WABI to televise UMaine hockey Bangor station to use ESPNU feed

WABI-TV Channel 5 in Bangor will televise the University of Maine’s NCAA East Regional Tournament hockey game against Harvard University on Saturday at 3 p.m. and, if Maine wins, it will air Sunday’s 2 p.m. quarterfinal game between Maine and the winner of the Michigan State-New Hampshire game for the right to advance to the Frozen Four.

Steve Hiltz, WABI-TV’s program director, said the station will pick up the feed from ESPNU. WAGM Channel 8 in Presque Isle will also air the games live.

ESPNU is doing all the NCAA hockey regional first-round games, but is on DIRECTV and is not available on Maine cable systems.

WABI had been scheduled to broadcast the NCAA Division II championship basketball game at 1 p.m. but WBGR in Bangor, which is Channel 9 on Adelphia cable, will televise that game instead.

WABI was also going to show NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament games beginning at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Hiltz said they will join the games in progress after the hockey game.

Portland cable station WPFO (Fox 23) will air Saturday’s game on a tape-delayed basis after its coverage of the NASCAR Busch series Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. WPFO wouldn’t televise a Sunday game because it is airing the Food City 500 Nextel Cup race, according to Hiltz.

“ESPNU was interested in syndicating the games this year. They called us to ask if we were interested in doing it and in putting together a multi-station deal for them,” said Hiltz.

Dan Parkhurst, the Hockey East Web site coordinator, will handle the play-by-play chores and former NHL coach and goaltender Cap Raeder will be the color analyst.

Hiltz said it is going to cost WABI-TV at least a “few thousand dollars” per game.

“But I think it’s going to be worth it,” said Hiltz.

WABI-TV aired nine Maine regular season hockey games and one Hockey East quarterfinal playoff game this season and Hiltz said the ratings “did as well if not better” than the prime-time shows that were pre-empted by the Maine games.

WAGM and WPFO had also aired some of those games along with WABI, according to Hiltz.

Maine lands defenseman

The University of Maine’s hockey program has added an offensive-minded defenseman to its list of incoming recruits.

Brett Carriere, the top-scoring defenseman in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League this past season, has verbally committed to attend Maine.

The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Carriere, a native of Ottawa, Ontario, had nine goals and 49 assists in 41 games for the Northern Massachusetts Cyclones and is a two-time AJHL All-Star.

“I’m extremely excited,” said the 20-year-old Carriere, who will be on a partial scholarship. “In Canada, Maine is the only Hockey East school you hear about because of Paul Kariya, Scott Pellerin and [the program’s] history. I’m glad to be part of it.”

He chose Maine over Northeastern and RPI although he hasn’t visited Maine.

“I’m going to work hard all summer and, hopefully, I’ll be able to work my way into the lineup,” said Carriere.

Cyclones assistant head coach Joe Flanagan, who played at the University of New Hampshire from 1988-92, said Maine is a good fit for Carriere.

“He’s an explosive skater who has been dominant, at times, with his speed,” said Flanagan. “He’s a really tough competitor. He’s a strong kid. He likes to jump up into the play and, with his speed, he can recover and get back. He’s a very intelligent kid with a lot of hockey sense. He’s a very good athlete.”

Flanagan added that Carriere is “mature, dedicated and focused” and was the team’s captain.

“He’s a man on a mission. He’ll work his tail off this summer.”

Carriere’s attending Maine will be depended upon his acceptance into the institution and passing the NCAA Clearinghouse standards.