The border war between the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team and the University of New Hampshire continued last weekend when the Black Bears swept the Wildcats in a home-at-home series. UMaine improves their record with some much-needed Hockey East Conference wins to 10-5-1 and 5-7 in conference play, while UNH falls to 3-8-1 and 8-14-2.

Shore, Swavely lead UMaine past UNH

Third-year forwards Devin Shore and Steven Swavely tallied two goals and two assists each in a winning effort against conference rival University of New Hampshire, defeating the Wildcats 6-4 Friday night at Alfond Area.

The Black Bears were trailing 3-1 in the first period before converting four consecutive goals to upend the Wildcats.

“We knew it could be back and forth and go any way,” Swavely said after the game. “After they scored three straight, we kept it together on the bench and stayed positive and said we’ll get the second one and take off from there and that’s exactly what we did.”

Maine opened the scoring with a goal just 47 seconds into the contest. After gaining possession of the puck in a tie up on the boards, first-year forward Liam Pecararo chipped a pass to Swavely, who was wide open in the slot. Swavely hesitated and delivered a wrist shot that he lifted over the shoulder of Wildcats first-year netminder Danny Tirone for the early 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats responded less than a minute later, and would tally three straight before the Black Bears could answer.

Setting up in the offensive zone, first-year defender John Furgele ripped a slap shot from the point that was stopped in traffic by a Black Bear defender. Third-year forward Kyle Smith recovered the puck just right of the slot and fired a shot into the Black Bear net before first-year goaltender Sean Romeo could stop it with his glove to knot the score at 1-1.

The second Wildcats goal was tallied by first-year defender Cameron Marks on a power play. The Black Bears went down two men on penalties by third-year defender Conor Riley and fourth-year forward Stu Higgins. Just as Riley’s penalty was ending, Wildcats first-year forward Andrew Poturalski found Marks at the point, ripping a slap shot top shelf on Romeo for a 2-1 Wildcat advantage.

In the offensive zone, third-year defender UNH Harry Quast found fourth-year captain Matt Willows at the point, who sent a slap shot through a slew of traffic and screens to secure a 3-1 UNH lead.

“I thought we got off to the start you’d want to get to whenever you come up here and play the Black Bears at the Alfond,” UNH head coach Dick Umile said. “After that, we didn’t play very well, not very well in our end defensively.”

Maine responded on a power play with less than three minutes remaining in the period, the beginning of their four goal spree. Shore toe dragged to avoid a defender just left of the slot and fired a wrister at Tirone. Tirone fumbled the save and first-year wing Nolan Vesey was there for the Black Bears, tipping the puck in backhand to bring Maine closer at 3-2.

“If Vesey hadn’t scored, I was confident that we would have found another way to score. If these guys feel like that, we got a good chance to win every night,” Gendron said.

The Black Bears tallied two goals in the middle period to take a 4-3 before the final period.

Second-year forward Cam Brown took the puck behind the Wildcats’ net and swung it right of the slot, meeting Riley’s stick. Riley ripped a slap shot that skidded across the ice and through the five hole of Tirone to knot the score at 3-3. First-year forward Malcolm Hayes was causing chaos in front of the net, forcing himself down low for position on a UNH defender to screen Tirone who was unable to find the puck before it slid between his legs for the goal.

Maine regained the lead when Swavely passed the puck to Shore as he skated into the right faceoff circle on a power play. Shore squared to the net and sent a wrist shot that went over the shoulder of Tirone glove side for a 4-3 Black Bears advantage.

“We like to read off each other,” Shore said of him and Swavely. “It starts off the ice. We’re pretty close off the ice and that translates onto the ice. We got them scrambling and I just threw the puck on net and it ended up going in.”

Shore continued to pour it on and the Black Bears scored just 12 seconds into the final period. After winning the third-period face off, Swavely dumped the puck into the right corner and Vesey gained possession. Skating behind the UNH net, Vesey skipped a no-look backhand pass to Shore as he cut into the slot and delivered a wrist shot to the opposite post to extend the Black Bears lead to 5-3.

The Wildcats didn’t give up and scored their fourth and final goal of the contest after 15minutes of scoreless action.

Fourth-year left wing Casey Thrush had an easy goal off of a beautiful pass from behind the net by second-year forward Tyler Kelleher. Kelleher recovered the puck front a corner tie up and skated behind the Black Bears net. Thrush cut into the middle of the slot and Kelleher fired the pass through a Black Bear defender and Thrush put it into the back of the net, inching closer at 5-4.

