Author Archives | Patrick Silvia

The NHL should get rid of the loser-point

There is only one major sporting league in North America where you can potentially move up in the standings even if you lose: the NHL. In the NHL, the standings are done on a point system. The system awards two points for a win and one point for an overtime loss. In theory, that means you can lose a game in overtime and surpass a team in the standings. 

The first and most prominent issue with the current point format has to do with strategy at the end of games. When games start to near their end and remain tied, a lot of teams will sit back defensively, and wait for regulation time to expire in order to guarantee themselves a point. While this strategy is valid and you cannot blame teams for utilizing this strategy, it is frustrating as a viewer to watch two teams not try to score in the last minutes of a tied game. 

These loser points can be crucial in determining playoff spots. For example, in the Western Conference, the loser point is the reason the Los Angeles Kings are going to make the playoffs while the Vegas Golden Knights will probably miss out. Right now, the Kings sit at 43 wins with two games remaining, while the Knights sit at 42 wins with four games remaining. Reading this, it might seem possible that the Knights can catch the Kings. However, since the Kings have lost in overtime five more times than the Knights have, this puts them a solid seven points ahead of the Knights. The Knights essentially have no chance to catch them unless they win all their remaining games and the Kings lose all of theirs, despite the Knights only having one less win than the Kings.  

While some may argue that the Kings deserve the spot since they didn’t lose in regulation as much as the Knights, it should be noted that a loss is a loss anywhere but the NHL. In the NFL, MLB and NBA, you get nothing for losing beyond regulation. So why does the NHL feel the need to do this? 

One reason is due to the difference between overtime and regulation play in the regular season. Once regulation ends, the amount of players on the ice changes from five vs five to three vs three. If a result is not found after five minutes of play at three vs three, the game goes to a shootout. 

While the NHL is unique for its points system, they are also unique for changing the number of players playing in the game once overtime starts and having some games conclude with a skills competition to determine a winner. Another weird thing is that the overtime format used in the regular season is not used in the playoffs. In the playoffs, they play at five vs five until a winner is found. 

Overall, the whole process is confusing, which is why it should go away. Having to figure out a point system and do the math to figure out where your team sits in the standings is a pain for the casual fan. Rooting for your team to hold on to a tie at the end of regulation, just to then go for the win in overtime is weird to watch, and not in a good way. 

If the league deems their regular-season overtime format as a proper way to determine a winner, they should have no qualms in not giving the loser a point in the standings. The league is essentially self-stating it is not a fair way to determine a winner by giving the loser a pity point. 

There are really only two clear solutions to this problem, since the NHL will not replace the three vs three overtime due to logistics. One solution is to implement a proposed three-point system, and the other is to switch to a traditional win-loss record. The proposed three-point system gives three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win and one for an overtime loss. While this is a better format due to it rewarding regulation wins more than overtime wins, thus putting incentive on winning in regulation, it is still overly complicated. The easiest way to go is with a traditional wins-loss record that rewards a win as a win, and a loss as a loss. 



Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on The NHL should get rid of the loser-point

The NHL MVP should be Auston Matthews

A few months, the MVP race had no clear-cut favorite. Now with less than two weeks remaining in the season, it is still quite undecided, as only three players remain in contention for the league MVP award: Auston Matthews, Igor Shesterkin and Connor McDavid. 

The trickiest player to evaluate is Shesterkin. The New York Rangers superstar goalie is currently running away with the Vezina Trophy which is awarded to the best goaltender, but his case for MVP is a little more complicated. Amongst the starting goalies, he leads the NHL with a .935 save percentage and 2.05 goals against average. While these stats are impressive, they are hard to compare to the stats of an elite forward. 

To properly judge Shersterkin, you have to compare him to other goalies throughout history. Only six times in the history of the league has the MVP award been given to a goalie. The last time was in 2002 when Montreal Canadiens goalie José Théodore won it. Shesterkin’s case is weakened when comparing him to other goalies who have put up similar stat lines in recent memory and have fallen short of the MVP award. 

Tim Thomas in 2010-11 put up a slightly better save percentage and goals against average than Shesterkin. Ben Bishop had a similar save percentage to Shesterkin and a better goal against average in 2018-19. Carey Price in 2014-15 had arguably the best case to win the MVP award since Théodore. That year, Price had a goals against average of under two and totaled a whopping 44 wins, which is tied for eighth-most in a single season. If these players did not win the award, it is hard to see Shesterkin getting it. 

