It was an interesting season for the University of Maine men’s hockey team. After a rough start, the Black Bears used the Florida College Classic tournament win to turn their 2012-13 season around, in order to make the playoffs, before falling to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in the Hockey East quarterfinals.
Even with the playoff berth, nothing came easy for them this season, a season that will be remembered for its heart-breakers and bad luck as much as it will be for the team’s determination to stay on course and keep their heads up.
The Black Bears were picked to finish fifth in the Hockey East coach’s preseason poll, but a rough start to the season made it hard to believe this team would even make the conference playoffs. UMaine opened the season with a last-second loss to the current No. 1 team in the nation, Quinnipiac University. The game was perfect to foreshadow the kind of season this Black Bears would have ahead of them.
Head coach Tim Whitehead knew coming into the season that offense wouldn’t come as easy as it did the previous year, with five players going to the NHL, nine freshman and an injury bug that wouldn’t go away. The fact that this group of players fought through a rough beginning and tough breaks, turning the season around and making a strong push to claw their way back into the playoffs, will be what defines the 2012-13 team.
“I think the best qualities of this year’s team were their mental toughness and determination,” Whitehead said. “When you fight through a fall semester going 2-11-2, it can be a little discouraging, but this group never quit on each other. To come back in those last 11 Hockey East games with a 6-3-4 record, including a sweep at [Boston College] and three out of four points at [the University of New Hampshire] to earn a spot in the playoffs, that shows a lot about how determined this team was to make a lot out of the season and prepare themselves for next year.”
UMaine endured last–second goal losses, goals being taken away and stanchion bounces. They didn’t win their first home game until Feb. 3 — four months into the season — and the year endedwith a puck that found its way into the net after junior goaltender Martin Ouellette was knocked out of position by his own teammate during the Hockey East quarterfinals.
“It’s always difficult when you have a crazy goal like that decide a game in overtime,” Whitehad said. “On Thursday night, in Game 1, there was a controversial goal with the Lowell player in the crease. It’s always difficult. But, having said that, we left it all out on the ice, did everything within our control to try to advance. The coaching staff is very proud of our team and how they competed, how hard they played for each other.”
Another interesting factor to consider is that UMaine played 12 overtime games and finished with a Hockey East high eight ties. Even though UMaine could have increased their standing if the ties were wins, the positive side is that those ties helped them get into playoff position — the Black Bears finished only two points ahead of the University of Massachusetts for the final spot. Whitehead hopes that, with a more experienced team next year, some of those ties will be converted to wins.
“With a young team like ours, itching and clawing for every point we can get, those ties helped us make the playoffs and give our team the experience of competing down at Lowell,” Whitehead said. “If those ties were wins, we might have had an easier opponent in the first round.”
Four of the top five scorers on the team were freshmen, showing that this team is looking at a bright future. Devin Shore led the team with 26 points, senior Joey Diamond was second with 24, followed by Ben Hutton with 15, and Steven Swavely and Ryan Lomberg with 14. Shore, who was named to the All-Hockey East Rookie Team, has a lot more to look forward to in his years at UMaine at beyond.
“Devin has a very bright future here, at Maine and beyond,” Whitehead said. “He is such a complete player, at such a young age; there is no doubt in my mind he will continue to elevate his game here, especially knowing how hard he works off the ice. He is a natural leader and certainly a player our team looks to make plays under pressure. This is just the tip of the iceberg for him. I think he is just going to get better and better, and I’m really excited for him.”
With the University of Notre Dame entering the conference in 2013 and the University of Connecticut joining in 2014, the Hockey East landscape will look different in future seasons, especially with only two games with conference opponents instead of three. Non-conference opponents will be harder to come by due to budgeting issues and location, but Whitehead says that conference expansion will be good for the conference, team and the fans.
“Over two years, you’ve added two powerhouse programs into the fold, so obviously it’s going to get more competitive for all the teams in the league,” Whitehead said. “It certainly will bring more exposure to the conference.
“We’ve already got a lot of exposure with so many teams from Hockey East playing in the national tournament, this just adds to the brand name of the league,” he added. “It also changes a lot of the schedule, because we will drop to two games a year from three for conference play. It will be challenging, considering our location and budget situation. It will be difficult for us to find non-conference games, but we will. The fans will see some new teams and our players will compete against new teams, so we’re excited about that.”
With seniors Diamond, Mike Cornell, Kyle Beattie and Mark Nemec signing pro contracts, the team will have to start anew with new captains and many incoming freshman. But, with another recruiting class coming in and a group of seasoned veterans returning, the future is a bright one for the Black Bears.
“We didn’t want this season to end,” Whitehead said. “We were playing so well down the stretch; we’ve come so far we just wanted to keep playing. We have to turn our sights to next year.
“We have four of our top five scorers back — they were all freshmen. A healthy Connor Leen will give us a lift as well. Another good recruiting class is on tap for us as well, so there are plenty of reasons to give us optimism for next year.”