UNH pulled Tirone with 44 seconds remaining, and Swavely sealed the deal for Maine on an empty net goal he scored from his own blue line.

UMaine completes sweep

The Black Bears traveled to Durham, New Hampshire for Saturday’s conference bout against the Wildcats. Second-year goaltender Matt Morris registered 40 saves and his second shutout of the season as the Black Bears defeated UNH 4-0. Nolan Vesey and Cam Brown each tallied a goal and an assist to help Maine sweep UNH on the weekend.

Maine’s power play success continued in game two and first-year forward Liam Pecararo got Maine on the board midway through the opening period.

Pecararo received the puck in the slot on a pass from Brown and fired a shot from just a few feet out on UNH first-year netminder Adam Clark that found its way under his arm and into the back of the net for a 1-0 Maine lead.

The next goal wouldn’t be tallied until early in the third period. Each team had goals waived off in the scoreless second period.

Brown led a two goal scoring surge in 21 seconds to give Maine a 3-0 cushion early in the third.

Second-year wing Blaine Byron was skating up ice and delivered a backhand pass to Brown just right of the slot. Brown received the pass cleanly and delivered a beautiful wrist shot top shelf over Clark to give Maine a 2-0 lead.

Nolan Vesey found the back of the net on a beautiful set up by Devin Shore just seconds later. Shore battled a UNH defender for possession near the blue line before gaining control and sending a spinning backhand pass up ice into the crease. Vesey out skated two UNH defenders and recovered the puck with nobody in front of him. He faked left before shooting backhand on Clark for a 3-0 lead.

Third-year forward Steven Swavely added the final Black Bear goal on a backhand shot to secure the 4-0 Maine victory.

Vesey and Swavely skated up ice on a 2 on 2. Vesey passed through a UNH defender and found Swavely open in the crease. Clark poke checked the puck as it met Swavely’s stick, but Swavely instantly recovered and delivered the backhand shot over Clark who was laying down out of position to make the save after his unsuccessful poke check attempt for the 4-0 victory.

Maine was outshot 40-21 in the contest. Clark was pulled after Swavely’s goal and was replaced by third-year goaltender Jamie Regan. Regan recorded one save in just over nine minutes of action.

Maine was 1-3 on power play opportunities and the Wildcats went 0-4, failing to convert any of their power play chances.

Maine returns to action next weekend when they face off against the University of Connecticut next Friday at Alfond Arena. After the game on Friday night, the Black Bears will travel to UConn to play a matinee contest against the Huskies at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

University of Maine head coach Bob Walsh was visibly distraught after the Black Bears dropped their 13th contest of the year Thursday night. He preached hard work and reestablishing a winning attitude for UMaine basketball.

His team took a step in that direction Sunday when, after losing a pair of games earlier in the week, the Black Bears travelled to Hartford University and won 70-61 Sunday afternoon. After this week, UMaine now sits at 2-18 overall and 1-6 in America East Conference play.

Black Bears fall to NJIT

The Black Bears fell to the New Jersey Institute of Technology by a score of 65-55 Monday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

A 15-2 run by the Highlanders upended Maine’s seven point lead late in the second half to give NJIT the advantage. UMaine fourth-year forward Zarko Valjarevic led the team with 12 points and seven rebounds. NJIT second-year guard Damon Lynn led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 7-16 from the field in contest and sparking the surge that allowed the Highlanders to overcome a seven point deficit late in the second half.

Maine received strong contributions from first-year guard Kevin Little and second-year guard Garet Beal as well. Little tallied 11 points and four assists and Beal added 10 points and six rebounds to keep the Black Bears within reach of the Highlanders.

Back and forth action up and down the court kept things competitive for the first few minutes of the opening half, but NJIT went on a 9-2 run midway through the period to take a 17-9 lead.

The Black Bears would cut the Highlanders lead to just four points before Lynn sunk a three-point shot to extend NJIT’s lead to seven points.

Maine strung together a 7-0 run to knot the game at 22 points each. Little scored a three-pointer of his own and first-year guard Aaron Calixte added a layup to start the run. Little finished the seven point spurt with a jump shot to tie the game 22-22.

NJIT held a slight advantage going into halftime, outscoring the Black Bears 25-24 in the opening period.

Valjarevic came out shooting in the second half, giving the Black Bears a 43-36 lead after leading a 14-7 spurt at the beginning of the period. The seven point advantage was Maine’s largest in the game.

