The University of Maine’s hockey team, ranked 15th in the nation, has been generating plenty of scoring opportunities lately and second team All-American goaltender Jimmy Howard is finally healthy.

So now coach Tim Whitehead is looking for his defense corps to raise its level of play as the Black Bears begin the second half of their season against St. Cloud State at the Everblades College Classic in Estero, Fla. Tuesday at 4.

The tournament features three nationally-ranked teams as Boston College and Cornell, ranked fifth and ninth, respectively, will play in the 7:30 semifinal.

Whitehead said junior Steve Mullin has been the model of consistency on the blue line and he is looking for the same dependability from his other defensemen.

“Each defenseman needs to elevate their game in a small way. We’re not looking for anybody to be a hero. We just want them to play like Steve has played. Make the simple play and play clean defensively. Protect our net and get the puck out of our end,” said Whitehead.

“It’s easier said than done. But if each of them can take a small step, that will enable the team to take a big step,” added Whitehead.

Senior defenseman Troy Barnes said he has seen signs that the defense corps is “coming together.

“The pairings are getting settled in and I think we’ve shown signs of doing some real good stuff,” said Barnes. “We’ve played a lot better over the last six or seven games. We’ve communicated a lot better.”

Barnes said if they can play well and gain some confidence, it would be a “huge” development and it could lead to more offensive production from the defense corps.

Maine has received four goals and 32 assists from its nine defensemen. Tom Zabkowicz had a goal and an assist as a forward but has since been moved back to defense.

The Bears have been generating plenty of shots on goal of late, averaging 37 over their last eight games compared to the opponents’ 22.5.

Whitehead hope that trends continue and they can capitalize on their chances in Florida.

“This is a unique type of tournament,” said Whitehead. “Coming into it, the teams have gone two weeks without practice. They aren’t going to be as sharp as they usually are.

“So you’ve got to keep it real simple. The players will have to play a very smart game with the puck. Turnovers will be very important. You’ve got to be very careful with the puck and put it to the right spots when you don’t have a play,” said Whitehead.

Offensively, Whitehead will look for his Bears to get the puck on net as much as possible and try to keep the shots low in order to generate second and third rebounds.

The tournament will start a stretch of four games that will prepare the Bears for their final 14 Hockey East games.

“This is definitely a huge week for us,” said Barnes. “We’d like to get a good roll going. And if we can win this tournament, it would help our confidence.”

“If we could get a couple of wins here, it would give us a monstrous boost,” concurred Whitehead who noted that with a 10-7-2 record, his team needs to string together some wins to gain ground in its quest to earn a seventh straight NCAA Tournament berth.