ORONO – The University of Maine’s defense was nationally ranked a year ago thanks to two-time Atlantic-10 Defensive Player of the Year Stephen Cooper.

The Black Bears allowed just 15.4 points and 267.6 total yards per game to lead the Atlantic-10.

But Cooper and four other starters have graduated.

One of the players who will be called upon to help the Bears compensate for their loss will be senior defensive end Dennis Dottin-Carter, a preseason Street & Smith All-American.

He was a first-team All-Atlantic 10 pick last fall after registering 9.5 sacks among his 45 tackles. He had 17 tackles for a loss of 91 yards.

“I’m trying to step it up and be more of an impact player than I was last year,” said Dottin-Carter, a 6-foot-1, 238-pounder from Cambridge, Mass. “I got some things done but I need to have a lot better year this season.”

Dottin-Carter has left no stone unturned in his quest for a memorable senior year.

“I worked on everything in the offseason: my straight-ahead speed, agility, side-to-side speed, upper-body strength and lower-body strength,” said Dottin-Carter.

“He has to play for well for us,” said Maine coach Jack Cosgrove. “He’s a veteran guy who has played a lot of snaps. He knows what he’s doing and he has the ability to make good plays for us, which is very, very important.”

While Dottin-Carter is a proven commodity, two of the players who will have elevated roles this season are linebackers Fred Lazo and Jermaine Walker.

They will try to fill the void left by the departure of Cooper and Rob Kierstead, who ranked first and third on the team in tackles.

Lazo had 15 tackles in 14 games in a backup role and Walker appeared in seven games and had one tackle.

“As far as the linebacker position, I don’t feel pressure to live up to any expectations [due to the departure of Cooper and Kierstead]. Those two were real outstanding players,” said Lazo, a fifth-year senior. “As far as this season, we just have to look at it as me and Jermaine are just going to go out there and play ball. We aren’t out there to fill Coop’s shoes or Rob’s shoes, we’re just going to play how we know how to play ball.”

“This is an opportunity to do some good things,” said sophomore Walker. “We’re going to be out there trying to make the Maine Black defense a good defense like it has always been.”

Lazo said knowing there would be increased playing time served as a healthy motivation during the off-season.

“Knowing that you’re going to be called upon to perform in the season, you’ve got to work harder. Everything has to be stepped up to a whole other level,” said Lazo.

Lazo, Walker and Dottin-Carter feel the defense is going to be formidable again despite the graduation losses.

“The corps of the defense is the defensive line and we have the best line in the A-10 right now,” said Lazo. “They’re going to make our jobs so much easier.”

“The defense is going to be good. We’ve got a lot of speed,” said Dottin-Carter. “We don’t have just 11 guys, we have 22 and change who can get the job done.”

Maine’s adds top opponents

The University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux, national champs in 2000 and runners-up in 2001, and fellow Western Collegiate Hockey Association power Denver highlight the future schedule for the University of Maine’s hockey team.

North Dakota will visit the University of Maine’s Alfond Arena for two games in October 2004, and Maine will visit Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. in 2005. Denver will travel to Orono for two games on Oct. 14-15, 2005 before Maine heads to Denver for two games the following season.

Maine also will participate in the season-opening Ice Breaker Tournament at Colorado College in October 2005.

The Bears also will continue to participate in the Everblades College Hockey Classic in Estero, Fla. Maine won the tourney last season and the 2004-2005 event will involve Maine, Cornell, Boston College and Ohio State.

Maine also has a home-and-home series with ECAC member St. Lawrence beginning with two games in upstate New York next season.

Maine will travel to Harvard and Dartmouth in nonleague play in 2004-2005.

“I am very pleased about securing these games against top-notch opponents,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead in a press release.

Antone named to Springfield Hall

Former Bangor High School multisport star Shelley Antone will be inducted into the Springfield College Hall of Fame on Oct. 25.

Antone owns virtually every women’s basketball record at Springfield, including career points (1,682), points in a season (544), points in a game (40), career field goals made (633) and free throws made (391).

She was named Springfield College’s top female athlete in her junior and senior years (1988 and 1989).

She averaged 19.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a junior and 19.4 points and 6.1 rebounds as a senior. She was an All-Northeast Conference choice her senior year.