Valjarevic nailed a trio of three-point attempts on three consecutive Maine possessions, closing the gap and extending the Black Bears lead to 38-36. Little tallied his second three-point bucket of the contest and second-year forward Erik Nissen added a shot in the paint in the 14 point burst to secure the 43-36 Black Bear lead.

The Highlanders answered Maine with a 15-2 run of their own, giving them a 51-45 lead with less than five minutes in the contest.

Valjarevic brought the Black Bears within three points when he tallied his fourth three-point shot of the contest with three minutes remaining. Maine was unable to respond to the Highlanders late offensive explosion, and NJIT coasted to a 65-55 victory with the aid of free throw shooting in the late fouling situation.

Little matches career-high points

Kevin Little matched a career-high with 15 points Thursday night, though it was not enough to upend UMBC, who left Bangor with a 76-59 win.

Little added three assists and three steals on the night.

“I’ve always said: The losses don’t bother me,” UMaine head coach Bob Walsh said. “It’s how we compete. That’s what we evaluate.”

Third-year UMBC forward Cody Joyce was the star of the game, shooting 11-16 from the field and knocking down six free throws for a game-high 28 points and eight rebounds.

Efficient shooting was the difference-maker in the game for the Retrievers, who shot 52 percent from the field, including 80 percent in the first half.

A pair of three-point shots near the halfway point of the first frame from Little and Zarko Valjarevic gave the Black Bears a four-point lead, their largest of the game.

Rebounding and consistent free throw shooting for the rest of the first frame sent the Retrievers into the half up 26-21.

The Black Bears could not keep pace with UMBC on the boards, where UMBC held a 38-27 advantage.

UMaine kept pace for the early portion of the second half, though an 8-0 UMBC run with nine minutes left put the game away.

UMaine upsets Hartford

The Black Bears were able to upset the Hartford Hawks Sunday thanks to a fantastic performance from Kevin Little. Little, who has averaged 8.6 points per game, went off for a career-high 25 points. He added three assists and a trio of boards in the win.

UMaine jumped out to an early 7-2 lead thanks to five quick points form Little. Both teams battled back and forth for the first half, with the Black Bears eventually taking a 29-26 lead into halftime.

Gloger and Valjarevic both turned in valuable performances for UMaine, scoring 14 points apiece. Gloger added 10 rebounds for another double-double.

Fourth-year Hartford forward Mark Nwakamma hit a jump shot with 11 minutes remaining to give the Hawks a 44-42 advantage. Nwakamma finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, both team-highs.

The Hawks went on to take a 50-46 lead, but five straight points from Little put the Black Bears back in the lead.

The Black Bears took the lead for the final time on a Valjarevic three-pointer that set off an 8-2 UMaine run to put the game away.

Valjarevic hit another three with 1:12 left in the game to put the nail in the coffin on the Hawks and secure the upset.

UMaine returns to the hardwood when they host the University of New Hampshire Wednesday at the Cross Insurance Center at 7 p.m.

The University of Maine men’s basketball team dropped their twelfth consecutive game of the season to the New Jersey Institute of Technology by a score of 65-55 Monday afternoon at the Cross Insurance center in Bangor.

A 15-2 run by the Highlanders upended Maine’s seven point lead late in the second half to give NJIT the advantage. UMaine fourth-year forward Zarko Valjarevic led the team with 12 points and seven rebounds. NJIT second-year guard Damon Lynn led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 7-16 from the field in contest and sparking the surge that allowed the Highlanders to overcome a seven point deficit late in the second half.

Maine received strong contributions from first-year guard Kevin Little and second-year guard Garet Beal as well. Little tallied 11 points and four assists and Beal added 10 points and six rebounds to keep the Black Bears within reach of the Highlanders.

Back and forth action up and down the court kept things competitive for the first few minutes of the opening half, but NJIT went on a 9-2 run midway through the period to take a 17-9 lead.

The Black Bears would cut the Highlanders lead to just four points before Lynn sunk a three point shot to extend NJIT’s lead to seven points.

Maine strung together a 7-0 run to knot the game at 22 points each. Little scored a three-pointer of his own and first-year guard Aaron Calixte added a layup to start the run. Little finished the seven point spurt with a jump shot to tie the game 22-22.

NJIT held a slight advantage going into halftime, outscoring the Black Bears 25-24 in the opening period.

Valjarevic came out shooting in the second half, giving the Black Bears a 43-36 lead after leading a 14-7 spurt at the beginning of the period. The seven point advantage was Maine’s largest in the game.

