March 24, 2012

Regional Notes

Updated Maine Bios

The University of Maine men's ice hockey team returns to the NCAA Regionals for the 18th time in school history this weekend. Maine will face #5 Minnesota Duluth in the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass. Top-ranked Boston College and Air Force are the other two teams in the Northeast Regional.

 

REGIONAL HISTORY: Maine is making its first trip to the NCAA Regionals since the 2007 season. In that year, Maine won the East Regional and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four which was held in St. Louis, Mo.

 

YOU WANT TO WATCH?: Maine's Northeast Regional game against defending national champion Minnesota Duluth will be broadcast on ESPN3 and tape-delayed on ESPNU. Joe Beninati will handle play-by-play duties, while Billy Jaffe will provide color commentary. Dan Parkhurst will serve as the sideline reporter. In addition, The CW in Bangor and WPME in Portland will pick up the broadcast and carry the game on Saturday. 

 

MAINE AND THE NCAA REGIONALS: This is Maine's 18th trip to the NCAA Regionals. Regional play began in the 1991-92 season. Since then, Maine has a 14-4 record in the regionals. Maine has played eight NCAA Tournament games in Worcester and has a 7-1 record in those games. 

 

MAINE WINS IN THE NCAA'S: Maine has an overall 30-19 record in the NCAA Tournament, good enough for a .612 winning percentage. In their last appearance in 2007, the Black Bears defeated St. Cloud State and UMass in the East Regional in Rochester, N.Y. The Black Bears then fell to Michigan State 4-2 in the Frozen Four in St. Louis, Mo.

 

COACH WHITEHEAD AND THE NCAA'S: Maine head coach Tim Whitehead is 10-6 in the NCAA Tournament, good enough for a .625 winning percentage. 

 

MAINE AND THE NCAA'S: The University of Maine has had at least one sports team or individual compete in an NCAA Championship each year dating back to the 1986 season.

 

A LOOK BACK: The University of Maine men's ice hockey team fell to top-ranked Boston College 4-1 in the Hockey East finals last Saturday night at the TD Garden in Boston. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead just 5:24 into the opening frame when Johnny Gaudreau scored his 18th goal of the season. Gaudreau extended the lead to 2-0  just over two minutes later when he scored a power play goal.

Maine pulled to within one goal at 7:37 of the second period when Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) got a pass from Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) and fired it past BC goalie Parker Milner. It was the 18th goal of the season for Flynn. BC countered with a goal late in the period. Gaudreau sent a pass from behind the net to Pat Mullane streaking down the slot. He fired a shot past Maine goalie Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.) as the Eagles regained the two goal lead. Barry Almeida added an empty-net goal at 18:59 to make it a 4-1 final. 

BC outshot Maine 43-42 in the game. Maine was 0-for-5 on the power play, while BC finished 1-for-3.

Sullivan made a career-high 39 saves in the game. He falls to 22-10-3 on the season. Milner stopped 41 shots for the Eagles. He improves to 25-5-0. 

 

SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS: Maine is led by Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario) who has 20 goals and 41 assists for 61 points. He has three power play goals and a pair of game-winners. Joey Diamond has a team-high 25 goals and 22 assists for 47 points. He is tied for the team-lead in power play goals with 11. Brian Flynn is adding 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points. He has seven power play goals and four game-winners. Matt Mangene (Miller Place, N.Y.) has tallied 15 goals and dished out 18 assists for 33 points. He has eight power play goals, four game-winners and a pair of short-handed goals. Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) is adding three goals and 28 assists for 31 points. Kyle Beattie (Avondale, Ariz.) has six goals and 21 assists for 27 points. Adam Shemansky (Robbinsville, N.J.)  is adding 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points. Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine) is chipping in with 12 goals and seven assists for 19 points. He is tied for the team-lead in power play goals with 11. Ryan Hegarty (Arlington, Mass.) has 14 points on two goals and 12 assists, while Nick Pryor (Woodbury, Minn.) has two goals and 11 assists for 13 points. Brice O'Connor (Londonderry, N.H.) has three goals and six assists for nine points. Two of his three goals have been game-winners. John Parker (Green Brook, N.J.) has three goals and four assists for seven points. Mike Cornell (Franklin, Mass.) and Jon Swavely (Reading, Pa.) each have seven points on a goal and six assists. Stu Higgins (Troy, Mich.) has three goals and two assists for five points. Mark Nemec (Rouses Point, N.Y.) has five assists on the season. Jake Rutt (Scarborough, Maine) has four assists for four points. Klas Leidermark (Gavle, Sweden) has scored two goals and dished out an assist for three points. Theo Andersson (Gothenburg, Sweden) has scored twice while Connor Leen (Chester, N.Y) and Andrew Cerretani (Pelham, N.H.) each have a goal. Dan Sullivan has tallied an assist on the season.

Dan Sullivan has seen action in 35 games in goal. He is 22-10-3 with a 2.54 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. He has two shutouts. Martin Ouellette (St.-Hippolyte, Quebec) has played in nine games. He is 1-3-0 with a 3.42 goals against average and a .871 save percentage. Josh Seeley (Howland, Maine) has seen action in one game this season, making a save on the only shot he faced.  

 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Spencer Abbott was named the 2012 Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Year on Thursday, March 15 at the annual Hockey East awards banquet. He becomes the fifth Black Bear to earn the award joining: Mike McHugh (1988), Scott Pellerin (1992), Paul Kariya (1993) and Chris Imes (1995). 

 

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS: Spencer Abbott, along with Brian Flynn, were named to the Hockey East First Team last Thursday night at the Hockey East awards banquet. Line mate Joey Diamond was a Second Team selection. 

 

O'NEILL NAMED HOCKEY EAST CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Maine senior co-captain Will O'Neill was named the Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, March 19. He shared the honor with Boston College goalie Parker Milner. O'Neill scored two goals and added an assist in Maine's 5-3 win over Boston University in the Hockey East semifinals. 

 

TWENTY WINS: Maine won its 20th game of the season on Saturday, March 3 against UNH. It is the 20th time in Division I history that the Black Bears have won 20 or more games in a season. It is the first time reaching the 20-win plateau since the 2006-07 season. That season, Maine finished with 23 victories. The Black Bears currently have 23 wins. 

 

HOBEY BAKER TOP-10: Also on Thursday, March 15, the top-10 finalists for the 2012 Hobey Baker Award were announced and Abbott was among the finalists. It was the third straight year that Maine has had a player in the top-10, as Gustav Nyquist earned the honor each of the last two seasons. 

 

LOOKING FOR 100: Senior defenseman Will O'Neill is looking for his 100th career point. He has 19 goals and 80 assists for 99 career points. If he reaches the milestone, he will become the 52nd player in Maine history to score 100 points. He would become just the seventh defenseman to reach the milestone.

 

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Maine's Will O'Neill and Joey Diamond were each named to the 2012 Hockey East All-Tournament Team. It is the second time in their careers that they have been honored as both also earned a spot on the 2010 Hockey East All-Tournament Team. 

 

FOUR HOBEY: There are four Hobey Baker candidates in the Northeast Regional: Maine's Spencer Abbott, Minnesota Duluth's Jack Connolly, Boston College's Brian Dumoulin and Air Force's Tim Kirby. 

 

2012 SUN LIFE FROZEN FENWAY: Maine played in front of a school-record 38,456 fans at the 2012 Sun Life Frozen Fenway on Saturday, Jan. 7 at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. Brian Flynn won this historic game 1:29 into overtime for the Black Bears. 

 

GETTING IT DONE ON THE POWER PLAY: Maine was an impressive 4-for-6 on the power play on March 16 against Boston University. The four power play goals were the most for the Black Bears this season. The last time Maine scored four power play goals in a game was on Feb. 26, 2011 against Merrimack. 

