Bishop: Puck stops here UMaine goalie, ‘third defenseman’

University of Maine freshman goalie Ben Bishop’s primary job is stopping pucks.

But he is also limiting the number of shots he has to face through his ability to handle the puck, pass it to a teammate or clear it out of danger.

“I love to play the puck. I’ve always wanted to score a goal,” said Bishop, who will visit Merrimack College (Mass.) with his mates for a two-game set this weekend. “I always like to have the puck because I can control the game. I can slow it down a bit or speed it up.”

Maine junior left wing Josh Soares said Bishop has been “like a third defenseman for us.

“He helps our defensemen out tremendously. They don’t have to worry about going back for the puck and then getting smoked [by an opposing forward]. He also really helps our transition game a lot. He’s got a great shot. He can shoot it better than some of the players on our team,” said Soares.

Defensemen Mike Lundin and Travis Wight agreed.

“We haven’t been getting pounded as much in the corners, that’s for sure,” said junior Lundin. “If the puck goes behind the net and you’re getting chased hard, you just have to release to the corner because he’ll usually find the open man or rim it [around the boards] if there’s nothing else he can do with it.”

“That really helps at the end of a shift when you’re tired. He’ll shoot it out of the zone so you can change up. All of those little things add up,” said Lundin.

Senior Wight said “he takes a lot of pressure off us” and that the defensemen and forwards are on the “same page” with him these days.

“We know what he’s going to do and that helps so much,” said Wight.

Bishop spends a lot of practice time handling and shooting the puck.

“I have a couple of ways I handle the puck. I have an overhand grip, an underhand grip and I’ll use my knee sometimes,” said Bishop. “It’s one of my favorite things to do.”

In the 4-1 win over Boston College a week ago, he used his knee as a lever and snapped the puck from behind his net into the neutral zone on the fly.

“I’ll use my knee to get a lot of leverage underneath the puck,” explained Bishop. “I do it in practice every day. It’s just instinct right now. I don’t think about it. It just happens.”

Merrimack College first-year coach Mark Dennehy observed that Bishop “not only has the ability to play the puck, he also has the ability to make the right play with it.”

Bishop has created scoring chances by passing the puck to a teammate at the far blue line.

“When you see him with the puck, you’ve got to get ready because the puck could be on your stick in the next couple of seconds. He spurs our offense,” said Johnson.