WILL O’NEILL NAMED HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Wakefield, Mass. - In the first weekend of 2010 Hockey East Tournament action, the games proved to be to an exciting beginning to the second season, launching Hockey East fans into the playoff atmosphere around New England on the Road to the Garden. No. 8 Vermont upset the regular-season champion and top seeded UNH in an overtime thriller on Sunday, while No. 4 Maine knocked off No. 5 UMass-Lowell in overtime in the decisive third game. No. 2 Boston College defeated No. 7 UMass in two games, while No. 3 BU edged No. 6 Merrimack in a three game set.

The Minutemen outshot BC 38-32 in Game 1 and owned a 14-7 advantage in the final frame, but their fierce two-goal comeback in the third period fell short. BC’s Cam Atkinson (Greenwich, BC) recorded his second career hat trick in the game with a four-point effort, while teammate Joe Whitney (Reading, Mass.) registered his 100th career point. Freshman goaltender Parker Milner made 33 stops in the win. The Eagles cruised to sweep the series with a 5-2 victory on Saturday night at Conte Forum to advance to the Garden for the sixth consecutive season. Barry Almeida (Springfield, Mass.) scored a game-high three points (2g,1a).

Merrimack made their first tournament appearance since the 2004 season this weekend skating fiercely with the defending tournament champion Terriers for three games. BU took a 1-0 lead in the series with a 3-2 win Friday night. On Saturday, Merrimack earned their first victory in Agganis Arena in the last 11 tries with an exciting 3-2 overtime victory. Merrimack rookies Stephane Da Costa (Paris, France) and Brandon Brodhag (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored the first two goals for the Warriors but it was junior Joe Cucci’s overtime gamewinner that counted most. In Sunday’s tilt the Terriers took control and skated past the Warriors in a quick 3-0 victory. Kieran Millan (Edmonton, Alb.) stopped all 36 shots in the Sunday’s shutout effort.

UNH scored five unanswered goals to blast past the eighth ranked Catamounts in a 7-4 win in Game one of the quarterfinal series. Saturday night was a different story at the Whittemore Center as both teams struggled to get on the board. Vermont pulled out a shutout win scoring the lone goal from rookie David Pacan (Ottawa, Ont.). Defensive Player of the week Rob Madore (Pittsburgh, Pa.) rebounded from the previous night stopping all 17 shots he faced in the contest. In Sunday’s overtime thriller, senior forward Jay Anctil (Wolfeboro, N.H.) stunned the top ranked Wildcats and netted the overtime game-winner. Brian Foster (Pembroke, N.H.) recorded 50 saves in his finale at the Whittemore Center. Rob Madore stopped UNH’s 34 shots and earned his second shutout in as many nights.

Maine will travel south to Boston for the weekend after an overtime victory lifted them past UML in the best of three series. Jeremy Dehner (Madison, WI) and Ben Holmsrom (Colorado Springs, Col.) scored for the River Hawks in the win Friday. The Black Bears returned on Saturday determined to win and shutout UML by a score of 2-0. Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ont.) and Tanner House (Cochrane, Alb.) each registered a goal apiece in the winning effort. Senior goalie Dave Wilson (Caledon East, Ont.) earned his first shutout of the season stopping all 23 shots that came his way. On Sunday, Maine edged out a overtime 3-2 victory. Player of the Week Will O’Neill (Salem, Mass.) took control of the game with his three-point performance, which including two goals for the Black Bears. Tanner House popped a quick one at 5:10 into the overtime period to lift the Black Bears past UML by a score of 3-2.

Courtesy Hockey East

MAINE BLACK BEARS VS BU TERRIERS LIVE BLOG

TIM WHITEHEAD POSTGAME


PHOTOS FROM GAME



Link to game recap of the 5-2 Maine loss.

Tim Rosenthal from InsideHockey.com

Tim Rosenthal from Inside Hockey joins Matty to discuss the Hockey East Tournament, UMaine hockey, the Bruins, and reveals his hoops Final Four brackets. As always the CMSB is bringing you the people with knowledge. Listen below.

Tim Rosenthal from Inside Hockey.com

Maine Black Bears LIVE BLOG!!!!!!!

Game 3 of 3 TONIGHT!!!!!!! WINNER MOVES ON TO THE TD BANKNORTH GARDEN...LOSER GOES HOME!

