With injuries and illnesses behind him, University of Maine goalie Jimmy Howard is poised and ready for the stretch run as his Black Bears try to secure a seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.

Maine finishes with 14 Hockey East games beginning this weekend with a trip to Amherst, Mass., for a pair against UMass.

Howard has bounced back from a summer bout with mononucleosis that significantly limited his workout regimen; an upper respiratory infection; a sprained ankle and a tender knee to post a 1.53 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage and three shutouts over his last seven games.

With an 11-8-3 record, the Bears will need a strong finish to return to the NCAA Tournament.

“Lately, I’ve been working with Grant (assistant coach Standbrook) on a lot of things. Just fine-tuning a lot and getting myself ready for these last 14 games,” said Howard, a second team All-American. “From here on out, every single series is huge for us.”

It is a daunting task but Howard is ready to go.

“I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge. UMass has been a tough place to play but we have to find a way to walk in there and walk out with four points. I can’t think of any other way to put it. We need to treat it like the playoffs,” said Howard, who has a 10-8-3 record, a 2.16 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

Maine has had problems clearing its net front and Howard has had to adapt.

“I’ve been working on it. I’ve gotten guys to take shots from the point and I’ve asked four or five guys to stand in front of me and hack and whack at me from in close. You’ve got to get down and find the puck. It makes my life a little bit tougher but it’s a challenge that I’m capable of handling.”

Howard said clearing the front of his net to enable him to see shots has been a point of emphasis in practice.

“The more and more we work on it, the better the guys will respond to it,” he said.

“We’ve got to back him up and give him a chance to be successful,” said Maine sophomore center and newly appointed assistant captain Michel Leveille.

Leveille said the Bears are continuing to stress the defensive aspect of their game.

“One of the things the [gold medal-winning] Canadian players said at the World Junior Championships was that they just wanted to play well defensively because they knew if they did, the offense would come,” Leveille said.

Leveille and senior defenseman Mat Deschamps, who was also named an assistant captain last week, know it is crunch time for them.