ORONO – Two weeks ago, the University of Maine men’s hockey team earned two of their most resounding wins of the season, sweeping then-No. 4 Merrimack in a weekend series at Alfond Arena.
But when the topic comes up, the Black Bears insist they’re not looking back. Instead, they’re focusing on tonight’s opening game of the Hockey East quarterfinal series against the Warriors, a rematch of the regular-season series Feb. 25-26.
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This time it’s at Lawler Arena in North Andover, Mass., not at Alfond in Orono. And this time, there’s something greater at stake: a chance to continue the season.
Fifth-seeded Maine and fourth-seeded Merrimack open the best-of-three series at 7:30 tonight and while the Black Bears enter the playoffs on a seven-game unbeaten streak, they know the key now is to continue their consistency.
“We need to focus on those couple weekends before this past weekend (at Massachusetts),” Maine left wing Brian Flynn said. “We have to look at what we were able to do to be successful in those games and what we did to start that streak.
“And that’s what Coach (Tim Whitehead) has been harping all week — defense is going to win us these games. And personally, that’s what I have to think first, too, defense. And then the offense will continue from there.”
The only hiccup during the Black Bears’ late unbeaten streak came last Saturday in a 4-4 tie with UMass, when they surrendered a 3-1 lead. They will have to continue what’s worked well for them in that time: focusing on team defense, getting strong goaltending and maintaining discipline.
“The goal is to win a series,” Maine defenseman Will O’Neill said. “We go to Merrimack where it’s very hard to play and they have a very good team with a great goaltender (Joe Cannata) and proven scorers and a big defense.
“We’re going to go down there and we’re trying to weather a storm and get out of the gate and go after them with a tremendous effort.”
In the last seven games, No. 14 Maine (17-10-7) has outscored opponents 30-10 and outshot opponents 267-166, giving up an average of 23 shots on goal against freshman goalie Dan Sullivan.
Meanwhile, the ninth-ranked Warriors (22-8-4) have to break out of a late-season funk. Merrimack lost three of its last four games, including a pair two weeks ago at Alfond Arena that ended the Warriors’ eight-game winning streak.
“They’ll have the added motivation of losing games (at Orono), so I think that’s going to give them a good edge as we come down to their rink,” Whitehead said. “They’ll be champing at the bit.
“They’re going to play physical so we have to be prepared to match their intensity without taking penalties. That’s going to be our challenge.”
Despite the return last Friday of sophomore forward and leading scorer Stephane Da Costa (14 goals, 25 assists), the Warriors split their final regular-season series with Providence, dropping a 5-3 decision Saturday without Da Costa a day after clinching home ice in the quarterfinals.
“I don’t think we played the way we wanted to finishing out the regular season,” Merrimack defenseman Karl Stollery said. “It’s a fresh start for us. We need to get back to the way we were playing.”
And now that there’s a rematch of the Maine-Merrimack series from two weeks ago, what will it take for the Warriors to be successful and to rebound from a pair of losses two weeks ago to the Black Bears?
“We have to get back to our game,” Stollery said. “It’s about working hard.
“We have a good team in here and we’re a team that works, so we’re going to have to give our best every night.”
The Black Bears, though, aren’t underestimating the Warriors, not when the season could be on the line.
“I’m sure they’re going to be as prepared as anybody,” O’Neill said. “Maybe the wins haven’t come easy for them lately but that happens to everybody.
“It’s a totally different season and they have such a good team they’re going to come out and be ready to go. There’s no doubt about that.”
Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:
rlenzi@pressherald.com
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