Connor McDavid was last year’s MVP, and to no one’s surprise, he’s back in the conversation again. He leads the league with 110 points, has a career-high 42 goals and has the Edmonton Oilers firmly in second place in the Pacific Division. While McDavid’s numbers speak for themselves, one critique of his has been the lack of winning games and not being able to make the playoffs. That has changed this year as he is set to compete in the playoffs for just the third time in his career. 

Another knock to McDavid’s case is the existence of Leon Draisaitl. The fellow Oilers forward currently sits fourth in the league in points, only five behind McDavid. Draisaitl also has scored 54 goals on the year, which sits at second best in the league and 12 ahead of McDavid. In a sport where scoring goals is the hardest thing to do, it hurts McDavid’s case to have a teammate whose importance to the Oilers’ success is on a similar level. 

The last contender for MVP is the current favorite to win the award, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs. His 0.83 goals per game is on pace to be the best rate in a single season since Mario Lemieux’s 0.99 mark in 1996. He also sits fifth in points at 102, trailing McDavid by eight. 

Like McDavid, Matthews also has a teammate who is performing at a high level. Mitch Marner currently is seventh in the league in points with 93. Unlike McDavid, it is pretty clear that Matthews is statistically ahead of Marner due to goals being the most important stat. Marner has 33 goals on the year, while Matthews has a league-high 58. 

While the race is a tight one, the nod for MVP should go to Matthews. His mark of 58 will most likely eclipse 60 in the final seven games of the season and will make him only the third player to hit that total since 1996. In a league where goals matter the most, the obvious choice for MVP this season is Auston Matthews. 

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on The NHL MVP should be Auston Matthews

Frozen Four preview

On Thursday, April 7, the puck will drop in Boston’s TD Garden to kick off the 2022 Frozen Four of the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament. The first game will see the University of Michigan take on the University of Denver at 5 p.m., followed by Minnesota State University, Mankato taking on the University of Minnesota at 8:30 p.m. The winner of both games will play on Saturday, April 9 in the National Championship game. 

Denver found their way into the Frozen Four by beating UMass Lowell in the first round and avenging their NCHC semifinals loss to Minnesota-Duluth to punch their ticket to Boston. In doing so, they ended Duluth’s four-year streak of making it to the Frozen Four. Denver comes in with a 29-9-1 record overall and has been a top team in the nation for the whole season, sitting fourth in the pairwise rankings.  

Offensively, Denver is led by the nation’s leading scorer and Hobey Baker finalist, third-year forward Bobby Brink. In 39 games played, Brink totaled 56 points. Denver as a team scored the second-most goals in the nation and was the only team in the country to have four players over 40 points. Along with Brink, Fourth-year forward Brett Stapley, second-year forward Carter Savoie and fourth-year forward Cole Guttman all scored over the 40-mark. This well-rounded Denver team has what it takes to win it all. 

Facing Denver is arguably the most talented team in college hockey history, the University of Michigan Wolverines. Second-year defenseman Owen Power went first overall in last year’s NHL draft, second-year forward Matty Beniers went second, first-year defenseman Luke Hughes went fourth, second-year forward Kent Johnson went fifth and first-year forward Mackie Samoskevich went twenty-fourth. Four of the top five picks in the NHL draft play for Michigan. No team has ever had that many elite-level prospects at one time. 

Michigan has 13 NHL-drafted players on a deep squad that has a 31-9-1 record. They rank No. 1 in the pairwise, won the BIG10 tournament and convincingly dispatched American International College and Quinnipiac University in their regionals en route to Boston. Since postseason play has begun, Michigan has outscored their opponents 30-12 in six games. They’re not a team to bet against, but if they do fall short, they will lose multiple key players to the NHL once this season is over, so it’s now or never for the Wolverines.  

The team with the best record in the country at 37-5 is Minnesota State. After reaching the final four for the first time in the school’s history last year, the Mavericks are back again. Finally shedding their choker label, they are now well respected and legitimate title contenders. Led by fourth-year goalie Dryden McKay, the Hobey Baker finalist shut down the opposition, and as a team they boasted the second-best defense in the country, only allowing 54 goals in 42 games for a 1.3 goals-against average. 

In addition to that stingy defense, Minnesota State also scored the most goals in the country with 172. Although many will chalk it up to simply playing in an easier conference than the other Frozen Four teams, Minnesota State only lost two of their 16 out-of-conference games all year and beat a battle-tested Notre Dame team to get into the Frozen Four. Offensively, they are led by third-year forward Nathan Smith, who is second in the nation in scoring with 50 points. Could this be the year Minnesota State finally proves a lot of critics wrong?

