Late season losses a wake-up call for Black Bears

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Experiencing the fear of not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament made the players on the University of Maine men’s hockey team realize how much that opportunity meant to them.

And losing four consecutive games to Hockey East rival Massachusetts heading into the tournament enabled the Black Bears to refocus on the areas of their game that had been lacking.

Those experiences, and the return of sophomore goaltender Ben Bishop, played key roles in the team’s resurgence during the NCAA East Regional.

UMaine played poised, but with a sense of urgency, again Saturday night while earning its way to the Frozen Four in St. Louis with a 3-1 victory over UMass at Blue Cross Arena.

Maine will face Michigan State, a 2-1 winner over Notre Dame in their Midwest Regional final, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on April 5. The national championship game is April 7.

For the second straight night, the Bears demonstrated their resolve and took advantage of their extensive NCAA experience while dispatching the Minutemen.

“They certainly played like a team that had been in this situation many times before,” said UMass coach Don “Toot” Cahoon.

“We were definitely feeling the pressure and they were applying it early,” he added.

UMaine players figured there couldn’t be any greater pressure than facing the possibility their season would end prematurely – without an appearance in the NCAAs. That was especially true for the seniors.

“It was really painful,” senior captain Michel Leveille said of the losses to UMass that put the Bears’ season in jeopardy. “I didn’t want to end my career that way, and I don’t think any of the guys wanted to end the season that way.”

Playing with a newfound sense of relief once they got in, and riding the confidence of Friday’s convincing win over St. Cloud State, the Bears had the upper hand.

Ironically, it was back-to-back weekend sweeps by UMass, including the Hockey East quarterfinal series, that gave the Bears the wake-up call they so desperately needed. Watching those game videos and working to fix the mistakes they made helped UMaine work out some kinks.

“I think UMass has made us a better team,” said UMaine coach Tim Whitehead. “They beat us four times and it really brought out a lot of our weaknesses. I think that’s the reason we were able to rise up this weekend and play as [well as] we did.”

Playing UMass again Saturday night was difficult, perhaps more so emotionally. UMaine senior defenseman Mike Lundin admitted that ousting the Minutemen, for whom the Bears had developed tremendous respect, left him feeling a little bit conflicted.

“It’s kind of like, we want another crack at UMass and then we’re a little scared of them at the same time,” Lundin explained. “You kind of felt bad when you did it [beat them] because they beat us four times in a row. But I wouldn’t trade [places] with them.”

In spite of their previous success, the Minutemen certainly didn’t take anything for granted in Saturday’s rematch. Still, they knew the Bears had some psychological issues to overcome.

“They had a few weeks off to kind of recharge their batteries and after losing four straight games to whatever team, I think you’re going to start questioning some things,” said UMass junior Mike Kostka. “Obviously they came out, they knew what they were getting into, and they played a great game.”

Perhaps nobody had been more frustrated about the pre-NCAA slump than Bishop, who missed six of the Bears’ previous eight games with two different groin injuries.

“I didn’t want to have to wait till next year to play another game,” said Bishop, who made 69 saves on 71 shots in the East Regional. “Once we found out that we were in, it was like a dream come true.”

And once back in the net, despite dealing with some soreness and having to quickly rediscover his game sharpness, Bishop also responded to the challenge.

“This whole weekend he was unbelievable,” Lundin said. “He’s such a great athlete, so big, so confident, in there.”

When the Bears found out eight days ago that they had made the tournament, a tremendous weight was lifted off their collective shoulders.

“It definitely was an emotional roller coaster,” Lundin said.

Rather than pressing and playing tight, feeling that every goal allowed could put them a step closer to the offseason, the Bears instead felt liberated. UMaine, which had taken some time off the previous week, returned to practice with renewed enthusiasm and commitment.

They were refreshed psychologically as well as physically.

“It’s just really impressive how the guys were focused,” Leveille said. “We really talked that if we get a chance to get back out there that we could do something special. It showed up during practices.”

It was evident at the regional where the six seniors, who were shooting for their third Frozen Four appearance in four seasons, set the tone. That class is 7-3 in NCAA Tournament play.

“This team in particular’s been through a lot of adverse situations this year, and our seniors have been through a lot of those type of experiences for four years,” Whitehead said. “The leadership from our juniors and seniors has meant a lot to our entire team.”

Bishop said the Bears’ extensive NCAA experience was a critical factor in their ability to perform so well and handle the pressure of regional play.

“[The seniors] definitely bring some experience to the table, a lot more than St. Cloud and UMass,” Bishop said. “It wasn’t really anything new to us. I think it might have benefited us down the stretch.”

Having found a final opportunity, the Bears are in position to make an improbable run for a national championship.

“There’s no question our guys understand that we have a lot of work to do to prepare ourselves, but at the same time they understand that if we do prepare in the right way, anything is possible,” Whitehead said. “We’re looking forward to this challenge.”