BOSTON – University of Maine freshman right winger Rob Bellamy said he was “devastated” by the broken hand he suffered in practice Wednesday that kept him out of Friday’s Hockey East semifinal against Boston College.

Bellamy went down on one knee to block a shot by teammate Tim Maxwell only to have Maxwell’s shot break two bones in his right hand.

“Our line was playing so well,” said Bellamy, who was playing right wing on a line with fellow freshmen Keenan Hopson and Billy Ryan. “But we’ve got a lot of depth and we have guys we can put into the lineup who will do the job.”

Bellamy, who has three goals and four assists in 28 games, including a goal and two assists in the quarterfinal sweep of UMass Lowell last weekend, said it isn’t a bad break, and it should heal quickly.

“I could play in the Frozen Four if we make it,” said Bellamy.

Meanwhile, sophomore left winger Brent Shepheard, who was out with an abdominal strain suffered in the first UMass Lowell game, said he is feeling a little better and hopes to be back for the NCAA Tounament next weekend if the Bears earn a berth, which seems likely.

No consolation for losers

Hockey East is the only one of the four established Division I hockey conferences that doesn’t have a consolation game before the tourney championship game. Hockey East stopped having a consolation game after the 1996-97 season.

With the importance of the PairWise Rankings in determining the NCAA Tournament field, a consolation game could turn into a significant contest.

But Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna said nobody has expressed an interest in exploring the possibility of reinstituting the consolation game.

“It goes both ways. The winner could get in the NCAA Tournament, but the loser could be knocked out of the tournament. There’s no guarantee it’s going to help or hurt,” said Bertagna.

Northeastern fires Crowder

University of Maine men’s and women’s hockey coaches Tim Whitehead and Guy Perron were both saddened by the news Bruce Crowder didn’t have his contract renewed at Northeastern University.

Crowder, a University of Maine assistant from 1986-90, had spent the last nine seasons at Northeastern after being the head coach at UMass Lowell for five years.

Whitehead was Crowder’s assistant at UMass Lowell for his entire tenure and then succeeded him when Crowder took the Northeastern job.

Crowder coached Perron for two years at Maine.

“It’s very unfortunate. Any time a great coach and a great person like Bruce loses his job, it’s never good to see,” said Whitehead. “No question, he’ll land on his feet. Hopefully, he’ll have a better opportunity than he had this last time. He’ll bounce back. I’m sure his next opportunity will be a good one.”

“I loved him as a coach,” said Perron. “He brought the best out of our players. He’s a genuine guy who loves the game and works hard at it. Northeastern is a tough place [to coach]. You’re trying to compete against BC and BU, but, facilities-wise, it’s different.”

Northeastern plays in Matthews Arena, which was originally known as the Boston Arena and is more than 95 years old.

Crowder was 120-170-36 at Northeastern after compiling a 99-75-19 mark at UMass Lowell.

He is a three-time Hockey East Coach of the Year and won the Spencer Penrose Award as the national coach of the year in 1996.

Tying one on in Boston

UMaine assistant coach Grant Standbrook is a man known for his attention to detail.

So when he saw a Bangor TV reporter tying his necktie in the media room Friday at the FleetCenter, he couldn’t help stopping to observe.

WLBZ-TV sportscaster John Smist was preparing to cover the game when he caught Standbrook’s eye. The Bears’ recruting guru and goaltenders coach approached and asked Smist what tie-tying method he used.

Smist obliged by unfurling the neckwear and repeating his particular tying style. Standbrook observed, providing a couple of hands-on pointers to improve the result, then demonstrated his own tying method.

The whole tie-tying clinic lasted about five minutes, proving again that Standbrook is good at his job because he’s a perfectionist.