When Francis Nault was ruled ineligible for his senior year this past summer for playing in summer tournaments several years ago, the University of Maine men’s hockey team was in need of a defenseman.

In August, they were able to land Mike Lundin from Apple Valley (Minn.) High School.

Lundin didn’t really know what to expect but he has put together an impressive freshman season that has surprised even him. He is one of only four Bears to play in all 40 games and he has three goals and 15 assists. He is plus-16.

“I was just hoping to crack the lineup. By no means did I expect to play in every game,” said Lundin. “I didn’t know a whole lot about the team. I understood it was supposed to be a rebuilding year. But I wasn’t used to comparing good college hockey teams.

“The team being as good as it is has been a surprise,” added Lundin.

He had a difficult decision to make in August between Maine, some other Division I programs, and a year in the United States Junior Hockey League.

“Looking back, I definitely made a good decision there,” said Lundin.

He readily admits that since he has 40 games under his belt, the freshman mistakes should be out of his system.

“I need to act more experienced and play more experienced than a freshman this far down the road,” said Lundin.

He said he is nervous but he is also definitely excited about the NCAA Tournament.

“This is something I’ve been looking forward to ever since I started thinking about college hockey,” said Lundin, who plays on the power-play and penalty-killing units in addition to taking a regular shift.

Lundin has notched 11 of his points on the power play (2 goals, 9 assists). He has three game-winning points (1 & 2).

“He has turned out to be a blue-chip prospect. He’s emerging every day,” said sophomore center Derek Damon.

“He has been incredible every game,” said junior right wing John Ronan. “He has really matured throughout the year. He anchors the power play.

“He’s tough to play against in practice. He’s got such a long reach. He’ll be at the red line and you’ll be at the blue line and he’ll pokecheck you from there,” quipped Ronan.

Crimson have come on strong

At one point this season, the Harvard Crimson, picked to win the ECAC title by the coaches in the preseason poll, were 9-13-2.

But a 9-1-1 finish capped off by the ECAC Tournament championship has landed them in the NCAA Tournament’s East Regional and a Friday night date with Maine in Albany.

“We had been hoping to secure a spot earlier in the season,” said Harvard senior defenseman and captain Kenny Smith. “But we had some ups and downs. We did a good job of earning the berth.”

Regaining the services of injured defensemen Dave McCulloch and Dylan Reese was one of the keys, according to Smith.

“That really helped,” said Smith. “We were at a point in February where we weren’t doing the things we needed to do to win games. We hadn’t been playing a full 60 minutes. We focused on the little things.”

He added that it took a while to adapt to a new defensive system.

“It took some time to get comfortable with it and the intricacies of it,” said Smith, who scored the game-winner in the ECAC final against Clarkson with 38 seconds left. “We’ve been doing a better job in the defensive zone of late.”

Harvard has allowed just 10 goals in its current seven-game winning streak.

He expects a stiff test against the Bears.

“I haven’t seen them but I know they’re a very good team. Winning Hockey East is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Smith.

Maine lineup the same for now

Maine coach Tim Whitehead will probably go with the same lineup he used in the Hockey East semifinal and championship game wins over Boston University and Massachusetts.

“It’s not set in stone. And if we are fortunate enough to win the first night, we may make some changes for the second game if it’s going to help the team,” said Whitehead.

“Last weekend was probably the first time we’ve had the same lineup in back-to-back games,” said Whitehead. “But we are very confident the guys who aren’t playing can help our team if we decide to make changes.”