Bishop’s wish to return home has been granted Leveille is regional’s Most Outstanding Player

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – University of Maine sophomore goalie Ben Bishop has had extra motivation this season.

Knowing that the Frozen Four was in St. Louis, approximately 20 miles from his hometown of Des Peres, Mo., Bishop wanted desperately to help lead his Black Bears to the Scottrade Center, home of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.

Bishop’s stellar 35-save performance in a 3-1 win over Massachusetts in the East Regional final Saturday night, piggy-backing his 33-save outing in a 4-1 victory over St. Cloud State on Friday night, will enable him to realize his goal.

Maine will take on Michigan State in their Frozen Four semifinal on April 5 in St. Louis.

“It’s been in the back of my head [from day one] and now it’s coming true. It’s like a dream come true,” said Bishop, who returned to the lineup this weekend after missing four games, all losses to UMass, with a groin pull.

“But we’re not going there to see the Arch. We’re going there to win the national championship,” said Bishop, a third- round draft pick of the Blues in 2005 (85th overall).

He knows he will be inundated with interview requests and there could be a lot of distractions.

“That comes along with going there. But I’m not going to let it bother me or bother the team. We aren’t satisfied with just getting there,” Bishop said.

His return to the lineup gave the Bears a huge lift and his teammates are happy about him getting the opportunity to play in front of a hometown crowd.

“We’re excited for him,” said junior defenseman Bret Tyler. “He’ll be all jacked up.”

Tyler said Bishop was an integral part of Maine’s defensive effort. In addition to making saves, Bishop’s aggressive nature in getting to pucks behind the net and his ability to handle and shoot the puck were important aspects behind Maine’s defensive success.

“He clears a lot of pucks that we can’t get to. It helps out a lot,” said Tyler.

“It was great to have him back,” said senior defenseman and assistant captain Mike Lundin. “He’s an unbelievable athlete to be able to come back after being out three to four weeks [and play that well].”

Maine senior center and captain Michel Leveille said Bishop is like “a third defenseman. He takes pressure off the defensemen. That’s [one of the reasons] we were successful this weekend.”

Seniors are 7-3 in NCAA play

The Maine seniors now boast a 7-3 record in NCAA Tournament play and two of the three losses were by a goal. They will be going to their third Frozen Four in four years. Maine’s string of nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is second only to Michigan’s current streak of 17 straight years.

Maine is now 30-18 all-time in NCAA play.

“We know what it takes [to win] at this point of the year,” said Leveille. “If you don’t show up [ready to play], you aren’t going to win. We knew we needed to rise up a little bit coming into this tournament and that’s what we did. We took our game to a total new level and that’s how we got two wins this weekend.”

Senior center Mike Hamilton said being in the NCAA Tournament every year has supplied them with valuable experience.

“Playing all those games, being in all different situations like having that six-on-three [in the last minute] against Denver [1-0 loss in NCAA final his freshman year], has helped us over the years,” Hamilton said. “We’ve tried to pass that down to the younger guys. It definitely makes you feel calm. You don’t have as many nerves. You know what to expect coming in.”

Maine senior right wing Keith Johnson said their NCAA Tournament record “speaks for itself.”

“Defense wins championships, and in my four years, that’s what we’ve thrived on in March,” said Johnson.

Maine has allowed only 20 goals in the 10 NCAA Tournament games the seniors have played in.

“But we want to be 9-3,” said senior left wing Brent Shepheard in stating their desire to win the school’s first national title since 1999.

“Not too many guys get to play in even one Frozen Four,” said Lundin. “We’ve had three cracks at it. We’ve got to win it.”

Leveille is most outstanding

Leveille was chosen the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

He had a goal and two assists and played with grit and fierce determination. He was one of Maine’s top penalty-killers as the Bears killed off 15 of 16 power plays over the weekend.

He was joined on the all-tourney team by Bishop, defenseman Bret Tyler, and Lundin along with UMass center Matt Anderson and left wing Kevin Jarman.

deKastrozza fills role

Maine coach Tim Whitehead was pleased with the performance turned in by freshman center David deKastrozza, who had been a healthy scratch in 12 of the last 15 games before playing in both games this weekend.

He was playing because Keenan Hopson, who had been converted from center to defense for the Hockey East quarterfinals, couldn’t play due to an emergency appendectomy.

Jeff Marshall and Tony Morrone had been used to fill Hopson’s center spot, but Whitehead felt neither one solidified the job, so he tried deKastrozza.

He had been a winger but was moved to center between Shepheard and junior right wing Rob Bellamy on Maine’s most physical line.

“He did a very good job coming in and playing a position he really has very little experience at. He was a key link for us, especially with Wes [Clark] not at 100 percent with his knee,” Whitehead said. “David gave us some very valuable minutes at the center position. And Bellamy and Shepheard were great.”

Whitehead also praised all six of his seniors – Leveille, Lundin, Shepheard, Johnson, Josh Soares, and Hamilton.

“They all really delivered,” he said.

MAINE IN THE FROZEN FOUR

1988 – Lost to Lake Superior State in semifinal 6-3

1989 – Lost to Minnesota in semifinal 7-4

1991 – Lost to Northern Michigan in semifinal 5-3

1993 – Beat Michigan in semifinal 4-3 in overtime; beat Lake Superior State 5-4 for title

1994 – Beat Michigan in semifinal 4-3 in overtime; lost to Boston University 6-2 in final

1999 – Beat Boston College in semifinal 2-1 in overtime; beat New Hampshire 3-2 in overtime for title

2000 – Lost to North Dakota in semifinal 2-0

2002 – Beat New Hampshire in semifinal 7-2; lost to Minnesota 4-3 in overtime in final

2004 – Beat Boston College in semifinal 2-1; lost to Denver in final 1-0

2006 – Lost to Wisconsin 5-2 in semifinal