By Adam Robinson

The University of Maine women’s basketball team topped Brown University before falling to Fairfield University in the championship game of the Brown Classic this past weekend.

The Black Bears will put their 5-3 record on the line when they host conference foe Hartford University at the Cross Insurance Center Dec. 11.

Black Bears edge Brown 60-59

UMaine squeaked out a close win in the closing seconds to gain their fifth win of the season, beating the Brown University Brown Bear’s 60-59 in the Brown Classic Saturday afternoon.

Brown moves to 5-4 on the year following their win over Morgan State University the next day.

UMaine got out to the quick 11-4 lead with sophomore forward Liz Wood contributing 4 points during the Black Bear’s run. UMaine held a double-digit lead for a while in the first half, dominating Brown in many aspects. Brown turned on the scoring, going on an 8-0 run to make the score 28-26 led by senior guard Lauren Clarke’s 10 first-half points on 4-6 shooting.

UMaine sophomore guard Lauren Bodine hit a 3 with senior guard Ashleigh Roberts hitting a layup to finish the half with UMaine up 33-28.

Clarke quickly led Brown to their first lead of the game in the opening minutes of the second half.

UMaine sophomore center Anna Heise and sophomore guard Sophie Weckstrom hit back-to-back layups to take the 41-40 lead. Roberts hit a jumper to give UMaine the five-point advantage over Brown, but the Brown Bears were not out of the game by any means at this point.

Brown junior guard Sophie Bikofsky pulled down a game-high nine rebounds while scoring 10 of her 13 points in the second half, keeping Brown in contention the whole contest. Brown sophomore guard Jordin Alexander hit a layup with 3:37 left to give Brown the one-point lead.

With Roberts hitting a free throw and Wood scoring two of her 11 points, UMaine clawed the lead back from the Brown Bears. Roberts finished the game with a game-high 15 points.

Two and a half minutes remained in the game when Bikofsky hit a two-point shot to take the 59-57 lead. UMaine freshman guard Sigi Koizar took the ball and laid it in to tie the game at 59.

Koizar was fouled and connected on her free throw attempts with two seconds remainig to win the game for the Black Bears.

Clarke finished the game with 19 points for the Brown Bears. UMaine out rebounded Brown by four while out assisting them 14-5.

Second half woes clip UMaine in Brown Classic Championship

The Black Bears lost the championship game of the Brown Classic Tournament to Fairfield University 80-59 Sunday afternoon.

Fairfield senior center Brittany Obi-Tabot won MVP honors, scoring 18 points and bringing down seven rebounds. The Stags move to 5-3 on the season with the win.

Weckstrom knocked down a 3-pointer to help UMaine jump out to an 18-14 lead midway through the first half. The Stags stayed in the game, taking the lead a couple of times until the Black Bears hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a five point lead over Fairfield.

After UMaine went up 27-22, Fairfield senior guard Katie Cizynski hit back-to-back buckets to start a 15-2 run for the Stags. UMaine junior guard Courtney Anderson ended the Stags run by nailing a 3-ball to cut the Black Bear deficit to five heading into halftime 37-32.

At the start of the second half, Fairfield came out pushing the pace with a 12-4 run, led by Obi-Tabot’s back-to-back buckets. UMaine sophomore forward Mikaela Gustafsson found Bodine for a 3 to end the run. Gustafsson dished another assist to Roberts that led to a layup, two of Roberts’ game-high 19 points, making the Fairfield lead only eight.

Fairfield junior guard Felicia DaCruz hit a 3 with 11:32 left to put the Stags up by double digits. DaCruz finished with 14 points in the second half, 19 total.

Fairfield went on another 11-2 streak and never looked back from there. UMaine would hit a couple more shots, trying to scratch their way back into the game but couldn’t find the answer to Fairfield’s offense. The Stags outshot UMaine 58 percent to 42 percent while out-rebounding the Black Bears by 6, 33-27.

DaCruz and Obi-Tabot were selected to the All-Tournament Team.

By Anthony Panciocco

In a sport that oftentimes overstates the importance of a single athlete, pure team players can be hard to come by. But with the University of Maine women’s basketball team off to their best start since 1998, sophomore forward Liz Wood has brought that team mentality back to the hardwood.

“I mean, obviously we are doing really well. I think it’s the best start in a long time,” she said. “I’m excited about the future of our team and the potential that the team has shown in the beginning of the season.”

Wood has come into her own in her second year with the team, scoring a career-high 23 points in a blowout victory against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. While she leads the team in rebounds per game with 7.5 and is second in points with 12.3, winning ballgames is the only thing that matters to her.

“I just want to do anything I can do to help this team get the win. It’s not always about scoring; sometimes it’s just making a great cut or pass,” she said. “I want to do what I can to win. To me it’s not about having a great stat line. At the end of the night, it’s about the win.”

While it is refreshing to find an athlete that is so team-centered, there is no denying Wood’s impact on her team. Much of the Black Bears success this season has been credited to Wood, though she refuses to accept the praise.

“The thing about our team is that any given night any different player can heave a great game,” Wood said. “One night it could be me, but it could be any one of us any given night, so it takes pressure away from me. It lets me play my game without worrying about scoring or doing everything by myself.”

Her transition to the University of Maine was challenging on and off the court. After playing basketball at Liberty High School in Bealeton, V.A., Wood chose to come all the way up to UMaine.

