Wilson’s emergence ‘great’ for UMaine Injured Bishop still held out of practice

University of Maine freshman goalie Dave Wilson may well have earned himself a spot in a two-man rotation when the injured Ben Bishop (groin strain) returns to action.

Wilson’s 31-save, 1-0 win over Vermont on Saturday night following his 32-save performance in Friday night’s 5-1 victory over UVM. He had 13 Grade-A (high-percentage) saves each night.

He had made 21 saves on 23 shots after replacing Bishop in the 2-1 loss at New Hampshire nine days ago. The Toronto native had seen duty in five mop-up roles prior to the UNH game.

“This has been a great development for our team,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “To have two legitimate options in the net will make us a much stronger team. It’s a big plus.

“I’m real excited that we’ve gotten to this point. Our team would be confident in both goalies now. That’s the way it should be,” added Whitehead.

Bishop, who has a 17-7-2 record with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage, has not practiced since getting injured against New Hampshire but Whitehead said he skated for 15-20 minutes on Thursday and Friday.

Wilson is 2-1 and has lowered his GAA to 2.26 while raising his save percentage to .922.

Maine will visit Boston College for a crucial Hockey East series on Thursday and Friday nights.

The Maine coach said Wilson’s emergence will enable Bishop to take as much time as he needs to heal.

“Now we can go into the BC games with the understanding that if Ben has any hesitancy about re-injuring [his groin], we don’t need to play him,” said Whitehead.

“We do have a short [practice] week but I think Ben will be ready. It will be nice to get Ben back in there provided he’s healthy,” said Whitehead. “It’s very likely you’ll see both guys play against BC.”

He wouldn’t speculate on Thursday night’s starter.

“We’ll wait and see where Ben’s at in practice. We’ve got a couple of days to determine what’s best for the team,” said Whitehead.

“To have goalies like Bishop and Wilson is a pretty good combination,” said Vermont defenseman Ryan Gunderson.

“Wilson showed everybody that he’s a top-notch goalie. Everybody is proud of him,” said Maine junior center Wes Clark.

Whitehead also said he hopes to regain the services of senior left wing Brent Shepheard, who has missed the last four games with a shoulder injury.

“We’re also going to be careful not to rush him back,” said Whitehead. “He’s a very, very important member of our team. He brings so much to the table. We don’t want to risk him re-injuring his shoulder.”

The rugged Shepheard, who had been playing on the top line with Michel Leveille and Teddy Purcell, has five goals and six assists in 24 games with a team-high 72 penalty minutes.