 

WILL POWER: Senior captain Will O'Neill had tallied just one goal in 37 games this season coming the Hockey East semifinals. O'Neill scored two goals on Friday, March 16 in Maine's 5-3 win over Boston University. In addition, his assist on the final goal was his 99th career point. 

 

SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH: Minnesota Duluth is the reigning NCAA men's ice hockey champion. The Bulldogs are 24-9-6 and finished WCHA play with a record of 16-7-5. 

They are led by Jack Connolly, who comes into the game with 58 points on 19 goals and a team high 39 assists. He has eight power play goals and three game winners. Behind him is Travis Oleksuk with 21 goals and 30 assists for 51 points. He leads the team in both power play goals with nine and game winners with six. J.T. Brown splits his 46 points with a team high 23 goals and 23 assists. He has eight power play goals and four game winners. Caleb Herbert has lit the lamp 13 times and dished out 19 assists for 32 points. Mike Seidel and Brady Lamb each have 30 points on the year; Seidel on 17 goals and 13 assists and Lamb with nine goals and 21 assists. Scott Kishel and Wade Bergman are both registering 18 points with three goals and 15 assists. 

Kenny Reiter has seen the bulk of the action in net for the Bulldogs on the season; starting all 36 games he has played this year. He has tallied a record of 22-8-6, a save percentage of .912 and a goals against average of 2.40. He has three shutouts on the season as well. Aaron Crandall has played in four games, three of which he has started. He has a record of 2-1-0, a save percentage of .855, and a goals against average of 3.01.

Coach Scott Sandelin (North Dakota '86) is in his 12th season as a head coach, all of which he has spent with Minnesota Duluth. He has an overall record of 216-209-58. He is assisted by Jason Herter (North Dakota '05), Derek Plante (Minnesota Duluth '09), and Bill Watson (Minnesota Duluth '90).

 

MAINE AND MINNESOTA DULUTH: Maine and Minnesota Duluth have met eight  times in history with the Bulldogs holding a 5-3-0 lead in the all-time series. No current Black Bears have played against the Bulldogs. 

 

Date Site Score GWG Maine Goalie

12-27-05 Germain Arena 1-4 L Justin Williams Lundin (38)

1-7-89 Duluth Arena 4-1 W David Capuano King (13)

1-16-88 Alfond Arena 6-2 W Dave Wensley King (26)/Loring (2)

1-3-87 Duluth Arena 2-1 W Mike Golden King (22)

11-23-85 Alfond Arena 3-6 L Brett Hull Loring (24)

11-22-85 Alfond Arena 2-7 L Brian Johnson Loring (25)

12-1-84 Duluth Arena 2-7 L Tom Herzig Roy (13)/Lacoste (26)

11-30-84 Duluth Arena 2-6 L Dave Cowan Roy (25)/Lacoste (16)

 

COMMON OPPONENTS: Maine and Minnesota Duluth have three common opponents on the season. Minnesota Duluth played series at Providence and against Alabama Huntsville and North Dakota. Maine went 2-1-0 against the Friars, while Minnesota Duluth went 1-0-1 against Providence. Both teams went 2-0-0 against Alabama Huntsville. Maine went 0-1-1 against North Dakota, while Minnesota Duluth was 1-1-0 against the Fighting Sioux. 

 

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE: Boston College won the 2012 Regular Season Title in addition to the Hockey East Tournament Championship last weekend. The Eagles have won 15 straight games. They are led by Chris Kreider who has a team-high 41 points on 20 goals and 21 assists. Johnny Gaudreau is adding 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points. Barry Almeida has 22 goals and 16 assists for 38 points, and leads the team in power play goals with 11. Pat Mullane has 35 points via nine goals and 26 assists. Steven Whitney has 34 points on 13 goals and 21 assists. Bill Arnold has 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points. Paul Carey has tallied 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points, while Brian Dumoulin also has 26 points. His are a result of six goals and 20 assists. 