“The jump from high school to college was definitely tough. In high school you can get by with just talent or athleticism but in D-1 ball, everyone is talented and athletic,” Wood said. “You have to hone your skills and mentally it’s a challenge because it’s a lot quicker game pace. Decisions have to be made much faster and you have to be ready for it.”

She made a quick transition her freshman year, scoring 10.3 points per game and playing in all 28 games. Her 10.3 PPG were good enough for third on the team, just 0.1 points away from the top two scorers.

“When I was homesick last year, I could always go to my teammates for comfort,” she said. “A lot of them are far from home so we could make each other feel better.”

Growing up around basketball, Wood admired University of Connecticut star Maya Moore. Moore led UConn to two straight NCAA Championships, won a WNBA Championship in her rookie season, and has a gold medal from the 2012 London Olympics.

“I always looked up to Maya Moore as a player because she played for a really great program and was a big part of them being so great,” Wood said. “She could do it all. She worked hard and it clearly paid off.”

With the team looking to finish with their first winning season since the 2005-2006 campaign, head coach Richard Barron has seen it all. Barron has been a head coach for 11 years, with this being his third season with the Black Bears. Wood attributed much of the team’s success to the coaching staff, especially Barron.

“Coach Barron is a genius when it comes to the game,” Wood said. “His basketball IQ is above any of our head, so we’re always trying to keep up. It really makes him a great coach. Amy Vachon is really important to us because she played in Maine’s glory days and knows what it takes and how to get back there. Even in the hard times last year they never gave up on us and as a team that really meant a lot. Our other two coaches, Sean [Smith] and Todd [Steelman] are great support for us as well.”

When she is not leading the Black Bears on the court, Liz considers herself another normal college student.

“I’m just a normal college kid, I like to go to the movies and go shopping,” she said. “You’d be surprised at how normal our lives are outside of playing basketball.”

In the first semester of her sophomore year, Wood is not sure exactly what she wants to do after her time at UMaine. She would like to keep playing the game she loves, though in a much different place than Maine.

“I have some ideas what I want to do but I’m not quite 100 percent yet,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about maybe playing in Europe. I think it would be a really good experience. A lot of my teammates are from Europe, and it would be really great even if it was for just one year.”

The women’s basketball team is off to a 4-2 start and continues to improve every time they step on the hardwood. With the team-first mentality that Liz Wood brings to the court, they should have no problem winning many more games.

By Anthony Panciocco and Jacob Posik

The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team recorded their first victory of the season Friday afternoon and skated back from a three-goal deficit Saturday to improve to 1-12-5 on the season.

Their opponent, Brown University, sees their record dip to 1-9-3.

UMaine travels to Connecticut for a pair of road games against Union College Dec. 13 and 14. Brown doesn’t get back into action until the first weekend of January when they host Cornell University and Colgate University on back-to-back days.

Kilgour, Fujimagari lead Black Bears to first win

Another solid performance in net from freshman Mariah Fujimagari led the University of Maine women’s ice hockey team to their first win of the season against Brown University Friday afternoon.

“What’s good about this game is I feel like it was their most complete game, and they got rewarded for it,” UMaine coach Richard Reichenbach said. “It wasn’t that they played poorly and snuck by, but they played really well for three periods and were rewarded with the win.”

UMaine sophomore forward Audra Richards had a good opportunity to put the Black Bears up early in the first period. She stole a bouncing puck 20 seconds in and streaked down the ice on a breakaway only to have it poked away by Brown senior goaltender and captain Aubree Moore.

The Black Bears had another good chance just one minute later when Brown sophomore forward Kelly Micholson was called for tripping, giving UMaine the first power play of the day. The Brown defense held tight, however, and did not allow a shot on the power play.

UMaine junior forward Katy Massey netted her second goal of the year 3:25 into the first period, sending a wrist shot past Moore to give the Black Bears an early 1-0 lead. Assists were credited to freshman defenseman Jess Vallotton and senior forward Brianne Kilgour.

The Black Bears added their second goal of the game with four minutes left in the period. Following a penalty on Brown junior forward Kaitlyn Keon for holding, Kilgour wrapped around the net and backhanded a shot past Moore for her fourth tall of the year. Senior defenseman Kelly McDonald and freshman forward Karissa Kirkup assisted on the play.

The two teams battled back and forth in the second period without either team being able to get the better of the other.

Fujimagari had a strong second period, saving 10 shots on goal and helped the Black Bears kill off two penalties. She would finish with 20 saves on the day. Reichenbach talked very highly of his team’s goaltending after the game.

“The thing about our goaltending is that we have three really good goaltenders,” Reichenbach said. “I think Mariah’s playing great, I think Meghann [Treacy] has played well, and I think Natalie [Robinson] is very good also. We are very fortunate in that department.”

Things got dangerous late in the third period when Brown freshman forward Erin Conway took a rebound and put it past Fujimagari to cut the lead in half. Junior forward Sarah Robson was credited with the assist. The Black Bears would hold on for the 2-1 victory despite late pressure from Brown.

While Fujimagari played well in goal, Reichenbach could not give an answer about who the starting goaltender would be going forward. Fujimagari has started four games on the season and has a goals against average of 2.96, good enough for first on the team.

