I never liked single elimination. When the state Little League tournament was single elimination, I used to write column after column about changing it to double elimination.

Anything can happen in one game. I hated the thought of some 12-year-old shortstop having to live with an error that got his team ousted.

Perhaps I’m sensitive after striking out three times in my Little League All-Star debut for Westover Air Force Base.

We lost 3-2 to Agawam, Mass., and were eliminated.

My father was one of the coaches and I felt I let him down as well as my teammates.

I will remember every vivid detail of that game until I die.

The Agawam pitcher’s name was Davies.

I’ve always felt everybody deserves a second chance.

The University of Maine men’s hockey team has received a second chance thanks to the University of North Dakota’s 5-3 win over St. Cloud State in the WCHA championship game.

A St. Cloud win and Maine’s dramatic 8-1-2 stretch run would have gone by the boards.

Maine’s disappointing 4-1 loss to Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals, a team Maine beat three times during the regular season, would have officially ended their season.

The string of NCAA Tournament appearances would have stopped at seven.

Now it is up to the third-seeded Bears to take advantage of their second chance in an Eastern Regional that boasts four of the hottest teams in the country.

Second seed Harvard, Maine’s first-round opponent, has won seven of its last eight; fourth seed New Hampshire is 7-2-2 in its last 11, and top seed Michigan State is 10-1-1 in its last 12.

But Maine has been impressive in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bears are 26-17 in the NCAA Tournament, including 17 wins in their last 24 games. Four of those seven losses have been by one goal and three were in their opponents’ rink or backyard.

“Maine’s history can match up with just about anybody else’s. I have a lot of respect for Maine’s program,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato.

Can the Bears win their first national championship since 1998-99?

Why not?

It would be nice if the defense corps had a little more mobility and they had a veteran in goal instead of a freshman (Ben Bishop).

But the defense corps and Bishop gave a good account of themselves in the BC game.

It was the forwards who let the team down.

The forwards have been the strength of this team. They have four balanced lines and any one of them can produce.

Hobey Baker Award finalist Greg Moore and his linemate, center Michel Leveille, are two of the country’s most dangerous and most consistent forwards, but both had rare off games against BC.

Maine’s other two most skilled forwards, Derek Damon and Billy Ryan, also failed to play up to potential.

Everybody has an off game and those four got theirs off their chests.

It won’t happen again. They’re too talented to have another.

Besides, they can’t afford another one.

The bottom line is Maine, which has scored only seven goals in its last seven single-elimination (Hockey East or NCAA) tournament games, has to attack the net with relentless ferocity while staying disciplined and defense-conscious.

You only get one second chance.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.