ORONO – There is nothing flamboyant about the way Maine’s checking line plays.

But senior center Jon Jankus, junior left wing Brent Shepheard and sophomore right wing Rob Bellamy have been showcasing the merits of physical play, a defensive presence and simplicity over the last four games.

Since being reunited four games ago, they have generated four important goals as the Bears have gone 3-0-1 against nationally ranked Vermont and Boston College. They had been linemates off and on but hadn’t been together since Jan. 14 at Boston University.

Bellamy scored the game-winner with Jankus and Shepheard picking up assists on it in the 3-1 win at Vermont; Shepheard had a goal and Jankus an assist in the 4-4 tie the next night in which Maine overcome a 3-0 deficit and, in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Boston College, Jankus set up Bellamy’s game-winner and the two of them assisted on defenseman Bret Tyler’s insurance goal.

“We’ve just gotten back to basic hockey,” said Jankus. “We’ve been getting the puck in deep [into the offensive zone] and taking the body and when you do that, good things happen.”

Bellamy said they have the “same mentality.

“We try to create a lot of energy for the team by taking the body or back-checking. It’s effective for us,” said Bellamy, who has five goals and six assists in 31 games. Three of his goals have been game-winners.

Shepheard added that things like blocking a shot or doing a good job on the penalty kill can also lift the team.

All three are used as penalty-killers.

“It may be stuff that doesn’t show up on the scoreboard but it’s important,” said Shepheard.

He also acknowledged that just because they’re a checking line doesn’t mean they can’t chip in with some goals.

“We may not be the most offensive-minded line but we’re all very capable players who scored a lot before we came to Maine,” said Shepheard, who has four goals and two assists in 26 games. “When we get our scoring chances, we’re going to take them. Maybe we can catch some other lines by surprise. When they look at their scouting reports, they don’t look at our line as a big offensive threat.”

Jankus said there can be advantages to being matched up against the opposing team’s top offensive lines.

“I don’t want to say they don’t care about defense but they’re more concerned with getting offense out of their line. All it takes is one split-second of indecision and we can turn the puck the other way,” said Jankus, who has six goals and 10 assists in 31 games. “It’s not like we don’t have any skill on our line. We can put the puck in the net and make plays.”

He said his wingers can create turnovers with their jarring body checks.

“When everyone is taking the body, the other team’s players don’t want the puck on their sticks. They’re be looking to get rid of the puck when they see Rob or Brent coming at them. That’s always the plus,” said Jankus.

Bellamy said the line is “really starting to jell together. We know what each other is going to do. Our goals have come from our hard work. We have the speed and the strength down low so we can cycle the puck well. We get shots on net and we get to the net.”

Jankus said “we’ve been talking a lot more on the ice” and that communication has been beneficial.

Jankus said they want to lead by example and make sure the Bears finish up the regular season strong.

“There’s no room for excuses this late in the year for not going out and working hard,” said Jankus. “It’s coming down to the end of the season and we don’t want to look back and say ‘If we had only done this or that [we would have been more successful].”