“The way our program is built, it’s all about competition and how you work throughout the week and on the weekends,” Reichenbach said. “There’s no job that’s safe for any position.”

McDonald’s three points help Black Bears battle back, earn draw in game two

The Black Bears battled back from a three-goal deficit to tie Brown Saturday afternoon. Senior defender Kelly McDonald tallied two assists and a goal in the comeback effort.

Brown came out swinging in game two after giving up UMaine’s lone win of the season the day before.

Junior forward Kaitlyn Keon sent a pass through the slot which was collected by fellow junior forward Janice Yang, who sent a wrist shot past Fujimagari just two minutes into action. It was Yang’s seventh goal of the season.

Brown remained in control through the second, where they tallied two more goals.

The first goal of the second came by senior defender Jennifer Nedow on the power play. UMaine sophomore defender Brooklyn Langlois was sent to the penalty box for interference, which opened things up for Brown. On the power play, they got great puck movement offensively before Nedow got a clear shot from the point, sending a clapper that Fujimagari couldn’t catch up to.

The Bears added another goal with nine minutes remaining in the second. On a loose puck in front of the Black Bears net, Brown forward Catherine LeBoeuf skated in and chipped the puck past Fujimagari for Brown’s third tally of the game.

“We were struggling early defensively,” Reichenbach said. “We weren’t stopping the puck well enough and it was catching up with us on the scoreboard.”

UMaine outshot Brown through two periods by a margin of 27-18, but was having trouble finding the back of the net.

The Black Bears netted a goal with just two minutes remaining in the second. McDonald found junior defender Brittney Huneke open in the offensive end, and Huneke sent a slap shot ripping by freshman netminder Monica Elvin for her first goal of the year.

Brown led 3-1 entering the third, where oddly both teams made changes in net. Fujimagari was replaced by Treacy for the Black Bears, while Elvin was pulled in favor of sophomore goaltender Micaela Ross.

The Black Bears pulled within one goal when McDonald found Richards open in the slot who sent a wrist shot soaring by Ross just minutes into the third. McDonald tallied her team leading sixth assist on the play, and her stellar performance didn’t end there.

“I was just trying to be active with the puck,” McDonald said. “I wanted to give my teammates opportunities to score.”

On the offensive attack, Black Bear freshman forward Karissa Kirkup sent a pass from the corner that found the end of McDonald’s stick. McDonald rifled a shot from just feet away, and Ross was unable to make the save. After spreading the wealth, McDonald knotted a goal of her own, tying the game with just 1:22 remaining in regulation.

“I’m glad we battled back,” Reichenbach said. “I know we can play well when we put in 60 minutes of effort.”

Neither team was capable of scoring in the overtime period where UMaine outshot Brown 2-1, finishing with a 39-26 edge in shots overall.

Brown’s goaltenders combined to stop 36 pucks, Elvin with 23 and Ross with 13, while the Black Bear netminders combined to make 23 saves, 12 from starter Fujimagari and 11 from Treacy.

Freshman forward Blaine Byron netted the Black Bears third power play goal of the night with less than four minutes to play in regulation and senior goaltender Martin Ouellette came up with some timely saves to propel the University of Maine men’s hockey team to a 4-2 win over the No. 6 University of Massachusetts-Lowell Riverhawks at Alfond Arena Sunday afternoon.

UMaine – 7-6-1 overall, 4-2-1 in Hockey East – jumps UMass-Lowell to move into fourth place in the early conference standings.

The Riverhawks, who came in riding a six-game winning streak, move to fifth with an overall record of 11-5-0, 4-2-0 in Hockey East. They had been 6-1-0 on the road this season entering Sunday’s contest.

“Obviously our power play came through today getting us three goals, which was huge,” UMaine head coach Dennis Gendron said. “I thought we played a pretty good defensive game overall. There were still errors, and when they were made Marty [Ouellette] came up with a few phenomenal saves.”

Byron’s eventual game-winner came on a slap shot from the left side that seemed to have eyes as it trickled through UML sophomore netminder Connor Helleybuck’s pads. Freshman defenseman Eric Schurhamer and senior forward Mark Anthoine assisted on Bryon’s fifth tally of the year.

“I just got the puck along the half-wall, Schurhamer made a good play to get it down to me, and I saw a lane to the net and saw a little bit of traffic there and I thought just to get a shot on net and hope for the best,” Byron said. “Fortunately, it went in.”

The Black Bears began the scoring on the power play less than six minutes in. Freshman forward Cam Brown wired a slap shot from the inside edge of the right circle past Helleybuck for his second goal of the year, assisted by Schurhamer and senior defenseman Brice O’Connor.

The goal broke up a string of nine consecutive goals by UMaine’s sophomore class dating back to their 5-1 win over then-No. 7 Boston College Nov. 23. The Black Bears finished 3-5 with the extra skater on Sunday.

“I think we just got the puck moving fast,” Byron said. “We try to create time and space for each other and get the D moving around. They’re a very good team and we were able to get them moving around. We just tried to create chances for lanes and open ice for our teammates. We were fortunate enough to get some good bounces and find the back of the net tonight.”

“A lot of the [power play] goals we scored weren’t kind of on our set plays,” UMaine sophomore forward Devin Shore said. “The best way to get a power play goal is just to get pucks on net.”