Valjarevic nailed a trio of three-point attempts on three consecutive Maine possessions, closing the gap and extending the Black Bears lead to 38-36. Little tallied his second three-point bucket of the contest and second-year forward Erik Nissen added a shot in the paint in the 14 point burst to secure the 43-36 Black Bear lead.

The Highlanders answered Maine with a 15-2 run of their own, giving them a 51-45 lead with less than five minutes in the contest.

Valjarevic brought the Black Bears within three points when he tallied his fourth three-point shot of the contest with three minutes remaining. Maine was unable to respond to the Highlanders late offensive explosion, and NJIT coasted to a 65-55 victory with the aid of free throw shooting in the late fouling situation.

With the loss, the Black Bears fall to 1-17, while the Highlanders improve to 11-10 on the season.

The University of Maine Black Bears dropped two America East contests in Boston this weekend. The first against the No. 2 Boston University Terriers by a score of 3-2 in overtime on Friday night, and the second to No. 12 Boston College, who topped the Black Bears 4-1 Saturday. Maine drops to 3-9-1 on the season and 2-5 in conference play after the weekend of play.

Game 1:

The Black Bears fell to the No. 2 ranked Boston Terriers by a score of 3-2 in overtime Friday night at Boston University. BU sit atop the Hockey East leaderboard with a conference record of 6-1-1.

Black Bears fourth-year forward Connor Leen tallied a goal for the fourth consecutive game, this one short-handed, to help keep Maine competitive. Maine had a 2-0 lead in the second period and allowed two straight in the second half of the contest, before falling on a power play goal by BU first-year forward Jack Eichel in overtime.

Maine struck first early in the first period. First-year forward Liam Pecararo skated into the offensive zone and found second-year wing Cam Brown who fired a shot at Terriers third-year netminder Matt O’Connor. O’Connor deflected the puck out to the left faceoff circle where Black Bears third-year defender Ben Hutton retrieved the puck and sent a rebound shot by O’Connor to put Maine ahead 1-0.

The Black Bears doubled its lead just 56 seconds into the second period. Leen stole the puck at neutral ice and skated towards O’Connor. Losing his balance and falling to the ice, Leen swept the puck by O’Connor when he wasn’t expecting it to put Maine in a 2-0 commanding lead entering the third period.

Maine’s defense broke down in the second period, giving the Terriers an opportunity to come back and tie the game.

The first Terriers goal came by third-year forward Ahti Oksanen just over 4minutes into the final period of regulation. Eichel and Oksanen were moving up ice on a two-on-one rush towards Black Bears first-year goaltender Sean Romeo. Eichel chipped a pass across the crease to Oksanen to put the puck into the back of the net with ease to cut the Black Bears lead in half.

Boston’s third-year winger Matt Lane found the back of the net 5minutes later to even the score. Lane received a pass behind the net and brought it to the red line even with Romeo’s goalpost. Lane faked a shot from just feet away to move Romeo out of position. After the hesitation, Lane snuck the puck behind Romeo and into the net to even things at 2-2.

The Terriers only needed 2minutes of overtime play to put the Black Bears away.

First-year defender Brandon Fortunato made a pass to Eichel from behind the Terriers net after breaking up a Maine offensive rush. Eichel skated up the left side of the ice with speed. After crossing the blue line, instead of trying to beat the Black Bear defender separating him and Romeo, Eichel used the defender as a screen and slipped a wrist shot over the shoulder of Romeo to break the tie and notch the 3-2 win.

The Black Bears failed to convert all four power play opportunities in the game, while Boston converted only one, the game-winning goal in overtime. BU outshot Maine 36-28 in the contest.

Despite the three goals he gave up, Romeo made a career-high 33 saves in net for the Black Bears.

Game 2:

Boston College skated past the Black Bears with ease by a score of 4-1 Saturday night. The Eagles improve to 3-3 in conference play.

The Eagles struck first when fourth-year forward Destry Straight found third-year defensemen Teddy Doherty on an odd man rush. Straight made a pass in front of the crease to Doherty who chipped the puck past Black Bears goaltender Romeo for a 1-0 BC lead.

Maine responded quickly, and tallied their second short-handed goal of the weekend. Cam Brown stole the puck as the Eagles began a rush up ice, and headed towards BC netminder Thatcher Demko with fourth-year forward wing Connor Leen. Brown and Leen passed the puck back and forth numerous times before Leen finally took a shot that beat Demko’s outreaching arm to knot the score 1-1.

