Two months ago, Brendan Walsh was helping the University of Maine’s hockey team land a national championship.

Last week, Walsh landed something else: a 26-pound, 52 1/2-inch bull dolphin during the summer-long Key West and Lower Keys Fishing Tournament in Florida.

His catch has been registered and, at the end of the summer, the results will be tabulated and the winners will be announced.

Fishing is one of Walsh’s leisure activities, but this was the first time he had gone deep sea fishing. He went with his father, Michael, a retired Boston fire department rescue diver.

“It was strenuous. It took me half an hour,” said Brendan. “It fights you the whole time. You have to be real patient or you’ll snap your line.”

He looked around for his father to lend him a helping hand, but then decided it was going to be his conquest.

“I felt I had to get it done myself,” said Walsh, who will have the fish mounted.

His father caught an 18-pounder.

Was it as grueling as fighting for space in front of an opposing net?

“It gave a bigger fight than Brian Gionta,” joked Walsh, referring to Boston College’s Hobey Baker Award finalist.

Walsh, who missed the national championship game after reinjuring his fractured kneecap in the 2-1 overtime win over Boston College in the semifinals, said his knee is getting better and he can’t wait to defend the national title.

“The whole team is excited to get back playing,” said Walsh, who added that the warm reception the team received from the community and the entire state has served as motivation for next season.

Walsh, who had seven goals and 13 assists in 30 games, will be a co-captain this season and said he is confident Mike Morrison and Matt Yeats can fill the void left by departed NCAA Tournament MVP Alfie Michaud, who signed with Vancouver.

“We’ll miss Alfie, but we have to move on as a team. Mike and Matt are two goalies with completely different styles. Matt is speedier, flashier. He’s more like Dominik Hasek. Mike is more methodical, more of a standup guy and he handles the puck very, very well,” said Walsh.

Bordick happy about 1,000th hit

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick of Winterport, Hampden Academy, and the University of Maine was pleased about reaching the 1,000-hit plateau for his career during Wednesday’s 5-0 loss to Boston.

“It’s something I’m proud of. It has taken a lot of hard work. Fortunately, I’ve been able to stay healthy over the years, knock on wood,” said Bordick.

However, he also said the 1,000-hit plateau is a “humbling thing in our clubhouse. Will Clark just got his 2,000th hit and Cal

is going for 3,000. He’s also going for 400 homers. It’s fun to be part of it.”

Ten years ago, did Bordick ever foresee himself reaching this milestone?

“No, I didn’t think I’d ever get my first major league hit,” chuckled the 33-year-old Bordick, who took a solid .283 average into Friday’s game against the Yankees.

He said it was nice to get his 1,000th hit against the team he followed growing up.

“It gave me a good feeling. You can’t help but root for the Red Sox when you grow up in New England. But I would have been happy to get it against any team,” said Bordick.

U.S. fan support understandable

Cid Dyjak, the owner of the Absolute Soccer shop in Old Town who is about to begin his 16th year as the girls soccer coach at Orono High School, said he hasn’t been surprised by the overwhelming turnouts for the United States women’s soccer team in the World Cup.

A record-setting crowd of 78,972 watched the U.S. women open with a 3-0 win over Denmark last Sunday at The Meadowlands in New Jersey and Thursday’s 7-1 triumph over Nigeria was played before another sellout, 65,080, at Soldier Field in Chicago.

“I really think the women’s team has deeper inroads [than the men’s team],” said Dyjak. “The women’s players are much more loyal to the national team. They are much more appealing than the men’s team because they play an exciting style, a very attacking style, and they are very successful, too. That breeds fan support.”

Dyjak has met several members of the U.S. team and said their classy, off-field demeanor and willingness to mingle with their fans are other pluses.

“They are wonderful people and it comes across. They aren’t fakes. It’s not like meeting a celebrity. It’s like meeting someone from just up the street. You want to get behind them,” said Dyjak.

He added that they have earned respect by playing an honest game. They don’t take dives like the ones seen regularly in the men’s World Cup.

Dyjak feels the women’s team is making a significant impact in the growth of soccer in this country among boys as well as girls and he would like to see a women’s professional league in the United States in the near future.

Shawn Walsh likes new NHL rules

University of Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh would like to see college hockey follow the NHL and adopt its new overtime rules: teams play with four skaters a side for the five-minute OT period and each team earns at least a point with the OT winner gaining an extra point in the standings.

“There’s no worse feeling than being tied after 60 minutes and losing in overtime. This way, nobody loses. Having one less player puts the onus on skilled players,” said Walsh. “Having players like [Maine’s] Steve Kariya, [UNH’s] Jason Krog, or [Providence’s] Mike Omicioli on the ice adds excitement.”