America East track meet opens today

The University of Maine men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams will be in Boston this weekend as Boston University hosts the 16th annual America East Championships Friday and Saturday.

Maine is one of 11 teams which will compete in the two-day meet.

Meet action begins Friday with the women’s and men’s pentathlon at 10 a.m. Defending men’s champion Albany University and defending women’s champ Northeastern University return plenty of scoring punch and are again top title contenders.

In the women’s meet, 2003 women’s outstanding track performer Ahndraea Allen of Northeastern won the 200 dash with an AE record time of 24.49 as well as the 400. She’s back, along with teammates and 2003 individual champs Ebony Jack, Janel Kozlowski, and Zara Northover – making the Huskies the team to beat.

Maine’s top female athletes are Kristen Vidlak in the 1,000 meters, East Vassalboro’s Katie Souviney in the 55 hurdles, and high jumper Claire Poliquin. Sophomore Stephanie McCusker of Lisbon is a high seed in the triple jump. Junior Silvia Scaldaferri should score some points in the 400 and long jump, while senior Katie Page of Palmyra is a solid contender in the throwing events. Maine’s 4-by-400 relay team shapes up as a solid contender after a second-place finish in the St. Valentine’s Invitational.

Albany’s Paul Roche, who was named men’s outstanding field performer last year after winning the pentathlon, 55-meter hurdles, and long jump, is back and so is men’s outstanding track performer Idris Payne of Northeastern, who won the 200 and 400 dashes with record times (21.76 and 47.47, respectively) last year.

Maine’s best bets for point producers are Waterville’s Troy Irvine in the pole vault and Paul Rupprecht in the 1,000. Others include Topsham’s Andy Caron (mile), Joel Evans (500), Mike Lansing of Lovell and Jeff Caron of Auburn in the 3,000, Lewiston’s Andre Dubois in the shot put, and South Berwick’s Anthony Morgan in the weight throw.

Raised to the rafters

The University of Maine retired two men’s basketball jersey numbers Wednesday night during halftime of the Maine-Boston University game on Seniors Night.

Former head coach and player Skip Chappelle was on hand as his number (34) was raised to the Alfond Arena rafters along with that of Keith Mahaney (24).

Chappelle led the Yankee Conference in scoring for three seasons and played for Maine from 1959 through 1962. The Old town native coached the Bears from 1971 through 1988 and compiled a 217-226 record.

Mahaney played for the Bears from 1952 through 1957 and was inducted into the UMaine Hall of Fame in 1993. The native of Fort Fairfield graduated from Maine as the holder of 11 of 14 basketball records. His number was retired in 1997.

Maine women seeking HE berth

The University of Maine women’s hockey team controls its destiny in its quest to qualify for the Hockey East playoffs.

The Bears are in a three-way battle for the final two playoff berths with Northeastern and the Connecticut and the Bears travel to Northeastern for a pair on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

Northeastern has 15 points and is in third place, Maine is in fourth with 12, and UConn has 11. Maine and UConn have played 14 games while NU has played 13.

After this weekend’s series, Maine will host last-place Boston College (0-11-1 in league play) for two before finishing with a pair at UConn.

UConn has series left with league leader New Hampshire and Northeastern as well as Maine, while Northeastern follows the Maine series with two against UConn and two with second-place Providence.

“The good news is we don’t have any more games against the top two teams in our conference. That will help us out a little bit. The other teams have a little more of an uphill battle,” said Maine coach Rick Filighera. “I think we’re all pretty even. It’ll come down to executing and who can score goals.”

Maine is 1-6-1 in its last eight games and has scored only nine goals. But five of those losses came to UNH, the nation’s ninth-ranked team, and Providence. Maine lost to UNH 5-2 and then tied the Wildcats 2-2 last weekend.

“We may not have won a lot of games over the last little while, but we played really well against those teams and that may help us because we’ve got confidence going into the final six games,” said Filighera.

He said two things his players have been working on offensively are using “deception instead of just skating in and taking a wrist shot and not shooting at the middle of the net.”

He also said a couple of his lines are now using a passive 1-3-1 forecheck to go with an aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck used by the other lines.

The 1-3-1 disrupts the opponents’ breakout and flow by hemming them in the defensive zone.

“Then when you send out the [2-1-2] lines, that affects how the defense reacts,” said Filighera.

Standout freshman defenseman Kelly Law has been moved to center to help replace the injured Katie Sunstrum and Andrea Steranko.