Leveille bouncing back after injury Resilient UM center scoring at will

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When University of Maine senior center Michel Leveille missed five men’s hockey games due to calf and knee injuries courtesy of a hip check in a 3-2 loss to Boston University on Jan. 13, it didn’t sit well with him.

He missed five games.

But he has been making up for lost time since returning to the lineup.

Leveille has registered a point in each of his eight games back (4 goals, 5 assists) and that includes four goals and an assist in his last four games. He had three of Maine’s six goals in the Bears’ 4-1, 2-1 sweep of Merrimack College this past weekend.

He had a six-game scoring streak prior to the injury, so he now has points in 14 consecutive games (9 goals, 11 assists).

“I’ve been working really hard since coming back from the injury,” said Leveille, who is wearing a knee brace. “I hate watching. I want to stay on the ice. I’ve been riding the [stationary] bike, staying healthy, eating well.

“I just want to contribute and be a factor in every single game. Hopefully, it’s going to keep going the rest of the year.”

Overall, he has 14 goals and 15 assists in 29 games. His 14 goals are second on the team and represent a single-season high for him. His previous high was 12 last year.

His 14 goals have come off 81 shots on goal, giving him the best shooting percentage on the team (17.3 percent).

“In my head, I’m still a playmaker. But I’ve been emphasizing shooting,” said Leveille. “I get the chance on the point [on the power play] to shoot a lot more. If I can get it through, the goals will go in. So I’m going to keep doing it.”

Leveille has seven power-play goals.

“He has really stormed back from the injury,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “He has had great focus and determination to be able to come back and make such a positive impact wearing a knee brace for his torn ACL [anterior cruciate ligament]. I wondered if he’d even play again this season and here he is playing fabulous for us. It’s really remarkable. It’s very inspiring.”

Leveille, who was the 2003-2004 Hockey East Rookie of the Year thanks to his six goals and 34 assists, gives himself a mixed review on his season.

“I kind of had a slow start,” said Leveille. “I wish I had come out a little stronger at the beginning of the season. I wanted to be more consistent, which I have been lately. I’ve been doing real well on faceoffs.

“I’m happy so far but the job’s not done.”

Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy saw first-hand what Leveille means to the Bears.

“He has been an offensive threat since he was a freshman,” said Dennehy. “He has abilities that are very difficult to teach at our level. He definitely has vision. He sees the ice well. He beat us up this weekend.”

Mike Lundin out indefinitely

UMaine junior defenseman Mike Lundin will be sidelined indefinitely.

Lundin was slashed in Saturday night’s win over Merrimack and had to have the tip of the pinky finger on his right hand reattached by a doctor, according to Whitehead. He also suffered a fractured bone in the finger.

“It seems to be taking pretty well, but we’ll have to wait and see if the body accepts [the tip of the finger] back,” said Whitehead. “If it does revascularize, that’s a step in the right direction.”

Lundin will miss this weekend’s regular season-ending home series with UMass.

“We’ll know more later in the week. We’re hoping he’ll have a chance to play in the playoffs, but we aren’t counting on it,” said Whitehead.

Lundin is Maine’s second highest-scoring defenseman with two goals and 12 assists in 32 games. He has six goals and 41 assists in 116 career games.

His 116 games rank him third behind Derek Damon (153) and Greg Moore (146).

Whitehead said Matt Duffy, Bryan Plaszcz, or Jeff Marshall will replace Lundin. All three are freshmen.

“We’ll look at all of them this week. Duffy is pretty good defensively and is pretty mobile, Marshall has real good hockey sense offensively and defensively, and Plaszcz brings more of an offensive flair. He’s very mobile as well,” said Whitehead.

Plaszcz has one goal in six games; Duffy has two assists in 20 games; and Marshall, a converted forward, is pointless in eight games. He has played one game on defense.