It would be a great event to bring to the state,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “It’s a great venue for a regional. It’s a great location. There’s no question in my mind it would sell out. I think we have a real good shot to get it.”

The Cumberland County Civic Center lists a seating capacity of 6,733 for hockey but 6,894 turned out to watch Maine beat Harvard 4-2 in December and 5,784 turned out for a 4-1 win over Dartmouth during the 2001-2002 season.

Lefresne said there is no minimum bid required for a regional.