Hockey shouldn’t get break

This has been a relaxed week for the University of Maine men’s hockey team – a couple of days off followed by some low-key practices, all in the name of letting the nicks and bruises of a long season heal before center stage comes calling.

Center stage is the Frozen Four, a place that has served as the Black Bears’ final destination in three of the last five years.

It’s a time of great anticipation for Maine hockey players and fans, but a period of waiting that’s entirely too long.

After reaching the Frozen Four through a succession of weekends filled with regular-season dramatics, Hockey East playoffs, and NCAA regional play, suddenly there is a week off, idle time when everyone must cool their collective hockey jets after building up a month or more of unbridled enthusiasm for the big games still to come.

An off week might be right for the Super Bowl but not the Frozen Four.

The premise presumably is to give hockey its own stage, free of the giant shadow the men’s basketball Final Four casts over this first weekend of April.

But it’s not like waiting a week gives hockey a singular spotlight on the national sports scene. Ever heard of the Masters? The first full weekend of major league baseball?

And those who appreciate Division I hockey for the exciting rite of winter – and autumn, and early spring – it is would stay loyal to the Frozen Four if it were held on Fourth of July weekend.

Rather than schedule the Frozen Four after the Final Four – and extend possibly college sports’ longest season, given that next Thursday’s Maine-Wisconsin semifinal will come nearly six months to the day since the Bears opened their season last Oct. 7 – the NCAA should more fully embrace the Frozen Four as part of March Madness.

Given the hammer the NCAA has with the nation’s media at this time of year because of the popularity of its men’s basketball tournament, it should take some of the advertising spots it gets as part of its radio and television contract to heavily cross-promote the Frozen Four within the March Madness concept.

Schedule the hockey semifinals for this Friday each year, and the championship game Sunday afternoon or evening in conjunction with the women’s basketball semifinals held the same day.

There are enough ESPNs to go around, all the games will still be televised – and it’s likely to gain hockey more true national exposure than it could ever expect simply by delaying its showcase event for a week. Out of sight is out of mind.

There’s another reason for not having a hiatus in the middle of the hockey playoffs.

Postseason play in all college sports – save for Division I football, which relies on an antiquated bowl system – has a special rhythm, a special momentum that builds as the larger pool of invited teams is narrowed to the elite few.

Those that survive and advance, be it to the Frozen Four or Final Four, deserve to be able to feed off and continue to build on that hard-earned momentum.

And make no mistake about it, the Maine hockey team capped off its regional riding a wave of momentum, the result of a rejuvenated offense that produced 11 goals in victories over Harvard and Michigan State.

Here’s hoping idle time doesn’t cool the Black Bears’ jets.

Ernie Clark may be reached by calling 990-8045 or 1-800-310-8600, or by e-mail at eclark@bangordailynews.net