The Riverhawks, who had been converting on their power plays at a 32.6 percent clip in their last 46 chances, finished 1-2 with the extra skater.

UMaine made it 2-2 on the power play four minutes after Brown’s goal to put them up 2-0 on a great effort-play by sophomore center Steven Swavely. UML sophomore forward Adam Chapie looked to have a shorthanded breakaway, but good hustle by Swavely denied him with a timely poke check. The Black Bears were able to counter with a three-on-two the other way, ending in sophomore defenseman Ben Hutton’s seventh goal of the year.

“We lost the puck and they had a semi-breakaway, and Steven Swavely not only got back to kill the play but didn’t take a penalty doing it,” Gendron said. “And then we go back on the ensuing counter attack and Hutton busts his tail to get up ice and make it a three-on-two. That’s a big-time play, but it started with Steven Swavely. He deserves a lot of credit for how that happened.”

“It could’ve been a two-goal swing there and he made an amazing play on the backcheck, and we were fortunate enough to get a three-on-two,” Shore said. “If you give Ben Hutton the puck in the slot, odds are it’s going in.”

Hutton, who was assisted by Shore and junior forward Connor Leen on the play, now leads all Division-I defenseman in goals this season. Both Shore and Hutton upped their point streak to five games on the play.

The Riverhawks cut into the deficit with just over five minutes remaining in the first period on senior forward Derek Arnold’s seventh tally of the season on a scramble around the blue paint. Arnold took advantage of the confusion, shoveling one over Ouellette, who had laid out to try and cover the puck. He was assisted by junior forward Scott Wilson and freshman forward Joe Gambardella.

Ouellette finished with 26 saves on 28 shots to earn his seventh win of the season. Helleybuck falls to 6-4 despite making 34 stops on 37 shots.

After an evenly fought second period that didn’t see many quality offensive looks from either side, UML tied it up on the power play with less than a minute remaining in the frame on sophomore forward Ryan McGrath’s sixth goal of the season. He was assisted by Arnold, who now leads the team in points with 12, and senior forward Joseph Pendenza.

Ouellette was forced to come up with some critical saves early in the third to keep the Riverhawks from taking the lead. His biggest came on a one-on-one opportunity by senior forward Josh Holmstrom after UMaine was caught in the middle of a line change around the 16-minute mark. Ouellette fell for the initial deke but got his glove up in time as he fell to the ice to deny Holmstrom’s snap shot and preserve the 2-2 tie.

“That was our weakest moment of the game, the start of the third period,” Gendron said. “Marty made two or three saves in the third period, especially early, that were legit. Again, if they score on those plays, the whole complexion of the game is different.

“A lot of it is doing things at the right time,” he added. “You make a big save at the right time, it can lead to victory.”

“The third period was our best period in my mind,” UML head coach Norm Bazin said. “You have to finish on some of those chances, and we had an opportunity. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

The Riverhawks responded with a flurry of chances in the closing minutes following Byron’s go-ahead goal but could not get one past Ouellette.

UMaine senior forward Jon Swavely netted his first goal of the year after UML pulled Helleybuck in favor of the extra skater to seal the 4-2 win.

The win marks the Black Bears second victory against a top 10 opponent this season, the first coming two weekends ago against BC. UMaine leads the all-time series with UML with a record of 78-44-3, including a 42-18-1 mark at home.

“That’s a huge win for us,” Shore said. “To only have one game on a weekend, it’s kind of all or nothing. Against a top ten team like them — they’re a great team and it’s a tough battle so that was big.”

UMaine hosts American International College in a two-game set Dec. 13 and 14. The Riverhawks get back into action in the Vermont Catamount Cup Dec. 28 and 29.

Video by Taylor Emhart

By Andrew Stefanilo

The University of Maine football team’s historic season came to an end Saturday when they fell to the University of New Hampshire 41-27 in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

“Hats off to New Hampshire,” UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove said. “Once again they coached and played better than we did.”

Senior quarterback Marcus Wasilewski completed 21 of his 39 passes for 229 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“We had some great drives and then at the end we weren’t able to get the final push,” Wasilewski said. “New Hampshire took some things away — they did a couple things to take a few of the things we do best out of our offense.”

Wasilewski also led the team in rushing with 81 yards on 15 carries. Senior running back Rickey Stevens ran for 65 yards on 12 touches as well.

UNH sophomore quarterback Sean Goldrich passed for a career high 291 yards with three touchdowns on 16-27 throwing.

Junior and senior running backs Nico Steriti and Chris Setian got the majority of the handoffs for the Wildcat rushing attack. Steriti had 14 carries for 74 yards while Setian had 10 for 54 yards and two touchdowns.

“I really thought that we stayed the course in the game,” UNH head coach Sean McDonnell said. “We bent a little bit on defense but didn’t break and made some big plays on offense.”

The first half was back and forth, with the Wildcats getting on the board first when senior kicker Mike MacArthur hit a 43-yard field goal with 6:40 remaining in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, UMaine junior receiver Damarr Aultman made a couple good cuts and broke free, outrunning the last UNH defender all the way to the end zone for an 88-yard touchdown return that gave the Black Bears the lead at 7-3.

“Since week one we’ve been planning a smash left,” Aultman said. “It hadn’t really hit for us through the year, but this time we felt like we could get one against UNH and the guys up front did a really good job of holding their blocks and it just hit and everything worked out the way it should have.”

