Special teams a specialty for Black Bears

Special teams can make or break a season.

For the University of Maine’s hockey team, special teams have been a strength this season.

The Black Bears are the only team in the country whose power play and penalty killing units are both in the top five.

Maine has the nation’s best penalty-killing percentage at a 89.4 percent success rate (169-for-189) and the fifth-best power play (22 percent, 52-for-236).

The Bears know special teams become even more important in the postseason and hope to continue that success against Boston College at 8 p.m. Friday in their Hockey East semifinal at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.

“They play a huge role, especially in one-and-out [single-elimination] games,” said Maine senior defenseman Steve Mullin. “If you have both your power play and penalty kill clicking, that gives you a much better shot at winning.”

Maine senior center Michel Leveille added, “Special teams are always critical down the stretch. It has been like that all year. You want to be successful in key situations. We take pride in our penalty killing and we want to produce on the power play. Scoring a power-play goal can be a game-breaker.”

Maine sophomore defenseman Bret Tyler said the team has emphasized special teams all week and are well prepared by coach Tim Whitehead.

The one chink in Maine’s special teams armor has been shorthanded goals allowed. The Bears have surrendered 10 shorthanded goals, second most in the nation behind Bowling Green’s 14.

And BC is tied for fourth in most shorthanded goals scored with eight, five by senior left wing Chris Collins, which ties him for third in the country.

Whitehead said Maine’s march to the 2004 NCAA championship game epitomized the importance of special teams. Maine had five power- play goals in its last three regular season games, all wins, and added PPGs in the 2-1 triple overtime win over UMass in the Hockey East final and another in the come-from-behind 5-4 win over Harvard in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“We didn’t have an unbelievable power play but we scored some timely power play goals down the stretch,” said Whitehead. “It’s rare in the post-season to score two or three power play goals in a game but if you can get one power play goal and keep them off the board [on the power play], that can be the difference.”

In its three wins over Boston College this season, Maine has gone just 2-for-16 on the power play, but the two goals came in the 2-1 victory at BC.

The Eagles went 0-for-15 on the power play vs. Maine.

Other stats of note dealing with Maine’s power play and penalty killing:

. Nine of Maine’s 26 game-winning goals have come on the power play.

. Maine has scored at least one power-play goal in 29 of its 38 games. Maine is 21-7-1 in those games.

. The Bears are 11-3-2 in games in which they have scored at least two power play goals.

. Maine senior right winger Greg Moore’s 12 power-play goals tie him for fifth in the country.

. The Bears have held teams without a power-play goal in 23 games and are 18-5 in those games.

. Opponents have scored more than one power-play goal in a game just four times against Maine. Maine is 1-2-1 in those games.