Staring them in the face are their in-state rivals, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. The sleeping giant has finally awoken, making the Frozen Four for the first time since 2014. Boasting a nation high 14 NHL-drafted players, the Gophers are loaded. With a 26-12 record, the Gopher’s resume doesn’t stand out compared to their peers in the Frozen Four, but they have won 11 of their last 12 games, with the lone loss coming to Michigan in the BIG10 title game by one goal. 

The Gophers are led offensively by Hobey Baker finalist, third-year forward Ben Meyers. Meyers was a surprise to be in the final three for the award but has nonetheless been Minnesota’s best scorer with a team-high 17 goals and 41 points. First-year forward Matthew Knies is also an emerging star. In his first year of college hockey, he scored 32 points in 32 games. The Gophers are probably the biggest underdog here, but more than capable of winning it all.  

For my prediction, I am going to pick Minnesota State to win their school’s first-ever National Championship, going against the University of Michigan in the final.

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Frozen Four preview

The Black Bears return to the diamond in Orono

For the first time since May 18, 2019, the University of Maine’s men’s baseball team played in front of fans in Orono, Maine Friday evening. The 2020 baseball season was shut down before UMaine had any home games due to the pandemic, and the effects carried over into the next year as all the home games in the 2021 season were fanless. 

The Black Bears had already played 17 road games this season and possessed a 6-11 record before returning to Orono. Their schedule is usually front-loaded with road games every year due to winter weather running well into March in Maine.  

“It’s really nice to be back home, it’s really nice that there’s no snow on Mahaney as well, so that makes a big difference,” sixth-year UMaine head coach Nick Derba said about their return to Orono. 

The bats had been hot for UMaine leading into this opening series, as in the previous weekend they put up 37 runs in a three-game sweep of Binghamton University. 

Their offense continued to rake when they took on Stony Brook University on Friday. Fifth-year first baseman Joe Bramanti started off the scoring early by driving in second-year second baseman Quinn McDaniel with a single to right-center field in the bottom of the first inning to give UMaine a 1-0 lead after the first.  

Stony Brook responded with three runs of their own in the next inning, capitalizing on two UMaine defensive errors. Despite these errors proving costly, the Black Bears redeemed themselves in the bottom half of the second inning, with UMaine splitting the difference with three runs of their own. 

A lead-off triple on a line drive down the right-field line by fourth-year catcher Ryan Turenne started the offense, and fifth-year right fielder Jordan Schulefand drove Turenne in with a single to cut the Stony Brooks lead to one with the score at 3-2. 

Schulefand followed up his hit by stealing second base, putting himself in scoring position. Fourth-year centerfielder Jeff Mejia drove Schulefand in with an infield single to tie the game 3-3. First-year designated hitter Jeremiah Jenkins’s single advanced Mejia to third, and McDaniel drove Mejia in to regain the lead for the Black Bears 4-3. 

Second-year shortstop Jake Marquez’s single in the third inning drove in second-year third baseman Jake Rainess, making the score 5-3 in favor of UMaine after three innings of play. 

The fourth inning proved crucial for UMaine as they exploded for five runs, doubling their run total in the game. Bramanti and Rainess both drove in runs with singles, then Turenne hit a three-run home run over the right field wall to make the score 10-3. This homerun proved to be the difference for UMaine when it was all said and done. 

Opening day starter, fifth-year pitcher Trevor Labonte had a suboptimal game but lasted 4.2 innings. He picked up the first two outs of the fifth inning, before loading the bases with a walk. With the bases loaded, Labonte surrendered a two-run single to Stony Brook making the score 10-5. He ended his night by loading the bases again with another walk. 

Derba called on third-year pitcher Leif Bigelow to attempt to get an ever so elusive third out for the Black Bears. Bigelow walked the first batter he faced with the bases still loaded, bringing in another run for Stony Brook and making the score 10-6. UMaine’s lead was now reduced to four. Bigelow was however able to pick up the final out against the next batter to get UMaine out of the inning. 

The score remained 10-6 into the seventh inning, with Stony Brook on the rise. Second-year second baseman Evan Fox blasted a two-run home run out of the park, cutting UMaine’s lead to two. This caused Derba to pull Bigelow and introduce fifth-year closer Matthew Pushard into the game with two outs needed to get out of the seventh inning.

UMaine surrendered another run in the inning, but with Stony Brook having two runners on base, Pushard was able to force a crucial groundout to escape the seventh inning with a one-run lead and the score at 10-9 with UMaine clinging on to their lead. 

