Barring injuries to key players (i.e. goalie Jimmy Howard), the University of Maine’s hockey team should be in the hunt for a fifth Frozen Four appearance in seven years next season.

Ten of the 19 players who were fixtures in the University of Maine’s lineup in the post-season were freshmen and sophomores.

Three other freshmen played in at least 20 regular season games.

But the Bears will have to replace three second-team All-Americans in defenseman Prestin Ryan, left wing Todd Jackson and right wing Colin Shields along with stellar 19-win goalie Frank Doyle and effective fourth-line left wing Cam Lyall.

Their leadership will also be missed as will the speed of Jackson, Shields and Ryan.

The 33-8-3 Bears were big-time overachievers, winning 10 in a row until Denver beat them 1-0 in the NCAA championship game.

They will return players who produced 68.8 percent of their goals and 74.4 percent of their assists.

Sophomore goalie Howard, a first team All-Hockey East choice and second team All-American, will be back after a remarkable season in which he led the nation in goals-against average (1.19) and save percentage (.956). He allowed only 27 goals in 23 games with 16 of them coming on the power play. Sophomore backup goalie Ray Jean also returns.

Howard is a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings but he is expected to return to Maine since next year’s NHL season is in jeopardy due to an impasse between the owners and players’ association over the collective bargaining agreement.

Ryan is the only defenseman who will depart but he will probably be the toughest player to replace.

His terrific skating ability and tremendous ice balance made him a one-man breakout. His passion for the game was contagious.

Although he finished with 148 penalty minutes, his hard-nosed physical presence was important.

He was an intimidator.

The rest of the defensive corps was quietly efficient but not very mobile or physical.

Junior Troy Barnes (2 goals, 9 assists) went pointless in his last 25 games but did play his best hockey in the postseason and will improve his output next season.

Freshmen Mike Lundin (3 & 16) and Tom Zabkowicz (4 & 5) were pleasant surprises. Lundin was a regular on the power play and Zabkowicz also saw power-play duty at times. They have good offensive instincts. Lundin had 11 power-play points, tying him for third best on the team.

Junior Mat Deschamps (0 & 2) and sophomores Jeff Mushaluk (3 & 6) and Steve Mullin (1 & 2) played in at least 29 games and Travis Wight (0 & 1) saw duty in 12 before an arm injury curtailed his season.

It should be a good defensive corps and it could be even better if they improve their quickness and agility. Power skating lessons could help.

Shields finished with a team-high 44 points, including a second-best 18 goals, and Jackson had 33 points and a team-high 21 goals.

Jackson had a team-high six game-winning goals and five shorthanded goals and his blazing speed will be sorely missed. He was one of their top special teams players.

Maine’s best postseason line of freshman left wing Mike Hamilton (7 goals, 7 assists), sophomore center Jon Jankus (9 & 15) and junior RW Dustin Penner (11 & 12) could become dominant next season.

Hockey East Rookie of the Year Michel Leveille (6 & 34), who sprained his medial collateral ligament in the first period of the Denver game and had to be moved to wing, sophomore Derek Damon (13 & 18) and junior Ben Murphy (3 & 8) will join Jankus to give Maine four experienced and quality centers.

Damon suffered a bruised shoulder in the first period but also kept playing.

Leveille, Damon and Jankus led the team in game-winning points with 10, 9 and 8, respectively. Damon shared the team lead in multiple-point games with 10. Leveille was second in power-play points (14) and Damon was tied for third (11).

Sophomore left wing Greg Moore (15 & 8) could score at least 20 goals and freshman right wing Keith Johnson (5 & 1) and junior right wing John Ronan (6 & 8) should improve their goal totals, also.

Freshmen wingers Luciano Aquino (4 & 5), Josh Soares (2 & 1) and Brent Shepheard (2 & 3) will probably become more permanent fixtures.

Aquino will help fill the speed void while Soares and Shepheard are punishing wingers who had some of the season’s best hits. All three have a scoring touch, particularly Soares and Aquino.

Shepheard will undergo shoulder surgery on Friday.

Junior Matt Greyeyes (1 & 3) played well in his nine games.

The power play will be improved. It certainly can’t get any worse than it was at the end of the season (2-for-40, 1-for-its last 22). It finished at 15.8 percent.

The Bears have some offensive help on the way as British Columbia Junior Hockey League 100-point scorer and all-star Keenan Hopson and Eastern Junior Hockey League standout Bret Tyler, the top scorer among the league’s defensemen a year ago, have verbally committed to Maine along with hard-hitting EJHL winger Rob Bellamy and Minnesota high school senior goalie of the year Matt Lundin, brother of Bear defenseman Mike.

“I’m real excited about next year,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “One of the strengths of the program is we never take too big a dip. We take a lot of pride in that. It will be a challenge, just as it was this year, to stay at an elite level.”