The lead wouldn’t last long as the Wildcats would answer on their following drive. After the Black Bears dropped the Wildcats for a loss, Goldrich hit senior wide receiver Justin Mello for a 57-yard touchdown to put UNH ahead 10-7 with 5:02 remaining in the first quarter.

The rest of the quarter belonged to the defense as neither team could get too much going on the offensive side of things.

The Black Bears put together a solid drive in the second quarter that started when Wasilewski carried the ball for a 24-yard gain down to UNH’s 23-yard line. UMaine got the ball down to the 3-yard line but were stopped on third down when Wasilewski was tackled for no gain. UMaine sophomore kicker Sean Decloux hit a 21-yard field goal to tie it back up at 10-10 with 9:13 remaining in the second quarter.

The Wildcats would answer again when Goldrich completed back-to-back passes down to the 48-yard line. After Steriti took a carry for just one yard, Goldrich found junior wide receiver Jimmy Giansante wide open for a 48-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats back on top 17-10.

UMaine’s next drive ended just two plays in, after Wasilewski was intercepted at the 42-yard line after connecting with Stevens on a 22-yard screen pass in the previous play.

The UMaine defense held strong, holding UNH to a field goal despite the Wildcats driving it down to UMaine’s 4-yard line. New Hampshire would end up settling for a 22-yard field goal to increase their lead to 20-10 with 3:25 remaining in the second quarter.

The Black Bears would answer immediately, putting together a seven-play, 60-yard drive that started with a short pass from Wasilewski to junior wide receiver Arthur Williams. After a 9-yard completion to Stevens on another screen, Wasilewski scrambled up the middle for a 13-yard gain.

Stevens then took back-to-back carries down to the 9-yard line, setting up a Wasilewski pass to senior wide receiver John Ebeling for a 9-yard touchdown to cut the lead to just 20-17 with 47 seconds remaining in the opening half.

The Wildcats would receive the ball in the second half after deferring in the beginning of the game. UNH started their drive with solid field position on their own 48-yard line. Goldrich, Steriti and Setian had carries to bring the ball into Black Bear territory.

On 3rd and 2, UNH lined up in the wildcat formation where Steriti got the snap, faked a run and threw it to a wide open Harold Spears. The junior tight end was taken down on the 3-yard line to set up a 1st and goal for the Wildcats.

“We told the kids at the beginning of the year we were going to swing the bat this year,” McDonnell said. “We put some stuff in there again and you can’t leave those [plays] in the tank.”

After Steriti was taken down for a no gain, Goldrich hit Mello again on a goal line fade for the 3-yard touchdown pass to extend the Wildcat lead to 27-17.

The Black Bears would put together a drive of their own following the touchdown. Wasilewski hit Williams for 28 yards on the first play of the drive down to New Hampshire’s 30-yard line. Wasilewski scrambled for seven yards on the next play before hitting Aultman for a first down. With the ball on the 18-yard line, Wasilewski carried the ball for four yards. The quarterback then hit Aultman for a 2-yard gain bringing up a big 3rd and 4.

Sophomore running back Nigel Jones took a screen pass but the Wildcat defense held strong, keeping it to just a 2-yard gain. DeCloux would hit a 27-yard field goal to make it 27-20 with 7:42 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

UNH began the final quarter with the ball but were forced to punt by a Black Bear defense looking to keep UMaine within striking distance.

After an incompletion, Wasilewski hit Williams for a first down up to the 46-yard line. Wasilewski ran for another six yards before finding Williams for a first down. A holding penalty on the Black Bears pushed them back, making it 2nd and 5. Wasilewski hit Aultman just short of the marker before Jones took an 8-yard carry for a first down.

The drive would stall when Wasilewski was sacked and failed to complete his next two passes to make it 3rd and 11. The Black Bears would give New Hampshire a difficult starting spot when the UMaine punt went out of bounds on the 12-yard line.

Sophomore linebacker Cabrinni Goncalves sacked Goldrich on the first play of New Hampshire’s ensuing drive. Goldrich threw incomplete on the next play to bring up a 3rd and 14, a play that would prove to be the turning point.

Goldrich backed up to pass and hit junior wide receiver R.J. Harris for a 15-yard completion to the 25-yard line. From there, the Wildcats took it to the Black Bear defense.

“We’ve done [this play] for the past four or five years,” McDonnell said. “We’re not a power offense; we’re a spread and we’ve had our troubles, but we found R.J. in the bubble. We do it in practice every day.”

Steriti took back-to-back carries of seven and 20 yards down to the Black Bear 48-yard line. Goldrich hit Mello for 12 yards to the UMaine 36 and Steriti rushed for another big gain before Setian would cap the 9-play, 87-yard drive off with a 12-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 34-20 with 6:47 remaining.

“We’ve grown up over the season,” McDonnell said. “It starts defensively. Our kids have been able to get better as the season went along.”

The Black Bears turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, setting the Wildcats up with another opportunity to increase the lead when they started on UMaine’s 44-yard line. Setian would eventually carry one in from seven yards out to seal the victory with the score at 41-20 with 2:42 left in the game.

“They have some great coaches and great players over there,” Cosgrove said. “They executed very well.”