Parker Milner has played in 30 games thus far and is 25-5-0 with a .931 save percentage and a 1.82 goals against average. He has one shutout on the season.

The Eagles are coached by Jerry York (Boston College '67) who has a record of 442-222-60 in his 18th season at the helm of Boston College. He has an overall record of 909-557-94 in his 40th season of being a head coach. He is assisted by Mike Cavanaugh (Bowdoin '90), Greg Brown (Boston College '90) and Jim Logue (Boston College '61).

 

MAINE AND BOSTON COLLEGE: Maine and Boston College have met 111 times with the Eagles holding a 60-42-9 edge in the series.  Boston College leads 6-3-1 in the last 10 meetings.   

 

MAINE AND BOSTON COLLEGE THIS SEASON: Maine and Boston College have split four games on the season. Boston College took game one in Boston by the score of 5-1 on Nov. 4. Chris Kreider had a goal and two assists to lead Boston College. Jon Swavely had the lone Black Bear goal assisted by Klas Leidermark. Dan Sullivan made eight saves before giving way to Martin Ouellette who made 14 saves and gave up only a goal. 

The two teams played again on Jan. 20 in Orono, with Matt Mangene scoring the game-winner 3:42 into the extra session giving Maine a 4-3 overtime win. Adam Shemansky added a pair of goals, including the game-tying tally with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Kyle Beattie also had two goals for Maine, while Bill Arnold had a goal and an assist for the Eagles.  Sullivan made 33 stops in net for the Black Bears with Chris Venti making 29 for Boston College.

In the rubber match the following evening, BC took a 2-0 lead before Maine scored four-straight courtesy of Joey Diamond, Brian Flynn and a pair from Mangene. Barry Almeida scored twice for BC to tie the game 8:36 into the third. The Black Bears answered with two goals with under three minutes remaining from Connor Leen and Joey Diamond. Mangene would finish off his hat trick on an empty net goal with 24 second left. Spencer Abbott notched three power play assists while Dan Sullivan made 31 saves in net for the Black Bears.

The two teams then met in the 2012 Hockey East Title game where the Eagles skated to a 4-1 win. Johnny Gaudreau had two goals and an assist for Boston College. Brian Flynn tallied Maine's lone goal. BC outshot Maine 43-42 in the game. Maine's Dan Sullivan finished with a career-high 39 saves, while Parker Milner stopped 41 shots for the Eagles. 

 

MAINE AND BC IN NCAA'S: Maine and Boston College have met three times in the NCAA Tournament. In 1999, Maine defeated BC 2-1 in overtime in the national semifinals. In 2001, BC defeated Maine 3-1 in Worcester in the East Regional. The two teams last met in 2004 where Maine won 2-1 in the national semifinal in Boston. 

 

SCOUTING AIR FORCE: The United States Air Force Academy, the AHA Champions, are 21-10-7. It finished conference play with a record of 15-6-6. Kyle De Laurell comes in leading the Falcons with 15 goals and a team high 23 assists for 38 points. He has five power play goals and three game-winning goals. John Kruse has 30 points on the season with 16 goals and 14 assists. He leads the squad in game-winners with four. Tim Kirby and Cole Gunner both have 28 points thus far; Kirby with 12 goals and 16 assists and Gunner with eight goals and 20 assists. Kirby leads the team in power play goals with six. Chad Demers and Scott Mathis each have 24 points this season. Demers has eight goals and 16 assists. Mathis has seven goals and 17 assists. Paul Weisgarber has six goals and 17 assists for 23 points. Adam McKenzie has lit the lamp two times and has assisted on 16 goals for 18 points.

