Hopson’s return will prove pivotal for Bears

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ST. LOUIS – Keenan Hopson said he is glad to be back in the lineup and is looking forward to this afternoon’s NCAA Frozen Four semifinal against Michigan State.

The University of Maine junior center-turned-defenseman missed the East Regional victories over St. Cloud State (4-1) and UMass (3-1) after having an emergency appendectomy on the preceding Tuesday.

“I’m close to 100 percent. I’ve had four or five practices and I’ve skated on my own, too,” said Hopson. “I shouldn’t miss anything.”

Hopson had a strong feeling the Bears would win the East Regional without him and is anxious to help his team try to shut down a “pretty good offensive team” in Michigan State.

“We can always put the puck in the net, it’s a matter of keeping it out of our net,” said Hopson.

His mates are glad to have him back.

“He’s a really good defenseman with the puck in our own end. That’s something we need back there. He has really good patience with the puck and he breaks it out cleanly. It’s going to be nice,” said junior defenseman Travis Ramsey.

Senior defenseman Mike Lundin concurred.

“Having Keenan back means a lot. He’s a great player. He has a lot of experience. He settles the puck down. He’s had three years of NCAA experience which definitely adds to our team,” said Lundin.

Perron recalls first tourney

It began on March 20, 1987.

That was the evening the University of Maine made its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in the first game in a two-games, total-goals series at Munn Arena in East Lansing, Mich.

That was 47 NCAA Tournament games ago.

Maine lost the first game 6-2 and were beaten 5-3 the next night for an 11-5 aggregate defeat.

Maine assistant coach Guy Perron played on that first NCAA tourney team.

“We were pretty jacked up [about making it]. I scored our first two goals and that’s all I remember,” said Perron, who is in his first year as the top assistant coach after spending the previous two years as the head coach of Maine’s women’s hockey team.

The following year, Maine made its first ever Frozen Four appearance in Lake Placid, N.Y.

“We stayed in a hotel downtown and it was a warm sunny day,” remembered Perron, whose Bears lost to eventual national champion Lake Superior State 6-3.

“Christian Lalonde fell though a sliding glass door the day before the game,” said Perron, noting that Lalonde had some stitches in his thumb and played.

“We led 2-0 [on two David Capuano goals] and we thought it was going to be a cakewalk,” said Perron. “But they took it to us in the second and third periods.”

This is Perron’s fifth Frozen Four.He went twice as a player and three times as a coach. He was an assistant in 1995 and 2002.

He said when he was playing at Maine, he didn’t envision the program going to 17 NCAA tournaments up to this point and 11 Frozen Fours.

“We knew we were making progress but, at the time, we didn’t know it would come this fast. “We had some teams that were stacked [with talent],” said Perron.

He said the key to the growth of the program was there were good people at the university, “a lot of [community] support and a lot of good hockey players.”

He said having been involved in five Frozen fours enables him to “relate more to the plwyers because I’ve been there and I know what it takes. Hopefully, they’ve grasped a few things from me.”

He said this Maine team has a “lot of maturity” and is similar to other Maine Frozen Four teams.

“We have some high-end forwards and great goaltending. We’ve had good chemistry in the past and we have great chemistry now,” said Perron.

He said the game has changed significantly.

“The speed of the game is a lot faster now. Guys train 12 months a year,” said Perron.

He also noted that there is more pressure to win, especially at Maine.

“We’re expected to win and when we go into a slump, we feel it. Not the players. But that’s part of the job. That’s what we get paid for,” said Perron.

Bishop making progress

St. Louis Blues President John Davidson, a former NHL goalie, and Blues General Manager Larry Pleau are pleased with the progress of Maine sophomore goalie Ben Bishop, a third round pick of the Blues in 2005.

“He’s maturing,” said Davidson. “He knows how to use his size [6-foot-7). Less is more. A big guy has to be sharp positionally. He played very well in the Regional. He played very intelligently.”

“We’re very happy with the way he’s coming along,” said Pleau.

They have no timetable for trying to sign Bishop.

Davidson said they’ll evaluate the situation over the summer.

“We haven’t pursued it. It’ll come down to what’s best for him, what he wants to do and what’s best for us,” said Davidson.

Davidson and Pleau are excited about having the Frozen Four in their city and the Scottrade Center.

“I was down in the locker room area and there was a lot of excitement,” said Davidson. “This is great for the city, it’s going to bring in a lot of revenue. We’re very happy to be involved in it.”

“People will get to see what a great sports town St. Louis is,” said Pleau.