Bellamy’s value is physical play Goals not measure of his success

Junior right wing Rob Bellamy will be looking for his first goal in 26 games tonight when the the University of Maine hosts the surging Northeastern Huskies in the first of an important two-game Hockey East series.

But as Maine coach Tim Whitehead pointed out, Bellamy’s value to the team isn’t judged by the number of his goals.

“I’m not concerned with him scoring goals. I spoke with Philadelphia and they aren’t concerned about it either. That’s not why we recruited him or why they drafted him [in the third round],” said Whitehead. “That’s not representative of his value to our team.”

“He gives us a physical presence. He’s a consistent hitter and a fierce hitter. And his hits are clean. He’s great on loose pucks, he blocks shots, he’s a great penalty killer, and he’s an excellent defender. He’s very underrated in that area,” added Whitehead. “He’s a great backchecker. He’s always the first guy back to squash the other team’s attack.”

Northeastern coach and former Maine interim head coach Greg Cronin also appreciates the swift-skating Bellamy.

“I can identify with him. He’s a warrior,” said Cronin. “He wants to be the first guy in on the forecheck. He’s a big, strong kid who gets around pretty good. You don’t worry about him trying to finesse the puck out of the corner. He’d rather run somebody over. His energy creates scoring chances for his line.”

“You can’t underestimate those guys. They’re usually character guys who galvanize the locker room,” added Cronin.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Bellamy, who has five assists in 20 games, said he isn’t dwelling on his goal drought.

“I try not to think too much about it,” said Bellamy, whose last goal came in a 5-3 win over Massachusetts on March 4, 2006. “If I get a goal, it’s a bonus. I want to provide energy and be physical. That’s my game. I want to create a spark for the team.”

Bellamy acknowledged that he hasn’t been as physical as he has needed to be at times this season “because I was a little worried about getting goals.”

“But then I thought to myself, ‘Step back and keep it simple. Just go out and play how you usually play. The goals will come,'” said Bellamy, who has nine goals and 18 assists in 88 career games.

Whitehead concurred.

“It takes all types of players to make a strong team and he’s a very important player. He brings a lot of positive energy to the team. The guys rally behind him,” said Whitehead, who expects Bellamy’s physical play to eventually produce goals.

The Maine coach said Bellamy could play a vital role in this weekend’s series against the hard-working Huskies.

“He’s the type of player who can set a tone in the game [with a bone-rattling hit],” said Whitehead.

Bellamy wants to help his team re-establish its home ice dominance this weekend. Maine is an uncharacteristic 3-4 in league games at Alfond.

“That’s unacceptable. We’ve got the best atmosphere in college hockey and we’ve got to make it harder for teams to come in here and play us,” said Bellamy, who expects a difficult series against Northeastern.

“They always play us tough. They’re a physical team and they’ve had some great wins this year against good teams. It should be a battle,” he said.