Stephen Caple has seen the most time between the pipes this season for the Falcons. He has played in 23 games and has tallied a record of 13-5-5, a save percentage of .911, and a goals against average of 2.16. He also has a shutout. Jason Torf has seen action in 18 games this year, 17 of which he has started. He has a record of 8-4-2, a save percentage of .928, and a goals against average of 1.72. He also has five shutouts on the year. 

 ir Force Head Coach Frank Serratore (Bemidji '82) has been in the head coaching position for 19 seasons, 15 of which have been with the Falcons. He has a record of 255-249-51 with Air Force and an overall record of 304-341-60 overall in his career. He is assisted by Mike Corbett (Denver '96) and Andy Berg (Air Force '03).

 

MAINE AND AIR FORCE ALL-TIME: Maine and Air Force have met fives with the Black Bears winning all five games. The two teams last met to open the 2005–06 season. Maine earned a 3-1 win in that game. 

 

Date Site Score GWG Maine Goalie

10-7-05 World Arena 3-1 W Jon Jankus Lundin (11)

12-27-96 McNichols Arena 12-5 W Bobby Stewart Michaud (10)/Gorriti (4)

11-10-90 Alfond Arena 5-1 W Martin Robitalle Snow (15)

11-9-90 Alfond Arena 7-1 W Randy Olson Dunham (17)

12-31-80 Thompson Arena 6-1 W John Tortorella Tortorella (25)

 

COMMON OPPONENTS: Maine and Air Force have a pair of common opponents on the season. Air Force fell to North Dakota 4-3 earlier this season, while Maine was 0-1-1 against UND. The Falcons were 1-0-1 against Alabama-Huntsville, while Maine was 2-0-0. 

 

PENALTIES, PENALTIES, PENALTIES: Maine's Hockey East quarterfinal game on Saturday, March 10 was marred with 50 penalties for 184 minutes. Maine took 24 penalties for 86 minutes, while Merrimack was whistled for 26 penalties for 98 minutes. Merrimack leads the nation in penalty minutes per game at 20.0, while Maine is third in the nation, averaging 18.6 penalty minutes per game. There were five Hockey East quarterfinal penalty records set in the game. The two teams combined for 50 penalties which is the most penalties by both teams in one game, besting the old mark of 49. The two teams shattered the record for combined penalty minutes in a quarterfinal game with 184. The old mark was 160. Merrimack also set record for most penalties by one team in a quarterfinal game with 26 and most penalty minutes in a quarterfinal game with 98. In addition, Merrimack set the record for most penalty minutes by one team in one tournament. The Warriors were whistled for 138 penalty minutes this three-game series, breaking the old mark of 102 set by Maine in 1993. With 16 combined penalty minutes in the semifinals and finals, Maine now holds the record for penalty minutes in a Hockey East Tournament with 147. 

 

BIG GOAL BRICE: Sophomore defenseman Brice O'Connor has scored two of Maine's biggest goals the past three weekends. He got the game-winning goal against New Hampshire on March 3 that secured home ice for the Black Bears. It was the lone goal in the game. In Maine's quarterfinal series against Merrimack, O'Connor tallied the game-winning goal in game three. O'Connor has three career goals and two have been game-winners. 

 

MAINE TIES RECORD FOR PENALTIES IN A GAME: Maine tied the school record for penalties in a game on March 10 with 24 against Merrimack. The Black Bears were also whistled for 24 penalties on Jan. 24, 2004 at Boston University. 

 

ABBOTT TIES PENALTY RECORD: Spencer Abbott entered his senior season having been whistled for just 15 penalties for 30 minutes in 112 career games. Prior to the game on Saturday, March 3, Abbott had taken just six penalties for 12 minutes on the season. On Saturday, March 10 against Merrimack, Abbott tied the Maine record for penalties in a game with six. He equalled the mark of six taken by Prestin Ryan at Boston College on Nov. 7, 2003. 