The Black Bears would put together a 9-play, 81-yard drive that was capped off with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Wasilewski to senior tight end Justin Perillo to cut it to 41-27 with just 21 seconds remaining. They would attempt an onside kick, but New Hampshire recovered and ran out the clock to advance to the FCS quarterfinals with a 41-27 victory.

The Black Bears finished their historical season 10-3 with a lot of records and accomplishments to look back on.

“They set a standard of excellence,” Cosgrove said of his seniors. “This is a team that’s done all of the things you hope they would do and they did things the right way.”

The Wildcats will take on fourth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana University in their quarterfinal matchup Dec. 14.

By Andrew Stefanilo

The fifth-seeded, No. 10/8 University of Maine football team is preparing for a rematch against its biggest rival in No. 15 University of New Hampshire this weekend.

The game will be the Black Bears’ – who come in with a 10-2 record, 7-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association – second straight contest against the Wildcats, and it just happens to come in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for us to be a part of and make the FCS playoffs,” UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove said.

The Wildcats – 8-4 overall, 6-2 against conference opponents – spoiled UMaine’s undefeated run through the CAA with a 24-3 win in Durham, N.H. two weeks ago. UNH has won 10 of the last 11 contests against the Black Bears, and takes a 50-43-8 record into the 102nd all-time meeting between the two rivals.

“They just outplayed us,” Cosgrove said. “They did all the things they needed to do to beat us.”

The Black Bears earned a bye in the playoffs and haven’t been on the field since that loss on Nov. 23. UNH beat Lafayette University 45-7 in the first round of the playoffs last weekend to seal their spot in the second round.

Who will benefit more from last weekend – the Black Bears with a bye, or the Wildcats and their first round drubbing of Lafayette – remains to be seen.

“There’s two sides to this: New Hampshire’s been on the field improving and growing, and we got off the field after not playing real well,” Cosgrove said.

“Do I think that this [the bye week] can help us? Yes,” he added. “Do I think playing last weekend helped New Hampshire? Yes. It’s really just something we’ll know more about when we play the game.”

Saturday’s game has all the makings to be a classic. It’s the first time UMaine has had the opportunity to host a home playoff game in Orono and the fact that it’s against their biggest rival makes it that more intense.

“I think for us, we get to look at a game in between where they played,” Cosgrove said. “For us, they don’t get to see us play, we had the bye.”

The Black Bears are making their seventh NCAA playoff appearance in program history, and their first postseason showing since a FCS quarterfinal loss to Georgia Southern University in 2011. UMaine brings a 3-6 postseason record into Saturday’s matchup with UNH.

Both teams bring in high powered offenses and solid defenses as well. The Black Bears were held to just 3 points when they visited Durham two weeks ago. That was the lowest scoring output this season for UMaine, whose next lowest point total was 19 in a home victory against Stony Brook University Nov. 2. Look for the Black Bears to get the offense back to into gear after what was an uncharacteristic performance by them.

Not to be overlooked is Cosgrove’s defensive unit. UMaine eclipsed the 10-win mark for the first time since 2002 thanks to a defense that held opponents to 20.5 points per game, well under what the Black Bears averaged offensively this season.

Executing will be key for UMaine on Saturday if they wish to make it back to the quarterfinals the following weekend.

“If you think about anything other than what’s at hand, you find yourself going home,” Cosgrove said. “The tournament allows you to precede one of two ways: you keep going, or you go home.”

Kickoff for the Black Bears first ever home playoff game is scheduled for 2 p.m.

By Andrew Stefanilo

The Pacific Division in the Western Conference should have some drama between the two top teams in the division to make up for what might be the most cut-and-dry division in the West this season.

The two teams who will battle it out for the top two spots in the division are the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Right now, the Warriors are 8-3 and on top of the division. Adding versatile swingman Andre Iguodala was huge for a team that could really make a run to the Western Conference Finals in the spring.

The Clippers are sitting close behind at 7-4 but should have a great shot at the top spot by season’s end. All-Star point guard Chris Paul is too good and the Clippers have too much depth for the Warriors to stay ahead of them all year.

The reason this division is so competitive isn’t just because of those two top tier teams battling it out, but because there are a few other teams that could make some noise.

I’ll start with the Phoenix Suns. Nobody expected this team to be this successful so far. They have a great future with young guard Eric Bledsoe and pivot man Alex Len when he progresses. I think this team will eventually fall off the radar, but who knows: if they keep playing like they are, they could make a run for the No. 8 seed in the West.

The other team I’m not going to count out are the 6-7 L.A. Lakers. I stuck by this team last year and said they’d make the playoffs. I’m a little more hesitant to do so this year, but I’ll never count out a team with Kobe Bryant on its roster. He always finds a way to get it done. Even if they do sneak into the playoffs, however, they’ll likely find themselves outmatched talent-wise and end up with another first round exit.

With Dwight Howard gone, it should open more opportunities for Pau Gasol to do what he needs to do to be successful. The most important thing with the Lakers is getting healthy and playing some defense. If Pau can back to the form that had him in the “best big man in the league” conversation, it will go a long way towards some wins for the Purple and Gold.

Lastly, there’s the Sacramento Kings. They’re without former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans and are still rebuilding. They’ve held on to talented, albeit controversial, post player Demarcus Cousins despite his character issues and drafted Ben McLemore in hopes of building around them. This team shouldn’t make a lot of noise this year, but for those who are actually fans of them or interested in the Kings, it should still be an exciting season seeing what that pairing can do together.

