UMaine coach brushes criticism aside Whitehead keeps legacy going

Ever since he assumed the job after the death of Shawn Walsh on Sept. 24, 2001, University of Maine hockey coach Tim Whitehead has been under scrutiny.

After all, the hockey team is the school’s flagship program with two NCAA championships (1993, ’99), 11 Frozen Four appearances, and 18 NCAA Tournament berths including nine straight.

And that has occurred over the last 21 seasons.

When the Bears faltered down the stretch this season, going 13-14-1 over their last 28 games including four straight losses to Massachusetts (two to end the regular season and two in the Hockey East quarterfinals), the online chat rooms were critical of Whitehead and his team.

But by beating St. Cloud State and UMass in the East Regional, the Black Bears earned a third trip to the Frozen Four in four years.

And silenced the critics.

In fact, this year’s Maine team is one of the few to have finished fifth or lower in its conference yet still earned a spot in the Frozen Four. Maine wound up fifth in Hockey East.

Whitehead said comparisons between him and Walsh or criticism from Maine fans “doesn’t affect me one way or the other.”

“That’s not why I’m in this business. For me, the most important thing is helping our program succeed. It’s about helping our team play at an elite level. Finding ways to win against the odds. That’s what our staff is proud of,” said Whitehead, who is 154-68-26 in his six seasons at Maine.

“We may not be the strongest team on paper each year, but we feel we can go toe-to-toe with anybody, and our group of coaches is very proud of it,” added the 45-year-old Whitehead, who is in the middle of a seven-year contract.

The Bears enjoy playing for him.

“No one will ever top what Coach Walsh did, but I have the utmost respect for Coach Whitehead. He has taken us to four Frozen Fours in six years. He’s the best coach I’ve ever played for, and I’m proud to go out and play for him every day,” said senior right wing Keith Johnson.

Senior center Michel Leveille concurred.

“Filling Coach Walsh’s shoes wasn’t an easy task,” said Leveille. “They have two different coaching styles. But you’ve got to give Coach Whitehead credit. We have over 100 wins as seniors [104-47-14] and will have gone to three Frozen Fours. What more can you ask? He knows how to handle things. He doesn’t let outside things bother him, and that’s why he’s been so successful.”

Whitehead says each year is unique and each has had its own set of problems.

“The first year was the most difficult with coach [Walsh] passing,” said Whitehead. “Each year since then has brought its own challenges.”

“This year has been no exception,” continued Whitehead. “We raised the bar [of expectations] very high in October. Then we had trouble reaching that bar. The players’ expectations and our fans’ expectations were too high. We didn’t have one of the most talented teams in our league, let alone in the country. That was very difficult.”

He said his team’s 8-0-1 start, which included a win over Minnesota in St. Paul, Minn., and two triumphs at North Dakota, made them a “victim of our success.”

“With the guys we lost from last year, we weren’t on anyone’s radar. We hadn’t had very good recruiting classes the past two years, so no one in the league picked us to do much. When we got off to such a strong start, it became very difficult for our players to recognize where we were at and how hard we had to play to win games. We have a very thin margin of error with this year’s team,” said Whitehead, referring to the fact Maine needed solid play offensively, defensively, in goal, and on special teams to beat the elite teams on their schedule.

“Any injury or lack of focus or lack of effort made a huge difference,” added Whitehead.

A off-ice incident that resulted in the departures of freshman forwards Zach Sill and Tyler Czuba hurt the team’s depth and two groin pulls sustained by starting goalie Ben Bishop forced rarely used freshman backup Dave Wilson to man the crease for important games down the stretch.

“We had to bottom out before our players understood what it was going to take to win against elite teams like we did early in the year. It took a complete team effort, a total focus, and excellent special teams,” said Whitehead, whose Bears went 4-12-1 against the top six teams in Hockey East.

“I am very proud of this group for not giving up on themselves and letting the season slip away,” said Whitehead of the Bears’ play in the East Regional. “They showed tremendous perseverance, determination, and focus to recapture the season against all odds.

“They really accomplished something very special.”

The 23-14-2 Bears play 24-13-3 Michigan State in their Frozen Four semifinal at 4 p.m. on April 5 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Boston College (28-11-1) and North Dakota (24-13-5) will meet in the 8 p.m. semi.

The championship game will be on April 7 at 7 p.m.

“Our work isn’t done,” said Whitehead. “We’re not going out there just to enjoy the weekend. We’re competing for a national championship.”