January 11, 2013

Northeastern/Merrimack Game Notes

The University of Maine men's ice hockey team hits the road this weekend for a pair of conference games. Maine is 5-12-2 on the season and 1-7-2 in Hockey East play. The Black Bears are coming off a non-conference weekend series with Mercyhurst. Northeastern is 6-10-1 on the season and 3-8-1 in conference play. The Huskies dropped a 6-3 decision to Bentley last weekend. Merrimack, which hosts Boston University on Friday night, is 7-8-4 on the season and 5-4-1 in conference play. 

 

A LOOK BACK: Maine fell to Mercyhurst 5-2 last Saturday night at Alfond Arena. Maine took a 1-0 lead when Connor Leen (Chester, N.H.) scored his team-leading fifth goal. Devin Shore (Ajax, Ontario) passed to Brice O'Connor (Londonderry, N.H.) in the crease, but Mercyhurst goalie Max Strang was able to make the save, but not control the rebound. Leen deposited into the back of the goal. Mercyhurst tied the game at 19:46 of the first period when Paul Chiasson banked the puck off the back of Maine goalie Matt Morris (Ridgewood, N.J.). Daniel O'Donoghue gave the Lakers a 2-1 led at 16:20 of the second period. Maine knotted the score at 2-2 at 4:21 of the third period when Kyle Beattie (Avondale, Ariz.) scored his second goal of the season. Mike Cornell (Franklin, Mass.) had the initial shot, while Leen was able to tip the puck in the crease before Beattie scored it. Chris Bodo scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 10:39 of the third period. O'Donoghue added a pair of empty-net goals in the final 1:35 of the game as Mercyhurst earned the 5-2 win. 

Maine outshot Mercyhurst 45-33 in the game. The Black Bears were 1-for-4 on the power play, while Mercyhurst finished the game 1-for-3. 

Morris made 28 saves in goal for the Black Bears. He falls to 2-1-0 on the season. Strang made 43 saves for the Lakers. 

 

SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS: Maine is led by Connor Leen who has five goals and five assists for 10 points. Devin Shore is adding nine points on two goals and seven assists. Joey Diamond (Long Beach, N.Y.) has four goals and three assists for seven points. Beattie, Cornell and Ben Hutton (Prescott, Ontario) each have two goals and five assists for seven points as well. Steven Swavely (Reading, Pa.) is chipping in with a goal and five assists for six points. Ryan Lomberg (Richmond Hill, Ontario) has three goals and two assists, while Mark Anthoine (Lewiston, Maine) is adding two goals and three assists. Stu Higgins (Troy, Mich.)  is chipping in with a goal and three assists for four points. Adam Shemansky (Robbinsville, N.J.) has a goal and two assists for three points. Mark Nemec (Rouses Point, N.Y.) is adding a pair of goals. Jake Rutt (Scarborough, Maine) and Will Merchant (Eagan, Minn.) each have a goal and an assist. Jon Swavely (Reading, Pa.), Nick Pryor (St. Paul, Minn.) and O'Connor each have a pair of assists on the season. Klas Leidermark (Gavle, Sweden) and Kyle Williams (Bowdoinham, Maine) have each tallied a goal, while Martin Ouellette (St.-Hippolyte, Quebec) has an assist. 

 uellette is 3-5-2 on the season with a 2.15 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. He has one shutout on the season. Matt Morris is 2-1-0 with a 2.72 goals against average and a .891 save percentage. Dan Sullivan (York, Pa.) is 0-6-0 with a 3.34 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. 

 

FLORIDA COLLEGE CLASSIC CHAMPIONS: Maine won its second straight Florida College Classic on Dec 28 and 29. The Black Bears became the first team in the 13 year history of the tournament to win back-to-back titles. Kyle Beattie was named the Shawn Walsh Most Valuable Player, while Devin Shore and Matt Morris were each named to the All-Tournament team.

 

FIRST CAREER GOAL: Seven different Black Bears have tallied their first career goal this season:

Steven Swavely Oct. 6 vs. Quinnipiac

Will Merchant Nov. 2 vs. Boston College

Ben Hutton Nov. 9 at UMass Lowell 

Devin Shore Nov. 10 at UMass Lowell 

Kyle Williams Nov. 10 at UMass Lowell 

Jake Rutt Nov. 16 vs. Massachusetts

Ryan Lomberg Dec. 28 vs. Minnesota Duluth

 

MORRIS NAMED HOCKEY EAST PRO AMBITIONS CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Matt Morris was named the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Morris stopped 22 of 23 shots that he faced against #11 Cornell in the 2012 Florida College Classic Championship game. 

 

LEEN MEAN SCORING MACHINE: After scoring just a single goal in his rookie season, sophomore Connor Leen leads Maine in both goals scored with five and in points with 10. 

 

A COMEBACK AGAINST CORNELL: Maine trailed Cornell 3-0 on Dec. 29 in the title game of the 2012 Florida College Classic before scoring five straight goals to take a 5-3 lead. The Black Bears finished the game with a season high six goals. 