The Clippers and Golden State still have to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, but I think that both the Clippers and Warriors will at least be in the top four or five in the West by the end of the regular season.

If Phoenix keeps playing how they have been lately, they won’t be at the bottom like everyone expected. I do think they’ll plateau and eventually miss the playoffs but they’ve shocked us so far.

I’ll never count out the Lakers as long as they have Kobe, but Laker fans should be prepared for them to possibly miss the playoffs this year, which is something this franchise isn’t exactly accustomed to. And even if they do sneak in with a 7- or 8-seed, the likelihood they make a run past the opening series is a long shot.

The Kings are clearly rebuilding but look poised to be a dangerous team down the road. They’ve accumulated some young talent, and if Cousins can fix his maturity issues and become the superstar his talent says he can become, Sacramento will be relevant in the next couple of seasons. Just don’t expect them to sniff the playoffs out West this season.

By Cody Lachance

The NBA is truly a superstar league, have no doubts about that.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and so on; the league is dominated by players who are not only basketball stars, but worldwide celebrities as well.

The Boston Celtics currently find themselves with no active player who is close to being considered a superstar. The team’s lone player who might be in this category is point guard Rajon Rondo, who is still healing from a torn ACL without a clear return date set.

The Celtics have been starting players who are nowhere near a superstar level, including Gerald Wallace, Courtney Lee and Jeff Green. This combination of players will not bring banner No. 18 to Boston anytime soon.

The NBA Draft is one of the only ways that a bad NBA team can improve their franchise in dramatic fashion. This year’s upcoming draft is already being described as one of the deepest, most talented drafts in recent history. Star freshmen like Kansas University forward Andrew Wiggins, Duke University forward Jabari Parker and Kentucky University forward Julius Randle are three of the top players looking to make immediate impacts on the NBA teams that draft them next summer.

The draft lottery determines the order of the draft, with teams with the most losses receiving the higher number of chances to get the top overall pick. The question for the Celtics is whether or not they set their team up in a position to have a bad record this year in order to give them a better shot at grabbing a top draft pick.

The concept of tanking in any sport in an attempt to grab a franchise cornerstone in the upcoming draft — evidenced recently by the battle for quarterback Andrew Luck in the NFL that became known as the “Suck for Luck” campaign three seasons ago — is a controversial one.

I believe this is the way Boston needs to go.

The Celtics can try to piece together deals to trade off some players and get more draft choices that could help add depth to their future team, hopefully centered around one of the top studs in NCAA basketball right now.

Although Rondo has been rumored in multiple trade deals, I believe that he can be a key piece in having this team become a dominant squad moving forward. If the Celtics can keep Rondo from coming back much before the end of the year, they could find themselves in a position to get a top pick while holding onto their All-Star point guard.

The NBA is one of the easiest leagues to go from a totally abysmal team to a potential championship contender. By snagging a premier, once-in-a-generation type player in the draft, the Celtics could find themselves become a contender for many years to come.

The Celtics should put themselves in a position to lose by trading away their decent players for draft picks or players who have potential but need extensive coaching and playing time. If the Celtics can find themselves a way to get a top pick, banner 18 might not be too far away from coming to the TD Bank Garden.

By Jacob Posik

It is no surprise who’s leading their respective divisions in the NHL this year.

The Boston Bruins are on top of the Atlantic, the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking down at the rest of the Metropolitan, the Chicago Blackhawks have a hold on the Central and the Anaheim Ducks have ridden their hot start to an early lead in the Pacific.

Anybody could have predicted these teams being on top of their divisions thus far, but are all of these teams real contenders for the 2014 Stanley Cup? In a word, no.

First, let’s point out the obvious. The Bruins and Blackhawks very well may meet again in the Stanley Cup Finals this year. The Bruins have arguably the best defense and special teams in hockey, and the Blackhawks have the deepest, most talented arsenal of offensive weapons in the NHL.

Out of the teams mentioned, there is no doubt both the Bruins and Blackhawks are capable of winning it all this year, but what about the Penguins and Ducks? Are they capable?

The easiest way to describe the Penguins’ chances of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup is to recall the teams’ playoff run last year. After a solid, consistent regular season for Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, he somehow managed to change from a brick wall to a cardboard cut-out come the postseason. Fleury is having a solid season thus far and is seventh in the NHL in goals against average, but what if he sinks come playoff time like he did last spring?

Last season, Fleury was replaced by veteran backstop Tomas Vokoun. Most teams would be thankful to have such a solid second-stringer in net like Vokoun, but he’s aging, and at 37 years old, he’s not as athletic as he once was. This was illustrated when the Bruins blasted Vokoun in a four-game sweep in last years’ conference final.

This is why the Penguins aren’t a serious contender. It doesn’t matter that you have “Sid the Kid.” You can’t win a Stanley Cup unless your goalie is playing the best hockey on your roster. Their recent postseason play has proved that their goalies have been the biggest inconsistency on their roster, and I don’t think they’re capable of winning the Cup with this tandem.

The same problem can be seen in Anaheim with the Ducks. The Ducks don’t have big names on their roster like Sidney Crosby, despite the fact that captain Ryan Getzlaf doesn’t get nearly as much attention as he deserves, but their lack of big names isn’t the problem with their team.

