Terriers kept short leash on UM’s Leveille

For the first time in his University of Maine hockey career, Michel Leveille found himself shadowed in Saturday night’s 2-2 overtime tie at Boston University.

BU sophomore center John McCarthy followed him everywhere and Leveille was held without a point for the first time this season. He did have three shots on goal.

“I haven’t shadowed anybody since [Boston College center] Ben Eaves,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “There’s no question Leveille is one of the premier players, if not the premier player, in the league.”

Leveille said, “I’ll take it as a compliment. But I’m going to have to adjust my game and make sure I’m ready every night. I’ve got to stay focused. I took a couple of penalties and I don’t like that. I’m going to have to work harder.”

Senior center and captain Leveille said it was the first time he had been shadowed since the playoffs in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League. He played for the Nanaimo Clippers and was the league’s third-leading scorer with 108 points in 52 games in 2001-2002.

“It’s tough to play like that. That guy wasn’t even going into the offensive zone. He followed me everywhere. He didn’t care about the puck. It was a little weird to do it this early in the season,” said Leveille. “But I’ve got to deal with it. It could be like this the rest of the year. I didn’t really produce in the game. Other teams may think it’s something that works against us.”

So what can he do if he gets shadowed again?

“I’ll try to stay close to one of their other players to create confusion. I’ll have two guys tied up with me. That could open up some space for my linemates. I’ve got to make sure I create some space using my speed and ability to get that guy off my back,” added Leveille.

Bears pleased with strong start

The Bears missed an opportunity to produce the best start in the history of the hockey program dating back to the 1977-78 season.

The 7-0-1 start matches the previous best garnered by the 1992-93 NCAA championship team that went 42-1-2.

“We didn’t really talk about it a whole lot. I think the guys knew about it,” said senior right wing Brent Shepheard. “We didn’t want to put a whole lot of pressure on ourselves. It would have been nice to get the record, but we’re happy with our 7-0-1 start. We’ve had some tough road games.”

Maine coach Tim Whitehead said, “We had a good run there. This was a good eye-opener for our guys. You have to play the full 60 or 65 minutes to give yourself the best opportunity to win. And that still doesn’t guarantee you a win.”

“Having said that, any time you can steal three out of four points on the road, it’s still a positive,” added Whitehead.