The Black Bears would fail to score another goal for the remainder of the game, while the Eagles tallied three consecutive goals in the final two periods.

Setting up in the offensive zone, BC’s Doherty took a shot that misfired by the net. On the other side was second-year forward Adam Gilmour, who netted the puck across the face of Romeo to the opposite post to take a 2-1 lead.

Straight tallied a goal of his own just minutes later. Moving up ice on an offensive rush, he fired a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle through traffic that beat Romeo to the back of the net to extend the Eagles lead.

Finally, Eagles first-year forward Alex Tuch found the back of the net to round out the Eagles’ night of scoring early in the final period. Tuch received a pass in the same position as Straight and fired a similar shot that Romeo failed to deflect with his stick to propel BC to the 4-1 victory.

Romeo falls to 1-6-0 in net for the Black Bears after the weekend of play. He made 23 saves in game two, while Demko made 22 and improves to 7-4-0 between the posts for the Eagles.

Boston College outshot the Eagles 27-23 in the contest.

The Black Bears return to action on Nov. 28 against the University of Vermont Catamounts at Alfond Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

A peculiar name sits atop the AFC North; the Cleveland Browns.

The Cleveland Browns, arguably the least successful franchise in the NFL since 2000, are ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Believe it.

The Browns are 2-2 in the AFC North, falling to the Steelers in week one and Ravens in week three. Combined, they lost those games by five points. It is no lie that the Browns are now a formidable opponent and much more competitive than they have been in recent memory.

So where has this success come from?

A large part of their success comes from head coach Mike Pettine, who served as defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, as well as an assistant position with the Ravens. His knowledge and experience in the league brings a new element to the Browns that they haven’t had in a long time.

The rest of their success is coming from a roster comprised of a plethora of journeyman players who, together, have been making it happen in Cleveland.

Brian Hoyer, Ben Tate and Miles Austin are a few difference makers that have made their way to Cleveland from other teams in the league, and the combination of their talents have been putting higher digits in the win column than the loss column.

Right now, they sit at 6-3, which is an impressive record for the Browns franchise considering they’ve averaged five wins a season since 2000. They have blown by the bottom-of-the-barrel teams they’ve faced thus far, and the remainder of their schedule is composed of much of the same.

The Browns will face the Falcons, Bills and Panthers before the end of the season, games they should win. Assuming they lose the rest, they will finish 9-7, a record that is worthy of a wildcard spot at the least.

So what will they do from there?

Well, the reality is probably not much. As exciting as their success is, I’m not sure they can beat any other division leaders, including the Patriots, Broncos and Colts. They likely couldn’t beat any wildcard candidates in those divisions either, including the Dolphins and Chiefs.

But, at the same time, you can’t sell this team short.

Nobody saw the 24-3 hammering they put on the division favorite Bengals two weeks ago, or the 31-10 pounding they placed on the Steelers in week six.

The best part about the Browns is that they surprise you. You can’t just show up to beat them anymore. You have to play good football, because, as they’ve proven thus far, they likely are playing better football.

They’ve built a level of consistency week in and week out that we’re not used to seeing from them. They also have a winning energy from every man on the roster that seems unfathomable knowing their recent prestige, or lack thereof, for almost 20 years.

So, even though they likely aren’t heading to the AFC Championship, don’t sleep on the Browns. The teams that have merely shown up, have been surprised. I expect much of the same for the rest of the season.

This past week, a grand jury found NASCAR driver Tony Stewart innocent, pressing no criminal charges for the death of Kevin Ward Jr. on Aug. 9. Stewart struck Ward after an on-track altercation in which Ward left his vehicle and walked down the track to confront Stewart. The poor lighting at the dirt track and Ward’s all-black fire suit played factors in the accident, and ultimately, Ward was killed by the two-time Sprint Cup Series champion.

Further developments came out after the jury ruled Stewart innocent that Ward had excessive amounts of marijuana in his system during the accident, more than enough to impair judgment, according to the prosecutor in the trial.

Ward’s death is both tragic and sad. However, it just doesn’t make sense to me that Stewart had to wait in limbo for almost two months to hear the final verdict on this.

The officials understandably wanted a thorough investigation. They certainly did that.  Everybody needed to do their due-diligence in getting to the bottom of this. But to me, it seemed like a no-brainer from the beginning.