Maine Wins BIG in Beantown...forces Game 3

Listening to a man that has coached at the same school for 36 years is probably a good idea. Jack Parker has seen a lot in his career at Boston University, amassing 2 NCAA Championships and 10 ECAC or Hockey East Titles.

"In reality...they should probably be going home and getting ready for the (TD Banknorth) Garden, because we stole one (Friday) night and now they come back and beat us 6 - 3.", said Parker.

Parker knows best.

The 1st period was a topsy turvy, action filled period that any hockey fan would love. Maine got things going early as Senior Chris Haun netted a pretty pass from Gustav Nyquist 42 seconds into the game to go up 1 - 0. BU came back a little over 2 minutes later to tie the game at 1, when BU's Branden Yip came down the side, got a nice pass from Colin Wilson and blasted one past Maine freshman goaltender Scott Darling for his 17th goal of the season. Maine then had 2 terrible giveaways over the next 6 minutes, both leading to goals. The first was a 4 on 4 tilt, set up by BU Captain John McCarthy and Maine Senior Co-Captain Simon Danis-Pepin off for roughing, when Maine Sophomore Defenseman Josh Van Dyk tried a cross ice pass in traffic. BU's Matt Gilroy grabbed the puck, slid a nice open lane pass to Bu's Luke Popko who beat Darling through the 3 hole. Popko's goal put BU up 2 -1 on the Black Bears.

More chippiness ensued that led to a Maine power play, as Tanner House laid a big hit on a BU defenseman and BU's Chris Connolly got whistled for a retaliatory hooking call at 10:24 of the 1st. Maine Sophomore Defenseman Jeff Dimmen tried skating the puck out of the right side Maine offensive zone, over skated it, tried a quick pass that was intercepted by Jason Lawrence who sent McCarthy for an easy breakaway goal on Darling,for BU's 9th shorthanded goal of the season. BU's shorthanded goal put them up 3 -1.

What could have been a back-breaker, wasn't. Maine Coach Tim Whitehead felt confident his team would keep their composure being down 2.

"I thought they continued to play...we felt really good on the bench...I could see they felt confident...they were just playing the game and not too worried about it," said Whitehead.

That attitude brought results on the ice. With Connolly still off for hooking, Windham's Matt Duffy had a blue line blast that BU Goaltender Kieran Millan stopped easily, but Maine's Tanner House was able to control the puck in a scrum, slipped it Nyquist, who went top shelf, glove side on Millan to close the deficit to 3 -2. Maine kept the pressure on quickly with a score less then 30 seconds later. Danis-Pepin threw a nice outlet pass to Kevin Swallow who put it right on the stick of Keif Orsini. Orsini blasted a quick wrister that Millan got a piece of, but not enough as the puck trickled to his left post. Maine quickly erupted, the ref, who was positioned perfectly, called it a goal as BU and Maine players crashed into the net in a pile. After video review the goal stood, Maine evened the game at 3. All in all in the 1st period, 6 goals, 25 Shots on Goal and 20 penalty minutes. Following the roller coaster ride of the 1st, calmer heads and defenses prevailed.

Maine's defense clamped down like it hadn't before this season. The defense allowed goalie Scott Darling clear sailing the rest way by continuing to clear rebounds.

Coach Whitehead said, "At Lowell, we didn't do a good job at protecting Scott (Darling), we had some (2nd chances by BU), but not nearly as many. I thought our defense was much more aware on the weak side and helping (Scott) out." Maine only allowed 18 shots the rest of the game, only 4 of those being quality shots.

Maine got the lead for good as Danis-Pepin fed Spencer Abbot, who blasted a shot past Millan for the 4 - 3 lead. Good teams make runs, but this time Maine seemed to have the answer. With less than a minute left in the 2nd, BU got their offense rolling and moved the puck to the net. BU's McCarthy had an open net with 10 seconds left, but Darling slammed the door shut.

Said Nyquist,"It gave us a big boost, we came after them in the 3rd period."

That they did. Maine handled everything BU dished out, netting 2 more power play goals, the 1st 6:16 into the 3rd. Nyquist got another pretty top shelf job and Robbie D finished off the scoring for the game at 11:04 of the 3rd to put Maine up 6 - 3.

