MINNEAPOLIS – While most of his teammates were heading to the showers, Mat Deschamps sat quietly in the locker room still fully dressed in his UMaine uniform.

The senior defenseman was trying to come to grips with the reality that his college hockey career was over.

“I didn’t want to take my uniform off, but I had to take off my skates; my feet are killing me,” Deschamps said. “I don’t want it to end.”

Deschamps spoke quietly but sincerely as he reflected on his career as a Black Bear.

“I’m so proud of being here and being part of this family, part of the UMaine community,” said the native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. “They’ve showed me so much respect and admiration and I have the same for them.”

However, Deschamps’ greatest satisfaction is having watched the progress this season’s team made after a somewhat shaky start.

“To think what we did in the second half of the year to get here, it’s really remarkable,” he said. “I’m proud of all the achievements that these guys have made.”

Senior captain John Ronan’s red eyes reflected the pain he felt in having his career come to a disappointing end. He believes he and this year’s seniors have helped set high standards for those who follow in their footsteps in the program.

“Our senior class, we’re not the most skilled or talented people, but you can’t question our heart, our work ethic,” Ronan said. “We’re just guys who love to go out and compete every day, have fun. I think that’s the trademark of our class.”

The communications major from South Boston, Mass., is confident the Bears will be back in the national title hunt again next season.

“I think this team’s got some serious talent,” Ronan said. “I bleed Black Bear blue and I’ll never stop pulling for this organization, this program.”

Mariucci magic

In spite of the loss, the Bears came away impressed by the atmosphere Saturday at 10,000-seat Mariucci Arena.

UMaine goaltender Jimmy Howard tried to put the Mariucci experience into perspective for a college hockey player.

“I’ll never forget this. This was a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come in and play in probably the United States’ mecca for hockey,” Howard said. “This is probably one of the best places to play in the country besides the Alfond.”

The Minnesota faithful cheered their team heartily throughout, but on a handful of occasions produced a deafening roar throughout the building. By keeping the game scoreless, the Bears helped quiet the throng.

“You got tingles every time the crowd started standing up,” said junior defenseman Steve Mullin. “It’s almost as good as the Alfond.”

If not hockey, then what?

Several members of the University of Maine hockey team will go on to play pro hockey at some level after finishing their careers.

But if they had a chance to play another professional sport, what would it be?

“I’d probably play baseball when I was younger and I loved it,” said junior center Derek Damon. “If you’re a pitcher, you don’t have to get a lot of exercise. It’s all about hand-eye coordination. It would be fun to hang out with guys in the dugout and stuff.”

Sophomore center Jon Jankus would like to play soccer in Europe. So would sophomore left wing Josh Soares.

“Those guys seem to have nice lives. That would be nice,” said Jankus.

“I used to love playing soccer. It’s a great sport. You’d have lots of money, lots of fans out there. Soccer’s a huge sport in Europe,” said Soares.

Sophomore left wing Mike Hamilton would like to give basketball a try.

“I always liked basketball. I used to play it out in the yard and stuff,” said Hamilton.

Sophomore right wing Keith Johnson went with baseball.

“It’s my second favorite sport. I’m a big Red Sox fan. I just love the sport,” said Johnson.

Senior defenseman Mat Deschamps and junior defenseman Jimmy Howard would love to give cycling a shot.

“The amount of endurance and mental toughness those guys have to have to be great at their sport is unbelievable,” said Deschamps. “My father [Robert] trained and cycled for a long time, so I grew up around it. I’ve always loved watching cycling. It’s so interesting. It’s almost like NASCAR. If you look at it from the outside, you’re like ‘These guys are just riding their bikes around.’ But there’s so much strategy. It’s just so graceful, too. Or I’d be a lacrosse player.”

Howard is a big fan of six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

“I like the sport. It’s just incredible how much pain those guys go through riding each day. That would be something incredible just to be able to at least finish the Tour de France,” said Howard.

Sophomore left wing Brent Shepheard would like to tee up a golf ball. So would junior winger-defenseman Travis Wight.

“That’s the other sport I enjoy the most. It looks a lot easier than it is. You think golfing every day would be fun, but those guys spend a lot of time practicing, too. I think being a professional golfer would be a lot of fun,” said Shepheard.

“It’s a fun game. Usually you’re enjoying it all the time,” said Wight. “You just worry about yourself. You don’t have to worry about how your teammates play because it’s just you. You have no one else to blame.”

Freshman defenseman Travis Ramsey, a Californian, would like to play professional water polo.

Sophomore center Michel Leveille and freshman winger Wes Clark chose golf.