As someone who has been around motorsports my entire life, it’s common knowledge not to exit your vehicle and walk towards moving cars on the racing surface. It’s extremely dangerous, and as we’ve seen, can be life-threatening. As a beginner racing against Stewart, I’m sure Ward felt he had something to prove. The lap prior to the caution, Stewart squeezed Ward out of turn two and didn’t give him enough space to stay on the track. After Ward’s car took a spin, he exited the vehicle and walked down the track to give Stewart a piece of his mind.

When a race is under caution, you are never looking out for somebody to be walking on the racing surface. It’s almost never done. Usually you see somebody walking on the highest or lowest most grooves of the track. Never do you see them walking on the surface, which likely took Stewart by surprise.

The car in front of Stewart had to swerve to avoid missing him. Both Stewart, and the driver in front of Stewart under caution weren’t prepared to see somebody walking towards their moving vehicles. The driver in front of Stewart barely missed Ward and, sadly, Stewart had no time to react before fatally striking Ward. As sad as it is, Ward had everything going against his favor the night of his death.

I applaud Stewart for his actions during this period. He didn’t give into the media frenzy surrounding this issue to give respect to the family. He released one public statement and didn’t allow any questions. He missed a pair of races in the midst of a tightly contested chase for the cup, ultimately putting him out of position to win his third championship this year. He truly is a professional, and it’s saddening to see somebody with so many accolades on and off the race track stricken with guilt from an accident in which he had no control.

It’s good to see that the grand jury got this one right. Stewart is a free man, as he should be.

After finishing in fifth place in the America East conference last year, the University of Maine baseball team was in need of a new face in the program to help ensure success for its 2014-15 campaign. They found that on Aug. 13 in newly acquired assistant coach, John Schiffner, who brings over 35 years of coaching experience to a coaching staff already rich in accolades and experience.

“What an opportunity to jump on this bandwagon,” Shiffner said. “This is a great opportunity for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to get into Division I coaching.”

Before joining the UMaine staff, he was the manager of the storied Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). In his 22 years there, he racked up 479 career wins, the most in CCBL history. From 1978-2011, he was also the head coach of Plainfield High School’s baseball team in Connecticut, ranking sixth in head coaching wins in Connecticut high school baseball history.

He has also coached over 100 players that have made it to the major league. His experience will likely pay high dividends for the Black Bears in the coming season, and the transition Schiffner has experienced in the move to Orono has gone well.

“I’ve known Coach [Steve] Trimper for over 20 years, and assistant coach Nick Derba played for me in the Cape Cod League,” Schiffner said. “And was my assistant in the summer of 2013. The familiarity makes it very easy for me.”

Schiffner is enjoying his new job and is excited about the new bits and pieces of Division I coaching that he has yet to experience from the CCBL.

“I’ve coached Division I athletes in the Cape League, but being on a Division I staff, this is the whole package,” he said. “It’s recruiting; it’s paperwork; it’s compliance. I’ve always wanted to see what it’s like and that’s why I’m here, and I’m having a blast.”

His familiarity with the coaching staff attracted him to his new position, along with the quality players that head coach Steve Trimper had been sending him in the CCBL for years.

“There’s such a long tradition here of really good, solid baseball. Coach Trimper had been sending me players since he was in Manhattan, and every kid he sent me was a great kid, so I knew this was a great program that I wanted to become a part of,” he added.

Looking forward to the coming season, Schiffner brings a lot to the team that went 24-29 last year. In his 38th year of coaching baseball, he offers a plethora of knowledge for both the staff and the players.

“I think I bring a great deal of experience and mentorship here,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot, and I think that will help everyone here. I bring a different voice, a new voice, and it’s a voice of experience. It’s not some puppy right out of college who’s shooting from the hip, it’s the voice from a guy who’s been around a long time.”

To improve, Schiffner has been working with his new players to become more fundamentally sound on the field, which should translate well to his coaching. The UMaine baseball culture of hard work and fun is something Schiffner has appreciated right off the bat.

“We’ve been working really hard on fundamentals in the offseason, because it’s so important in this game to be fundamentally sound,” Schiffner said. “Coach Trimper runs as good of a practice as I’ve ever seen. It’s detailed, and a really good scheme. There’s hard work involved but we always have a good time, we’re enjoying each other and that’s the type of atmosphere that he’s created here. I’m just glad to be on board.”

We will have to wait until January to see what’s in store for the Black Bears this season, but there’s no denying the team has improved with its newest coaching addition in Schiffner.