Game 3 of the Best of 3 Series is tonight, 7PM at Agganis Arena in Boston.

Coach Whitehead knows what lies ahead for this team " We know what we are up against (Sunday), It's going to be a tough challenge"

Series Notes

Maine is 5 - 10 on the Power Play this series....Maine hadn't scored 6 goals since December of 96....Boston University Goaltender Kieran Millan hasn't allowed 3 goals in a period in his career.

Post Game Audio

Maine Black Bears Coach Tim Whitehead and Forward Gustav Nyquist Press Conference

Boston University Coach Jack Parker Press Conference

Shawn Walsh Awarded Top Coaching Performance in HEA History

WAKEFIELD, Mass. - The Hockey East Association is pleased to announce the Top-Three Best Coaching Performances in Hockey East history presented by Humboldt Storage and Moving as the league continues its 25th Anniversary celebration. These moments were chosen in a vote comprised of Hockey East fans and members of the league’s 25th Anniversary Committee.

Earning the most votes was Maine’s Shawn Walsh for his coaching efforts in leading the Black Bears to a remarkable 42-1-2 record and a National Championship during the 1992-93 season. The memorable 5-4 come-from-behind win against Lake Superior State in the national title game was Maine’s first-ever NCAA title and also marked the first time a Hockey East school captured the national crown. Maine’s league record that season was 22-1-1 as they took home the Hockey East regular season title and also won the Hockey East Tournament with a 5-2 victory against Boston University in the league’s 1993 title game at Boston Garden.

“Our coaches are now and have always been one of the primary sources of our success,” said Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna. “Shawn Walsh pushed everyone to be better. It is only fitting that his masterpiece season heads the list of great coaching efforts.”

Coming in at second place was Boston College mentor Jerry York’s coaching performance during the 2007-08 campaign. York led the Eagles on a tremendous late-season run, winning his 800th career game, a Hockey East Tournament Championship (his sixth) and an NCAA Championship (his third overall and his second with Boston College). His team finished fourth in Hockey East during the regular season, but played inspired hockey during its eight-game win streak in the post-season that culminated in BC’s 4-1 win against Notre Dame in the NCAA Championship game.

Rounding out the Top-3 is Merrimack’s Ron Anderson who provided one of the most stunning moments in league history when his 8th-seeded Warriors upset #1 Boston University in a best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series. Anderson’s crew opened the series with a 4-1 victory before falling on the second night by a margin of 6-5. The deciding game was a nailbiter with Merrimack holding on for a 5-4 win - thanks in part to some stellar netminding from current Merrimack goalie coach Tom Welby - and advancing to the 1998 Hockey East Championships in Boston.

Hockey East’s Best Coaching Performances were chosen by a fan vote through the league’s official website – HockeyEastOnline. com - and votes from Hockey East’s 25th Anniversary Committee, which includes representatives from each Hockey East school. Throughout the season, fans have cast their ballots for Hockey East’s All-Time Team, Top 25 Forwards, and Top 25 Defenders. The results in these categories will be unveiled as part of Hockey East 25th Anniversary Tournament celebration.

In addition to these major categories, a number of other ballot questions appeared at regular intervals throughout the year. All fan voting is now complete.

The league has already announced the results of eight previous polls conducted during the 25th anniversary celebration, including: Top Goalie (Chris Terreri - PC), Best Goal Scorer (Brian Gionta - BC), Best Playmaker (Paul Kariya - Maine), Best Defensive Defenseman (Brian Leetch - BC), Best Defensive Forward (Chris Drury - BU), the Naukabout Unsung Player (Scott Clemmensen – BC), Top-3 Most Memorable Moments and the SwingJuice Top-3 Best Individual Performances.

Courtesy Hockey East

The CMSB "Day of Hockey 2" LIVE BLOGS

The Central Maine Sports Blog is at it once again, going to Boston for our "Day of Hockey 2"


1st we will be at the TD Banknorth Garden for the Boston Bruins/New York Islanders tilt, starting our Live Blog around 12:30.

Next at 6:30 PM, we will be at Agganis Arena for Game 2 of the Maine / BU Round 1 Hockey East Playoff Matchup.

Join Us for Both Live Blogs!!!

Maine Black Bears v Boston Univesity Terriers LIVE BLOG!