ORONO – With two inexperienced goalies replacing All-American Jimmy Howard, University of Maine men’s hockey coach Tim Whitehead knew there would be peaks and valleys between the pipes this season.

And that has been the case.

The Black Bears have usually had a dependable, experienced goaltender to bail them out when necessary.

Howard’s August decision to pass up his senior year and sign with the Detroit Red Wings left Maine with unseasoned goaltending.

Howard saw a lot of duty his freshman year when he shared the goaltending with Frank Doyle. Howard was chosen the Hockey East Rookie of the Year.

He had a spectacular first half but was up-and-down over the second half of the season.

That can also be said for both sophomore Matt Lundin and freshman Ben Bishop this season. After terrific starts in leading the Bears to a 9-2 record, both have been inconsistent of late.

Whitehead is hoping one of them can get red-hot and steal a win or two down the stretch as the Bears try to climb back into the NCAA Tournament picture. They are 20th in the PairWise rankings, which mimic the NCAA Tournament selection process. Sixteen teams qualify for the NCAA tourney and Maine is seeking its eighth straight berth.

Whitehead has been satisfied with the play of Lundin and Bishop and is pleased with their progress.

They will continue to share the load until one emerges.

“If one does get hot down the stretch, so be it,” said Whitehead. “If not, and they both continue to play well, we’ll continue to use them both.”

Their statistics over the last eight games are similar. Maine is 4-4 during that stretch.

Each has allowed 12 goals. Lundin has played 240 minutes and Bishop has played 237 minutes. Lundin has made 108 saves while Bishop has stopped 77 shots.

They have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Lundin has been a more consistent puck-stopper of late but Bishop is much better at moving the puck and is like having a third defenseman. That is important because opponents attack Maine’s defensemen on the forecheck.

“We’re confident in both of our goalies,” said Whitehead. “One of our objectives at the beginning of the year was to make sure both had the opportunity to play and help our team. Both have done that. Both have played well and they are very committed to improving.”

Maine senior defenseman and assistant captain Steve Mullin agreed.

“We have the utmost confidence in both of them. It’s not their fault [that we’ve struggled],” said Mullin. “It’s a matter of us doing our part. It’s a team game and we don’t want to put them in a bad situation.”

Whitehead said the key to consistency for the goalies down the stretch will be their focus.

“It’s no different that it would be for the rest of the guys on the team. It will come down to their ability to focus for 60 minutes game in and game out. That’s the biggest challenge facing college athletes. They need to stay in the moment consistently,” said Whitehead.

As for specific aspects of their games, Whitehead said, “Matt needs to work on his balance so he will be in position to make second saves. He needs to stay upright.

“For Bish, he has to find the fine line between being too aggressive or too passive. He has such a big frame [6-foot-7], he needs to use that to his advantage by staying upright and letting pucks hit him so he doesn’t have to make as many crazy [scrambly] saves.”

Lundin and Bishop are upbeat and they are confident they can provide the goaltending the Bears need for a productive stretch run.

“I love the pressure. I love being in a 1-1 overtime game,” said Lundin, who is 7-4 with a 1.72 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. He is 4-3 with a 1.95 GAA and a .925 save percentage in Hockey East.

“I hope it comes down to that and we need a win to clinch home ice in the Hockey East playoffs,” he said.

However, Lundin also said he hopes it “doesn’t come to that and that we can get on a [winning] streak” to sew up a home-ice berth earlier.

Maine is one of four teams separated by only three points battling for third and fourth place in Hockey East, the final two home-ice berths in the league playoffs.

Lundin said he is working on “reading plays” and “talking to my defensemen” to reduce the number of opponents’ shots as well as the amount of time his mates have to spend in the defensive zone.

Bishop said he has been spending extra time working on his skating and movement inside his crease.

“[Assistant coach and goalie coach] Grant [Standbrook] said he wants me to play like a 90-year-old man in net, limiting my movement as much as possible,” said Bishop, who is 11-5 with a 2.36 GAA and a .903 save percentage (7-5, 2.64, .894 in Hockey East). “I’m also working on controlling my rebounds better so there aren’t any second shots.”

Bishop said he knows the team is capable of going on a winning streak.

“We’ve won 18 games (18-10). We know how to win games,” said Bishop.

Maine visits Vermont for a pair this weekend.