University of Maine Men’s Hockey coach Dennis “Red” Gendron feels right at home in his second season as head coach of the Black Bears and is anxiously waiting for the season to begin. The move back to Orono was something that Gendron was excited about from the beginning.

“I first came here in 1990 as an assistant under Shawn Walsh, he gave me my first coaching opportunity,” Gendron said. “I earned my master’s degree here as well. I feel a lot of my growth as a coach and an educator happened here. So, to be back here again feels like home. I love it here, I love Maine.”

The Black Bears made progress in Gendron’s first year at the helm, improving their record in Hockey East from 7-12-8 in the 2012-13 campaign to 9-8-3 last season. They also improved their overall record in that span from 11-19-8 to 16-15-4. Gendron doesn’t expect the growth and improvement to stop there.

“The goal of this team is and always has been to win the national title. We want to win Hockey East, get to the frozen four, and win the title,” he said. “That goal is always attainable, it just takes sacrifice.”

Per NCAA rules, Gendron is only allowed two hours of ice time a week with his players until the regular season officially begins on Oct. 5. Other than that, it’s up to the players holding captain’s practices to get the team in shape and ready for the beginning of the season. When that comes, Gendron will face the task of constructing lines for the season and other team preparations.

“When the season starts, it’s like putting together a puzzle. You’ve got to find out who’s going to play the best together up front, which two are best together defensively. Everything has to be put together the right way so we can play our game,” Gendron said.

What’s promising for Gendron and his Black Bears is the number of impact players they have returning this season. Those players include third-year forwards Devin Shore and Steven Swavely, as well as third-year defender Ben Hutton. All three are expected to flourish in their roles on the squad this year, but Gendron holds everybody to the same standard.

“Everybody will do well, I know that,” he said. “Individuals will find their roles as the season goes on, but I expect to remain competitive with everybody. Those guys know what’s expected out of them on the ice, and the younger guys know too. Freshman and other young guys aren’t different from the older guys. Regardless of year, you’re expected to produce.”

It’s always an uphill battle for success when you are in the competitive Hockey East Conference. Week after week you’re playing some of the best talent in the entire country, including Boston College, UMass-Lowell, Notre Dame, and Providence College.

The level of competition is extremely high. However, Gendron doesn’t feel the need to devote his time in studying opponents.

“We try hard to simulate game speed in practices, but in the end it all comes down to what we’re doing. I don’t have the time, or the inclination to study our opponents outside of the film study sessions we do each week before we face a new team. We can spend time simulating their style, but at the end of the day all that matters is how we prepare this team and how they play our game on the ice,” Gendron said.

With their goals in mind, they are making strides to improve and be more competitive in Hockey East and the rest of the country. It’s no easy task, but Gendron knows what it’s going to take for him and his team to reach their goals by the end of the season.

“It’s going to take total commitment,” he said. “There’s been parody amongst college hockey over the past few years. You can’t just show up and win. Last year a team that gives no athletic scholarships won the title. Everybody needs to buy in and be totally committed to win in this sport.”

Our first chance to see how the Black Bears hard work in the offseason will pay off is on Oct. 5, when they play New Brunswick at the Alfond Arena in Orono. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.

A lot has been shaken up in the National Hockey League this postseason, and with less than 30 days until the first puck drop of the season, we must find out who has the best chance of hoisting the Stanley Cup Trophy in 2015.

The reigning Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings took a $4.8 million cap hit to sign winger Marian Gaborik to a seven-year, $34 million deal. This is a great fit for the Kings and will make them harder to handle next year with their new acquisition. Gaborik is an intense, high productivity winger who can snipe a goal on any goalie from just about anywhere past the blue line. Working alongside center Anze Kopitar on the Kings’ first line should cause some serious trouble for the rest of the league. Watch for both players to net more than 50 points this season, putting the Kings right in the mix come May.

Gaborik wasn’t the only winger to get a big deal this offseason. Michael Cammalleri signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the New Jersey Devils. Leaving a franchise in decline with the Calgary Flames, Cammalleri should be excited and ready to get after it in New Jersey. The addition of Cammalleri to the Devils should help out the teams’ offense significantly. Cammalleri is a speedy, aggressive forward and should fit well in the mix with Travis Zajac and Patrik Elias. He is a playmaker who has the ability to create a play to get a shot on net even in the heaviest amounts of defensive traffic.