 

DIAMOND MOVING UP SINGLE SEASON PENALTY LEADERS LIST: Joey Diamond has 117 penalty minutes on the season. That ranks fourth on Maine's all-time single season penalty leaders list. Prestin Ryan hold the record with 148 penalty minutes during the 2003-04 season. Diamond also holds the second spot, as he finished with 130 penalty minutes a year ago. 

 

WHAT A LINE: Maine's line of Spencer Abbott, Brian Flynn and Joey Diamond has combined to score 63 goals and dish out 92 assists for 153 points this season. For their careers, they have tallied 167 goals and 213 assists for 380 points. 

 

24,587 VOTES: Spencer Abbott led the nation with 24,587 votes in the initial round of Hobey Baker voting. The 10 finalists will be announced on Thursday, March 15. Fans can now vote in the second round of Hobey Baker online voting at www.hobeybakeraward.com(.)

 

ABBOTT NAMED HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Spencer Abbott was named the Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Month for February. Abbott is the lone Hockey East player to win Player of the Month honors twice this season. He had six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in eight games. He had at least one point in seven of Maine's eight games in February and finished the month with a +10 rating. 

 

ABBOTT, DIAMOND AND FLYNN IN TOP-17 IN NATION IN POINTS PER GAME: Maine's Spencer Abbott, Joey Diamond and Brian Flynn are all in the top-17 in the nation in points per game. Abbott leads the nation, averaging 1.61 points per game, while Diamond is tied for 11th at 1.31 points per game and Flynn 17th, averaging 1.21 points per game. 

 

FLYNN, O'NEILL AND DIAMOND NAMED SEMI-FINALISTS FOR WALTER BROWN AWARD: Brian Flynn, Will O'Neill and Joey Diamond have been named semi-finalists for the 2012 Walter Brown Award, given annually to the top American-born college hockey player in New England. 

 

FLYNN REACHES 150 CAREER POINTS: Senior standout Brian Flynn tallied his 150th career point on Friday, Feb. 17 against UMass. He became just the 14th player in Maine history to score 150 or more career points. Flynn currently has 155 career points. 

 

DIAMOND NAMED HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Junior forward Joey Diamond was named the Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Month for January. Diamond had six goals and five assists for 11 points as the Black Bears posted a 6-1-1 record during the month. 

 

SIX GAME SCORING STREAK SNAPPED FOR MANGENE: Matt Mangene had scored a goal in six straight games, before seeing that streak come to an end on Sat., Feb. 18 against UMass. The school record for consecutive games with a goal is eight set in 1985 by Ron Hellen and tied in 2002 by Lucas Lawson. 

 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE GREAT DURING JANUARY: In January, Maine played weekend series with Merrimack, Boston College and Boston University  in the span of three weeks. Merrimack was ranked seventh in the nation at the time of the games, while Boston College was ranked third and Boston University ranked second. Maine played six straight games against teams in the top seven in the nation and was 4-1-1 in the stretch. 

 

IMPRESSIVE FIRST SEMESTER IN THE CLASSROOM: 23 of Maine's 26 men's ice hockey student-athletes posted a 3.0 GPA or higher during the 2011 fall semester. The team finished with a 3.31 team grade point average, the highest in team history. It is the ninth consecutive semester that the Black Bears have posted a 3.0 team GPA or higher. 

 

BLACK BEARS AMONG NATIONAL SCORING LEADERS: Spencer Abbott leads the nation in points (61), points per game (1.61),  assists (41) and assists per game (1.08). He is 20th in goals with 20. Joey Diamond and Mark Anthoine are tied for the nation lead in power play goals with 11. Anthoine also ranks tied for 16th in game-winning goals with four. Diamond is also third in goals per game (0.69) and tied for forth in goals (25). He is tied for 10th in points (47) and 11th in points per game (1.31). Dan Sullivan ranks eighth in winning percentage (.671). Brian Flynn is tied for 10th in points (47) and 17th in points per game (1.21). He ranks tied for 16th in game-winning goals (4) and 18th in assists per game (0.74).Will O'Neill is 10th in points per game by a defenseman (0.79). Matt Mangene is tied for 16th in game-winning goals (4) and tied for 20th in points power play goals (8). 