UMaine was unable to give Pushard any run support the rest of the way, but he didn’t need it. Pushard locked the game down by throwing two scoreless innings en route to UMaine winning the game 10-9 and continuing their hot in-conference start, as their record in America East play after Friday sat at 4-0. 

Saturday, however, saw the Black Bears drop their first in-conference game. UMaine fell to an early 1-0 deficit in the first, and Stony Brook never gave up their lead. The Black Bears never seemed to get going offensively and Stony Brook went up 2-0 in the top of the sixth. The bottom of the sixth saw Jenkins notch one back for UMaine as he hit a home run over the wall in right-center field, making the score 2-1. 

In his relief appearance, second-year UMaine pitcher Noah Lewis seemed on point, striking out three of the four batters he faced in the seventh inning. But it all fell apart for him in the eighth as Stony Brook scored four runs. Two coming off of a two-run home run by left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring, which put the score at 6-1 Stony Brook. Mejia drove in Rainess for a run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little too late for a comeback, and the Black Bears fell 6-2. 

“The bats are going to get hot and cold time to time, but we have to be able to scrape together some runs, you know, more than two runs in a game,” Derba said when asked about his team’s offense on Saturday. “What we’ve had success doing is hitting fastballs and staying in the zone, and we really didn’t do that today, and we kind of went out and played into a lot of their strengths.”

UMaine first-year pitcher Caleb Leys picked up the loss today, but was decent, only surrendering one run over five innings pitched.

“Trevor had probably his worst start of the year yesterday as far as stat line goes, seven walks over four-five innings, but he pitched. Both of those guys competed and never backed down,” Derba responded when asked his opinion on the performance of his starting pitchers in the series after Saturday’s game. “That’s really the big thing for me, and Caleb didn’t have his best stuff by any means today, but was able to give us a chance to win. Roll a starting pitcher out there, the only thing you want is that they give you a chance.” 

Stony Brook went on to take the series with an 8-2 win on Sunday. The UMaine bats remained cold, only picking up five hits on the day. UMaine’s record now sits at 7-13 overall and 4-2 in America East play. 

UMaine’s next series will be on the road at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County next weekend for three games in the America East play. 

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on The Black Bears return to the diamond in Orono

Men’s ice hockey wins 8-1 on Senior Night

The University of Maine men’s hockey team played their last regular home game of the season over the weekend. On Friday night, the Black Bears fell to Boston University 5-1 and locked themselves into last place in the Hockey East standings after what was a forgettable regular season campaign. In the preseason polls for Hockey East, UMaine was picked to finish second to last, only ahead of Vermont. Well, the polls got the bottom two right, just in the wrong order. 

By Saturday, UMaine couldn’t change their position in Hockey East, but the game was still important to play for the seniors. For about one third of the dressed lineup on Saturday, it was the last home game of their UMaine hockey careers. These players have dealt with a lot throughout their time as college athletes leading up to senior night, including a season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic death of beloved head coach Red Gendron in the spring of 2021, so this game was a chance for them to end on a high. 

The Black Bears energy and effort was high, and this led to them scoring the opening goal. Eight minutes into the game third-year forward AJ Drobot’s one timer found the back of the net, setting the tone for the rest of the night and putting Maine up 1-0. From that point on, it was UMaine’s game to lose. 

UMaine went on to score three more goals in the first period, all happening within one minute and 7 seconds of each other. Seeing the Black Bears’ offense light it up on senior night was inspiring, as scoring has often been a struggle for the team, but the team’s offense on Saturday night was finding a gear not seen all year.  

“Finally got that effort, like that special effort that we’ve been looking for all year, and when they do that anything is possible, including something like that,” Barr said. “[I’m] happy for the [graduating players] going out that way.”

The graduating students accounted for three goals in the game, the first coming early in the second period from fourth-year forward Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup. Schmidt-Svejstrup pick-pocketed the BU goalie who did not sense his presence behind the net and wrapped it to put UMaine up 5-0. 

“I thought it was a good night, but getting the win and proving that we can beat a very very good team, a hot team, is pretty important going into playoffs,” Schmidt-Svejstrup said. 

He went on to tally three assists following his goal and led the team in points on the night with four. 

Fourth-year forward Grant Hebert and fifth-year forward Keenan Suthers were the other two graduating players to score. Hebert’s goal came after an interception by third-year forward Matthew Fawcett on an attempted zone exit by BU, which led to second-year forward Donovan Houle setting up Hebert for the one timer which found the back of net to make the score 6-0. Suthers’ goal came in the third period when a pinpoint wrist shot on the power play beat the BU goalie top shelf for the Black Bears’ eighth and final goal.