Matt Moulson signed an identical deal with the Buffalo Sabres this offseason. This move improves the Sabres roster; however, they’re likely to be a rather uncompetitive team this year. The Sabres have been outsourcing their talent for the past few years, losing Jason Pominville, Steve Ott, and others during that span. Moulson is a grinder, a guy that can make a difference in late game situations. The Sabres may be more productive offensively, but I don’t see the move affecting their overall chance at the trophy.

When Matt Niskanen left the Penguins via free agency, they knew they needed to get a new top defender to run the show in Pittsburgh. They found that in Christian Ehrhoff, another former Buffalo Sabre. Ehrhoff has a high hockey I.Q. and one of the deadliest slap shots in the league. He’s mobile for his size, and never afraid to use his frame to block shots on goal. Ehrhoff should fit right in to Pittsburgh’s defensive schemes and have no problem improving his production from his years in Buffalo.

The most notable free agency pick-up, which will have the biggest effect on this coming season, is the St. Louis Blues acquisition of Paul Stastny. Stastny has been in the league for a long time, and he’s a quality veteran player. Likely, he’s exactly what the Blues have been missing when it comes to postseason play. The Blues were in need of a veteran who knows what it takes to win close games in playoff scenarios. He’ll add quality depth to the Blues offensive lines and be a great puck facilitator for younger guys like Vladimir Tarasenko. Consider this move as the finalization of the Blues run for the Stanley Cup.

In six games, I predict that the St. Louis Blues will defeat the Boston Bruins and hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Ray Rice is a disgrace to the National Football League, and the NFL is a disgrace to football itself.

What has unfolded during the past week in regards to the Ray Rice scandal is going to make people in the league lose their jobs, and rightfully so. Rice has already lost his.

For those who may not have heard, Rice was caught on camera dragging his unconscious wife out of an elevator in an Atlantic City hotel. He was given a two-game suspension after admitting he had knocked her unconscious. Last week, TMZ released the video of Rice knocking his fiancee unconscious, resulting in his removal from the NFL.

I have never seen a more astonishing, cowardly act by a man in my life. It disgusts me to watch the video released by TMZ early last week. I don’t know how Rice looks at himself in the mirror. There is no excuse, absolutely no excuse on this planet, that would justify his actions caught on tape. He is a 212-pound professional athlete striking a woman who is half his size. Has he no morals? There is nothing a woman could ever say or do that justifies violence against her. Absolutely nothing.

I honestly don’t think Rice is even processing the severity of his actions. Players across American sports leagues are coming out and standing up for him, and even Rice’s own fiancee, now wife, has defended his actions. It is despicable.

What’s more mind boggling about this, is that reports are leaking all across the league that Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, had this information and saw the same video, and handed down a mere two-game suspension to Rice. Goodell and his league have the softest policy in regards to domestic violence. If someone can prove that Goodell had seen the video before handing down his ruling, we will have a new NFL commissioner soon.

There is a moral problem in America, and it’s illustrated in two forms in this scandal. The first is that Rice had the audacity of strike his fiancee, and the second is that Goodell saw this brutal act of violence and handed down a two-game suspension. Both men had the chance to do the right thing and both men failed. One of those failures has already lost their job, and I’ll guarantee that Goodell is on his way out.

This isn’t the first time that the NFL has exhibited a weak response to domestic violence cases. Just in August, defensive lineman, Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers was arrested after getting in a scuffle with his pregnant fiancee. Police on the scene reported that McDonald’s fiancee had visible injuries, but he still started in the season opener.

Goodell did give Rice a blow to his paycheck, losing over half a million dollars in this conflict, but that sum looks like nothing in comparison to his $7 million annual salary.

Goodell and the league must learn that money and fines are not the solution. You can’t make a statement to an all-star caliber player with half a million dollars in fines—they’re multi-millionaires. The only way you can make a statement is with action. The action Goodell chose was a two-game suspension for a brutal strike to a woman caught on tape. The inconsistency is paramount here. Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns received a year-long suspension this season for his third positive marijuana test. Not to take away from the seriousness of those incidents, but how does Goodell watch the video and see that more acceptable than marijuana use?

Last week the NFL announced its new policy on domestic violence. The first incident will result in a six-game suspension. The second will ensure a life-long ban from the league, with the possibility to be reinstated after a year. This is an effective policy for the domestic violence issue in the NFL, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s too late. This policy is Goodell’s way of covering his behind in light of this scandal. This should have been implemented long before now, and Goodell can thank his inconsistency and indecisiveness for the loss of Rice’s job, and soon his own.