UM seniors’ sacrifices rewarded Resilience, tenacity celebrated

ST. LOUIS – Michel Leveille walked quietly into the media interview room Thursday night at Scottrade Center.

Only 15 minutes earlier, his career with the University of Maine hockey team had ended by virtue of a 4-2 loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Frozen Four.

Even so, the Black Bears’ senior captain was still proudly wearing his dark blue No. 11 UMaine jersey, a thick white towel draped around his neck.

Leveille, who had meant so much to his team during the last four years, didn’t want his career to be over – and have to take off the jersey for the last time.

“We’re all real bitter about the loss, that’s going to sting for a while, but after a couple weeks you have time to look back and reflect,” said senior Keith Johnson. “I’m sure we’re going to realize how special this was.”

Despite having been all but counted out of the NCAA Tournament picture after losing six of their last eight games prior to NCAA play, UMaine’s seniors were playing in their third Frozen Four in a span of four years.

Coach Tim Whitehead pointed out formidable teams such as Wisconsin, Colorado College, Denver and Cornell didn’t even qualify for the national tournament this year.

“It’s great to have had the opportunity to be at all these,” said UMaine assistant captain Mike Lundin. “Unfortunately, I’ll never have the feeling of winning one, but it is great to be able to get to the Frozen Four three times.”

Whitehead said the run to the national semifinals was, in large part, a tribute to the resilience and tenacity of the seniors.

“They’ve always found a way to fight through those tough moments and not only stick together, but do something special,” Whitehead said.

Leveille, Lundin and Johnson, along with assistant captain Josh Soares, Mike Hamilton and Brent Shepheard, had arrived in Orono with solid credentials. All had played Junior hockey with the exception of Lundin, who was fresh out of high school.

During the course of four seasons, Whitehead said, each maximized his potential while helping maintain the Bears’ tremendous tradition and reputation as a perennial league power and national contender.

“They were all unheralded coming in, including Leveille and Lundin to some extent,” Whitehead said. “That’s why I’m so proud of them, for really becoming elite players, and each in their own way.”

However, it is evident talking with the seniors that they weren’t simply trying to further their own individual careers. Big egos can disrupt team chemistry, but that wasn’t a problem for this UMaine team.

Black Bear players must be willing to adapt to their roles, even though they can change season to season, or even week to week. Soares was among the top scorers in Junior hockey prior to his arrival at UMaine, but wound up having to reinvent himself.

“You have to swallow your pride and do what’s best for the team,” Soares said. “The better guys are at accepting their roles, the better you’re going to be as a team and I think that’s why we always have success.”

This year’s seniors set high standards for the other players to follow. Their leadership came in great part from how hard they practiced.

“It’s definitely been the best senior class since I’ve been here, starting from our captain down,” said Bears junior Rob Bellamy. “They’re probably six of the hardest working guys on our team. It runs from them down and that’s why we’ve been so consistent.”

This group of seniors, like those who came before them, have made team camaraderie their primary concern. They know the better everyone on the team gets along, the more successful they’ll be on the ice.

For that reason, incoming freshmen are treated as equals, rather than as intruders competing for playing time, by the seniors and other veteran players.

“We always bring everybody in as a family and we continued doing that this year,” Soares said. “[We] embrace the guys coming in right away and build friendships as fast as you can.”

With their egos out of the way, the Bears have been able to create a positive learning atmosphere in the rink and a tight-knit feeling among the players once the skates are off.

“Every year our teams are so close and I think that’s why we always get far,” Lundin said. “We don’t just hang out at the rink and then go our separate ways, we’re doing stuff together, making sure everyone’s included and that’s just how it’s always been at Maine.”

Whitehead expects the example set by this year’s seniors will rub off on the returning players and serve to continue the Bears’ tradition of pride and unselfishness that has made them a program with which to be reckoned.

“That’s why this group is special,” Whitehead said. “Each one brought their own unique excellence to the team. Nothing was given to anybody. These guys earned their ice time and I think they’ve set the bar up very high for the guys to follow and we like the bar up high.”