 

WINNING IN OVERTIME: Maine has played seven overtime games this season and has won four. The four overtime wins are the most since the 2000–01 season when Maine also won four games in overtime. 

 

TWENTY-TWO BLACK BEARS WERE HONORED ON SCHOLAR-ATHLETE DAY: Twenty-two Black Bears were honored on Sunday, Feb. 5 for their academics at Scholar-Athlete Day. Pietro Antonelli, Andrew Cerretani, Stu Higgins, Connor Leen, Bill Norman, John Parker and Jake Rutt were named *Rising Stars*, for achieving a 3.0 or better in their first semester at Maine. Mark Anthoine, Kyle Beattie, Brian Flynn, Klas Leidermark, Brice O'Connor, Nick Pryor, Dan Sullivan and Jon Swavely earned Bronze Medals. Mike Cornell, Ryan Hegarty and Adam Shemansky earned Silver Medals as they were honored for the second time. Spencer Abbott, Theo Andersson, Mark Nemec and Josh Seeley received Gold Medals as third time honorees. 

 

GAME-WINNER FOR O'CONNOR: Brice O'Connor tallied his first career game-winning goal on Saturday, March 3 against New Hampshire. It was the lone goal of the game and proved to be the difference in Maine earning home ice for the Hockey East playoffs. Ironically, O'Connor is a native of New Hampshire. He got his second game-winning goal in game three of Maine's Hockey East quarterfinal series against Merrimack. 

 

ABBOTT NAMED ATHLETIC REPUBLIC HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE MONTH AND HOCKEY COMMISSIONERS' DIVISION I NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR DECEMBER: Spencer Abbott was named the Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Month for December. Abbott scored six goals and dished out nine assists for 15 points in five games. He was named Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Week twice during the month. He earned the Shawn Walsh Most Valuable Player Award after leading Maine to the 2011 Florida College Classic title. In addition, he was named the Hockey Commissioners' Division I National Player of the Month for December. His 15 points led the nation in December.

 

FLORIDA COLLEGE CLASSIC CHAMPIONS: Maine won the 2011 Florida College Classic with a 5-2 victory over UMass on Dec. 30 in the title game. It is the fifth time that Maine has won the championship in the 12-year history of the tournament. The Black Bears also won the title in 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2009. 

 

COACH WHITEHEAD EARNS 300TH CAREER WIN: Maine head coach Tim Whitehead won his 300th career game Friday, Dec. 30 in the championship game of the 2011 Florida College Classic. Whitehead has a record of 315-245-57 as a head coach. 

 

POWERFUL POWER PLAY: Maine ranks second in the nation, scoring at a 26.9 percent clip on the power play. Harvard leads the nation, scoring at a 27.3 percent rate on the power play. The Black Bears had scored at least one power play goal in 19 straight games, before seeing that streak come to an end on Feb. 10 at Providence. Maine scored the game-winning goal on the power play the following night at UMass Lowell. 

 

150 GAMES PLAYED: Senior standout Brian Flynn played in his 150th career game on Sunday, March 11 against Merrimack. He becomes the first Black Bear to play in 150 or more games since Mike Lundin (160) and Michel Leveille (153) reached the plateau during the 2006-07 season. Classmate Spencer Abbott played in his 150th career game against Boston University in the Hockey East semifinals. 

 

FIRST GOAL PRETTY BIG: Junior defenseman Nick Pryor picked a pretty big time to score his first career goal. Pryor notched the game-winning goal in Maine's 3-1 victory at #2 Boston University on Jan. 28. Pryor, who has one of the hardest shots on the team, has missed time with injuries in each of his first two seasons.  