 

SEVEN STRAIGHT ONE GOAL GAMES OR TIES: Maine played a stretch of seven straight games when the result was either decided by one goal or a tie. Maine was 2-3-2 during that stretch. The Black Bears snapped that with a 6-4 victory over #11 Cornell on Dec. 29.

 

MARK NEMEC NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE: Mark Nemec has been named one of 20 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. From these 20 candidates, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the 2012-2013 Senior CLASS Award in February. Those 10 finalists will be placed on an official ballot for a national vote. The award honors seniors who are committed to staying in school and portraying the values of community, classroom, character and competition. 

 

GAA DROPPING FOR MAINE: In Maine's last 10 games, the Black Bears have given up an average of 2.20 goals per game. Only three in that span did the Black Bears give up more than two goals. Maine defeated UMass 4-3 on Nov. 10 and defeated Cornell 6-4 on Dec. 29. The Black Bears fell to Mercyhurst 5-2 on Jan. 5. 

 

DIAMOND MAINE'S ALL-TIME PENALTY LEADER: Joey Diamond has 381 career penalty minutes, the most in Maine history. He surpassed Prestin Ryan (2001-04) with six penalty minutes in the game against Massachusetts on Nov. 16. In other words, Diamond has spent six hours and 21 minutes in the penalty box.  

 

ROOKIES PLAYING KEY ROLE: Maine's rookie class is accounting for 32.9 percent of the team's total offense. In fact, four of Maine's top nine scorers are freshmen. The freshmen have chipped in with 30 points in the first 19 games. Devin Shore leads the way with nine points, while Ben Hutton is chipping in with seven. Steven Swavely has six, while Ryan Lomberg has five points and Will Merchant two. Kyle Williams is chipping in with a point, but it was the game-winning goal on Nov. 10 against UMass Lowell. In that game, the Black Bears had two lines composed of all freshmen.  

 

SIX GOALS: Maine scored a season-high six goals in its win over Cornell in the Florida College Classic Title game. It is the most goals that the Black Bears have scored since defeating Northeastern 7-1 on Feb. 25, 2012. 

 

OUELLETTE A REGULAR AMONG THE THREE STARS AS OF LATE: Martin Ouellette has been a fixture among the three starts of late. He was the top star in Maine's win over UMass Lowell. He finished as the game's second star in the 2-2 draw with UMass. He has been named the game's third star on three different occasions lately. 

 

SIX STRAIGHT GAMES FOR DIAMOND: Senior Joey Diamond has tallied a goal in six straight games against Vermont. He had a goal against the Catamounts in the final game between the two teams during the 2010-2011 season. He scored a goal in each of the three games last season and notched a goal in each game against Vermont the weekend of Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. 

 

50 POINTS: Senior Kyle Beattie tallied his 50th career point on Saturday, Dec. 29 in the 2012 Florida College Classic. He becomes the third Black Bear to reach the milestone. He currently has 52 career points. Senior Adam Shemansky tallied his 50th career point on Saturday, Dec. 1 against Vermont. He became the second Black Bear to reach the plateau, joining Joey Diamond. Diamond has currently scored 87 points in his University of Maine career. 

 

MAINE'S DEFENSE CHIPPING IN ON OFFENSE: In Maine's 4-3 win over UMass Lowell on Nov. 10, five of the six assists in the game were tallied by defensemen. Mike Cornell dished out a pair of assists, while Nick Pryor, Brice O'Connor and Ben Hutton each had one. 

 

STARTING NINE STRAIGHT: Junior netminder Martin Ouellette had started the past nine games for the Black Bears before rookie Matt Morris got the start on Saturday, Jan. 5 against Mercyhurst. It is the first time in his career that he has got the start in nine straight. He once started three straight games as a freshman.

 

100 GAMES PLATEAU: Maine has five different players who have seen action in 100 or more career games. Joey Diamond and Mark Nemec lead the way, each having seen action in 118 games. Adam Shemansky has played in 113 games, while Mike Cornell has skated in 109. Kyle Beattie reached the milestone at the Florida College Classic and has played in 102 career games. 

 

CAREER-HIGH 41 SAVES: Maine goalie Dan Sullivan stopped a career high 41 shots on Sunday, Nov. 4 in Maine's 4-0 loss to New Hampshire. His previous career-high of 39 saves was set in the 2012 Hockey East title game and tied on Oct. 27 at Providence. 

 

54 SHOTS ON GOAL: Maine recorded 54 shots on goal in its 4-3 win over Army on Oct. 13 in the 2012 Ice Breaker Tournament. It is the most shots on goal for the Black Bears since registering 61 shots against UMass in the Hockey East title game in 2004. Maine won that game in four overtimes.

 

GETTING THE START: Martin Ouellette got the start in goal for the Black Bears on Friday, Oct. 26 at Providence. It was his first start since Nov. 11, 2011 against UMass Lowell. Three of Ouellette's four career wins prior to this year had come against Providence. Ouellette also got the start for Maine against top-ranked Boston College on Nov. 2.

