Johnson, Wight keys for Bears Duo sparks UMaine’s successful penalty kill

Junior defenseman Travis Wight and sophomore winger Keith Johnson came into the season on the bubble for the University of Maine men’s hockey team.

They weren’t guaranteed playing time. They were going to have to earn it.

And they have done just that in recent weeks, killing penalties effectively and giving the Black Bears a boost with their energy and grit.

Wight has had to make the transition from defense to left wing and right wing Johnson is his linemate and penalty-killing partner. Sophomore Mike Hamilton centered the line in Sunday’s 3-0 win over New Hampshire.

Their penalty-killing was a vital ingredient in the triumph over New Hampshire and they are hoping to continue that this weekend when Maine visits Northeastern and UMass-Lowell for Hockey East games on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.

Maine has killed off 38 of the last 39 power plays and its 91.5 percent efficiency rate is fifth best in the country.

“They’re playing a very significant role for us,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “They give us a great penalty-killing unit and they bring a lot of tempo and pace to the fourth line. They lift everybody up with their energy. They block shots and they also draw penalties by driving to the net.”

Johnson said they know what to do to stay in the lineup.

“We’ve got to work hard and play our roles. We both understand that. And I think we’re doing a pretty good job of it right now,” he said.

“I’m not a goal scorer. I don’t expect to score goals,” said Wight, who credited his teammates with helping him make the adjustment to wing. “Our line goes out and bangs and crashes, we work the puck down low in the corners, we cycle it and try to get some opportunities.

“We really like playing together on the penalty kill. We get into the offensive zone as fast as we can, we try to not let them out and we try to force them to make mistakes. It seems to be working well so far,” added Wight.

Neither one has a point as yet.

“I’m not pressing. The goals will come when they come,” said Johnson, who had five goals and an assist in 32 games last season. “We do a lot of the little things. We try to generate offense the best we can but we definitely want to keep the puck out of our net. That’s our main priority.”

Maine junior center Derek Damon said they do an “awesome job” on the penalty kill and, in doing so, they have taken a lot of stress off players who are used both on the power play and penalty-killing units.

Damon said Wight has a tremendous work ethic and is “very positive” in the locker room while former linemate Johnson “has all the fundamentals down” and is the toughest forward to defend in one-on-one situations because of his shiftiness.

It appears as though freshman Matt Lundin will man the nets for Maine in place of the injured Jimmy Howard (knee) although Howard will make the trip.

But UMass Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald and NU coach Bruce Crowder don’t expect a significant dropoff.

“Maine could put Yogi Berra in there and receive great goaltending,” said MacDonald. “Maine has a history of spectacular goaltenders. They do a tremendous job working with them and developing them. He was one of the top goalies in Minnesota.”