Jonas Hiller plays in net for the Ducks, and even though the Ducks are on top of the Pacific, it hasn’t been because of their goaltending. Hiller is tied for fourth worst in the NHL amongst starting goalies in goals allowed per game with 2.53, and the fact that they are still winning games can be attributed to their offensive firepower.

Giving up this many goals a game will not lead to victory in a Stanley Cup Finals against a goaltender like Tuukka Rask and a Bruins squad that gives up only 1.62 goals a game. The Ducks are worse off with the unproven Frederick Anderson backing Hiller up, and this will be a problem for Anaheim down the stretch.

The fact of the matter is that without incredible play from your goaltender, it’s not possible to win the Stanley Cup. There are several teams in the NHL built like the Bruins, with strong defense and goaltending. You can’t win a title with the best offense, because you need a stout presence in net. Until Pittsburgh and Anaheim address this weakness and tighten up their play defensively, they can’t be taken seriously as a contender for the 2014 Stanley Cup.

By Anthony Panciocco

 The New Orleans Saints trailed 20-17 late in the fourth quarter of last week’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. On third down at the 49er 35-yard line, linebacker Ahmad Brooks blew past his blocker and laid a vicious hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees, leaving the veteran quarterback’s chin bloody and forcing a fumble that was quickly recovered by the 49ers.

While San Francisco celebrated the opportunity to run the clock down and win the game, a little yellow flag on the ground was about to wake up a controversy. The referees called roughing the passer on the play, giving the Saints possession of the ball and a first down. They went on to tie the game on that drive and win the game with Garrett Hartley connecting on both field goals later in the quarter.

Rule 12, Article 13 of the NFL rulebook states that you cannot lead with your helmet when tackling an opponent, and you may not target a quarterback’s head or neck. You cannot hit them in the knees, and you cannot hit them once they have released the ball or drive them to the ground on a tackle.

This leaves a small window for how and when you can tackle a quarterback, but the replay on the Brooks hit shows him leading with his shoulder and hitting Brees’ upper shoulder, just under his neck where it would have been an illegal hit. Brees ducked after first contact, causing Brooks’ arm to hit his neck as Brees went to the ground. Brooks did not drive him to the ground after the hit, instead staying upright to try and recover the fumble he had just forced.

The outcry of support for Brooks was swift and strong. On the Postgame show, retired Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis made a show by taking out his credit card and vowing to pay for half of whatever fine was going to be assessed. Former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi made a similar promise, offering to help pay the fine due to the injustice of the call.

The referees stood by the call after the game and the next day, the NFL released a statement lending support to the referees that made the call. Wednesday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the NFL fined Brooks $15,750 for the hit. Brooks has already said he will pay the fine himself, refusing the monetary support of Lewis and Bruschi.

While this over-regulation of the rules tears at the fabric of the game we know and love, it is important to remember the reason that the rules are there in the first place. Before we go ahead and let players do whatever they want, we need to take a look at the other side of the coin. The rules are not there just because the NFL is afraid of what might happen to their best players. History, especially recent history, shows that without some kind of regulation to the types of hits that are allowed, some players and teams will take advantage of the lack of rules to target opposing players in the hopes of injuring them.

Star players and quarterbacks in particular are targeted by dirty players looking to give their team an edge. We can look back upon Bountygate, the infamous controversy surrounding a program implemented by the New Orleans Saints where they paid players extra for targeting the heads of other players and sometimes injuring them, as a prime example of this immoral strategy.

This incident in particular showed a darker side of the game, one that put the focus more on winning by playing dirtier than the other team instead of playing better football. These kind of tactics undermine the game just as much as over-regulation of the personal foul rules does, and they are what caused the implementation of such rules in the first place.

These rules safeguard against more than just targeting quarterbacks; they protect other players as well.

There are some individual players in the league, such as Washington Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather, that take pride in knocking other players out of games. Earlier in the game, after being fined for taking cheap shots at defenseless opponents, Meriweather said, “To be honest, you’ve got to go low. You’ve got to end people’s careers.”

Just a couple of weeks later, Meriweather was suspended for one game and fined $75,000 for several helmet-to-helmet collisions with Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall. After the game, Meriweather was heard laughing in the locker room and mocking his inevitable fine in front of the media.

This is what the NFL is trying to protect against: players who want to make illegal hits and their intimidation factor a calling card for their style of play.

If the NFL overprotects its players, particularly quarterbacks, it disrupts the flow of the game and makes defensive players tentative to play as hard as they should be able to. If the NFL lets its players run rampant, however, it could find some of the star players who headline its most exciting matchups missing due to injury.

The rules need to be clear and precise. Giving the refs the ability to review personal fouls in important situations, similar to what the NBA does with Flagrant 1 and Flagrant 2 fouls, would also be a step in the right direction.

If a touchdown is important enough to review, why shouldn’t a play regarding player safety be important enough to review? There are not many pivotal personal fouls per game, so it would not slow the game down much, and with the number of TV timeouts already in games, there would not be much of a difference in game time.

As with anything in sports, there needs to be a balance. A balance between the aggressive nature of the game and ensuring player safety. Once the NFL finds this balance, fans, players, coaches and franchises will be able to move past these calls and focus on the game they love.