 

STEVEN SWAVELY NAMED HOCKEY EAST PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Steven Swavely was named the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Monday, Oct. 8. Swavely scored Maine's lone goal in the season-opener against Quinnipiac, with an assist from his older brother, Jon.  

 

WHAT'S NEW: Maine adds eight newcomers for the 2012-2013 season. Ben Hutton, Conor Riley and Kyle Williams join the Black Bears on defense. Also seeing action this year will be redshirt freshman Bill Norman. Hutton, who was a fifth round draft choice of the Vancouver Canucks, played last season for the Nepean Raiders. Riley, who can play both forward and defense, was the EJHL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011-2012. Williams comes to the Black Bears via the New Hampshire Monarchs, where he helped lead the team to the 2012 EJHL title. 

 mong the forwards are Ryan Lomberg who led the Muskegon Lumberjacks in scoring last season. Will Merchant, who was captain for Eagan High School last year, recently played in the 2012 All-American Prospects game. Devin Shore, who was selected in the second round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, played for the Whitby Fury last year. He scored 58 points in 41 games last year. Steven Swavely was captain a year ago for the New Jersey Hitmen, where he averaged over a point a game. 

 oalie Matt Morris played for former Maine captain Jim Montgomery and the Dubuque Fighting Sioux. He finished 19-13-2 with a 2.58 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. 

 

A MEMORABLE GAME FOR THE SWAVELY FAMILY: Rookie Steven Swavely scored his first collegiate goal just 3:41 into his first game on Oct. 6 vs. Quinnipiac. What makes the feat even more memorable was that the goal was scored on an assist from his older brother, Jon. The Swavely brothers played on the same line the first three games of the season, prior to Jon getting hurt. 

 

THREE NEW CAPTAINS FOR THE BLACK BEARS: Maine has three captains for the 2012-2013 season. Mike Cornell, Joey Diamond and Mark Nemec will each wear a C for the Black Bears this season. 

 

A GOAL IN GAME ONE: Steven Swavely became the first Black Bear rookie to get a goal in his collegiate debut since Adam Shemansky scored in his opening game against Union on Oct. 9, 2009. 

 

ALL-AMERICAN PROSPECTS GAME: Will Merchant played in the inaugural All-American Prospects Game on Saturday, Sept. 29 in Buffalo, N.Y. The game featured the 40 top American prospects for the 2013 NHL Draft. 

 

A PAIR OF BROTHERS: Maine has a pair of brothers on the team this season in Jon and Steven Swavely. Jon, a junior on the team, is joined by his younger brother, Steven. They become the 11th pair of brothers in Maine history joining: David and Jack Capuano, Chris and Peter Ferraro, Barrett and Chris Heisten, John and Keenan Hopson, Paul, Steve and Martin Kariya, Anders and Magnus Lundback, Mike and Matt Lundin, Jason and Shawn Mansoff, Jim and John Tortorella, Eric and Jason Weinrich. 

 

ANTHOINE, DIAMOND LED NATION IN POWER PLAY GOALS LAST SEASON: Mark Anthoine and Joey Diamond each scored 11 power play goals last season to tie for the national lead. Maine finished second as a team in power play percentage. In addition, then senior Spencer Abbott led the nation in points per game and assists per game. 

 

O'CONNOR, CONNOR AND CONOR: Connor is a popular name on the Black Bears this season. Maine has junior defenseman Brice O'Connor, sophomore forward Connor Leen and freshman forward Conor Riley. 

 

FEELING A DRAFT: A pair of Black Bears were selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Freshman Devin Shore was chosen in the Second Round, 61st overall, by the Dallas Stars. Classmate Ben Hutton was taken in the Fifth Round, 147th overall by the Vancouver Canucks. 

 

A LOOK AT NORTHEASTERN: Northeastern is 6-10-1 on the season and 3-8-1 in Hockey East play. The Huskies are led by Kevin Roy who has eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points. He has a pair of game-winning goals. Cody Ferriero is adding seven goals and five assists for 12 points. Four of his goals have come via the power play. Vinny Saponari has three goals and nine assists for 12 points. Braden Pimm is chipping in with two goals and seven assists for nine points. Ludwig Karlsson has five goals and three assists for eight points. He has three power play goals. Robbie Vrolyk is chipping in with four goals and two assists for six points. Mike McMurtry and Garrett Vermeersch each have a goal and five assists for six points as well. Joseph Manno has two goals and three assists for five points, while Colton Saucerman has a goal and four assists for five points as well. 

Chris Rawlings has seen action in 13 games in goal for the Huskies. He is 6-6-0 with a .921 goals against average and a .247 save percentage. Bryan Mountain is 0-4-1 with a 2.85 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. 

Northeastern is coached by Jim Madigan (Northeastern '86) who is in his second season. He he 19-26-6. He is assisted by Jerry Keefe (Providence '00), Patrick Foley (New Hampshire '04) and John Carratu (Salem State '92).