 

SWEEPING BOSTON UNIVERSITY IN BOSTON: Maine swept second-ranked Boston University the weekend of Jan. 27 and 28 in Boston, winning 4-2 and 3-1. It is the first time that the Black Bears have swept the Terriers in a weekend series at Boston University since Nov. 20 and 21, 1992. 

 

85 SHOTS: Maine and Boston College combined for 85 shots in the Hockey East Title game. Boston College finished the game with 43 shots, while Maine tallied 42. 

 

SIXTEEN-FOUR (FORMERLY TEN-FOUR): Maine is a perfect 16-0-0 on the season when scoring four or more goals in a game. 

 

SPECIAL TEAM GOALS FOR ANTHOINE: Sophomore forward Mark Anthoine has 12 goals on the season. He has scored 11 power play goals, which is tied for the national lead. Anthoine also has one of Maine's five short-handed goals on the season. 

 

O'CONNOR HAS TIES TO PROVIDENCE: Brice O'Connor has ties to Providence. His older brother, Ian, played for the Friars for four years and served as their captain last season. Brice O'Connor picked up his first collegiate point against Providence last season with an assist with his brother, Ian, on the ice. 

 

FLORIDA COLLEGE CLASSIC HONORS: Maine's Spencer Abbott earned the Shawn Walsh Memorial Most Valuable Player Award after leading Maine to the championship. Abbott had a goal and five assists for six points in the tournament. Brian Flynn, Will O'Neill and Dan Sullivan were named to the All-Tournament Team. Flynn had three goals and two assists for five points, while O'Neill dished out three assists from the blueline. Sullivan finished the tournament with a 2-0-0 record with a 1.51 goals against average.

 

ABBOTT REACHES 100-POINT PLATEAU: Spencer Abbott tallied his 100th career point on Friday, Dec. 2 at Vermont. Abbott has 53 goals and 92 assists for 145 career points. He became the 51st player in Maine history to eclipse the milestone. Classmate Brian Flynn has 69 goals and 86 assists for 155 career points. Will O'Neill is closing in on the milestone. He currently has 99 career points. 

 

SIX WINS: Maine finished with six wins in January. It is the most wins in a single month since starting the 2006-07 season 6-0-0 in October. 

 

PUTTING IN EXTRA TIME: Maine has been putting in extra time of late. Four of Maine's last 20 games have gone to overtime. The Black Bears are 3-0-1 in those four games. Maine was close to winning the tie at Merrimack, but it was ruled that the puck crossed the goal line just after the whistle had blown. In overtime this season, the Black Bears have a record of 4-0-3. 

 

A DIAMOND IS BETTER OUT OF THE BOX: Joey Diamond, known for taking penalties, has not been whistled for a penalty in 13 of his last 24 games. Maine is 11-3-0 on the season when Diamond is not whistled for a penalty. When Diamond takes a penalty in a game Maine is 9-11-2. 

 

HAT TRICK: Spencer Abbott recorded his first career hat trick on Friday, Dec. 2 at Vermont. He became the first Black Bear to record a hat trick since Gustav Nyquist accomplished the feat at New Hampshire on Feb. 4, 2011. The five points were also a career high for Abbott. Matt Mangene recorded his first collegiate hat trick on Sat., Jan. 21 against Boston College. 

 

FOUR MULTI-POINT GAMES: Spencer Abbott, Brian Flynn, Will O'Neill and Nick Pryor all had two or more points in Maine's 6-4 win over Vermont on Friday, Dec. 2. Abbott led the way with three goals and two assists for five points. Flynn had a goal and three assists for four points. O'Neill had three assists, while Pryor had a pair of helpers. 

 

SULLIVAN MAKES CAREER-HIGH 39 SAVES: Sophomore goalie Dan Sullivan made a career-high 39 saves against Boston College in the Hockey East final. It is the10th time this season that Sullivan has made 30 or more saves in a game.