Bears still seeking elite defenseman and goal scorer

The University of Maine men’s hockey staff is still looking for a defenseman and a scorer as it continues its recruiting for next season.

“We need one more defenseman, an elite defenseman who can play in all situations. And we could use a goal scorer,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead.

Maine will graduate players who collected 62 of its 143 goals (43.4 percent) and 75 of its 241 assists (31.1 percent). Those numbers will increase if second team All-American center and assistant captain Michel Leveille (16 goals, 24 assists) decides to pass up his final year to sign a pro contract.

Leveille has enough credits to graduate but has said he intends to come back if he doesn’t receive a good contract offer.

Whitehead said having a go-to guy, scorer, and team leader like Leveille back “would be very exciting for us,” but he is also sympathetic to Leveille’s desire to play pro hockey.

Whitehead said he and his staff are going to be careful in their pursuit of recruits at this stage.

“Obviously, there aren’t a lot of guys out there at this point. We’ve got to make sure we don’t take someone just to take someone. You don’t win championships with afterthoughts,” said the fifth-year Bear coach. “He has to be an elite player who can make a difference for our team next season and beyond.

“If not, we’ll put the scholarship money toward the following year.”

He is expecting immediate production from his list of incoming recruits headlined by Ted Purcell, who led the prestigious United States (Junior) Hockey League in assists this season with 52. Purcell also had 19 goals for the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) RoughRiders and was tied for third in the league in points with 71 in 55 regular-season games.

“He’s a special player. He brings something we don’t have: a righthand-shot playmaker. We haven’t had that since Niko Dimitrakos,” said Whitehead. “We’ve had plenty of lefthand-shot playmakers.”

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Purcell, who hails from St. John’s, Newfoundland, will turn 21 in September.

He could also give the Bears’ power play a new look, according to Whitehead.

The other forward recruits are rugged Zach Sill, who had 12 & 8 in 48 games for the Truro (Nova Scotia) Bobcats in the Maritime Junior A League; 6-4, 205-pound David deKastrozza, who had 15 & 13 in 43 games at Culver Military Academy (Indiana), including seven power-play goals; and Tony Morrone from the South Kent School (Conn.), one of his team’s leading scorers after leading the New England Division I Prep School League in scoring two years ago with 28 & 33 in 31 games.

Maine also has one defenseman who has verbally committed in Brett Carriere of Ottawa, who led the Atlantic Junior Hockey League’s defensemen in scoring with 9 & 49 for the Northern Massachusetts Cyclones.

Whitehead knows he will be losing some top-notch players but said that’s the case every year, “and we always seem to find a way to elevate [our performance] once again.”

“That’s part of the excitement here at Maine. We strive to be the very best every year. We want to be in that group that plays in the TD Banknorth Garden [for the Hockey East semifinals and finals] and in the Frozen Four,” he said. “We’ll be striving for our third national championship. That’s a legitimate goal here [every year],” said Whitehead.

Maine finished 28-12-2 and will be vying for a ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth Frozen Four in six years next season.

Maine home jersey chosen best

In an Inside College Hockey Online article last month written by Jayson Hron, the University of Maine’s white home jerseys were chosen the best in college hockey.

According to the article, each team’s sweater was judged in four categories: colors, continuity, originality, and overall visual appeal.

The scores ranged from 1 (hideously awful) to 5 (perfect). The four scores formed the Best Sweater Rating Index.

Hron wrote, “Our initial BSRI rendered Maine’s white sweater as the best of 2006 with a score of 18.7. An excellent color combination combined with a simple, clean design and a timeless look swayed our voters. It’s the quintessential college hockey jersey, complete with easy-to-read numbers and names for the press box StatCrew jockeys.”