When the dust settled the score read 8-1, with UMaine the victors. Despite the seniors getting the majority of attention, and deservingly so, third-year goalie Matthew Thiessen quietly picked up a notable achievement, his first collegiate win. Stopping 32 of 33 shots against, Thiessen was great. The lone goal against Thiessen was a lacrosse style highlight reel goal by BU third-year forward Wilmer Skoog. It was a long awaited win for Thiessen, as it was his twentieth appearance in net for UMaine. 

“I wish it came a lot sooner,” Thiessen joked after the game. “But it is what it is, and now [we’ll just try to keep moving forward and focus on playoffs.” 

 That being said, UMaine now enters the Hockey East playoffs. Although unlikely, UMaine could carry momentum from this win and go on a playoff run. The first step towards a miracle-like run at the Hockey East title comes on the road on Wednesday night at Merrimack College at 7 p.m. 

“Last time we played them they gave it to us pretty good, but we’re a whole different team now then we were then, so I’m pretty excited,” UMaine leading scorer second-year forward Lynden Breen commented on the opportunity to face Merrimack. 

“We have something to prove in that rink,” Schmidt-Svejstrup said, referring to the lone trip to Merrimack this season where UMaine was beaten handedly 5-0 in early February. 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Men’s ice hockey wins 8-1 on Senior Night

UMaine women’s hockey advances to Hockey East semifinals

On Friday night the University of Maine women’s hockey team traveled to Boston College for the first round of the Hockey East tournament. In the regular season, BC won both matchups between the two by one goal. This time, the Black Bears ended up on the right side of a one goal contest, winning 2-1 and advancing to the semifinals. 

BC struck first midway through the first period. BC fifth-year forward Willow Corson picked the puck up behind the net and tucked it past UMaine goalie Jorden Mattison, who was unable to cover her post in time. The clever play by Corson gave BC a 1-0 lead. Second-year forward Caroline Goffredo and third-year defender Alexie Guay picked up assists on the BC goal. 

It looked as if BC was going to enter the first intermission with a one goal lead, but a game-altering play occurred in the dying embers of the period. With only six seconds left, BC second-year defender Sidney Fess made a costly pass in front of her own net to second-year defender Maddie Crowley-Cahill. Crowley-Cahill fumbled the pass and UMaine first-year forward Alyssa Wruble pounced on the loose puck in front of the net and cashed in the opportunity to tie the game 1-1 at the end of the first period. The decision by Fess to make the pass in front of her own net in that situation was a bad one and flipped the momentum of the game. 

Late in the second period, Crowley-Cahill again was involved in a play that ended up costing BC.  She sent the Black Bears into a power play after getting called for tripping. On the power play UMaine hemmed BC in their own zone trying to set up a goal, but BC came out unscathed. 

This was until late in the powerplay, when UMaine fourth-year forward Celine Tedenby passed the puck to first-year forward Mira Seregély in the slot. Seregély immediately bounced the puck back to the point where fifth-year captain Taylor Leech’s one-time bomb beat fifth-year BC goalie Abigail Levy to put UMaine up 2-1. 

This big goal by the Black Bear captain was the eventual game winner, as Maine slowed the game down and kept BC off the score sheet the rest of the night with solid defense and Mattison making some key saves down the stretch. 

Mattison was the shoe-in starter when fifth-year goalie Loryn Porter was injured in late January, averaging less than two goals per game since. In two games last weekend against the University of New Hampshire, she only let up one goal and luckily for UMaine, that form carried over to the playoffs. Mattison stopped 26 of 27 shots faced and picked up her first career playoff win. 

Levy was also good for BC despite the loss. The BC goalie stopped 29 of 31 shots, and neither goal was really her fault. Both goalies played at a high level, and the team that made less costly mistakes came out on top. 

Next, UMaine will face the no. 1 seed, Northeastern University Huskies. Northeastern is coming off of a 8-0 first round win versus Merrimack College. They’re currently ranked the third best team in the country, with a gaudy 28-4-2 record to back it up. The team won the last four Hockey East tournaments, along with the last four Hockey East regular season titles. 

Beating them would unquestionably be the biggest win in UMaine women’s hockey history. The semifinals game versus Northeastern will take place at Northeastern at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday March 2. If UMaine wins, they will earn their first ever trip to the Hockey East title game. 

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on UMaine women’s hockey advances to Hockey East semifinals

UMaine men’s hockey “Border War” ends in a stalemate

When the University of New Hampshire comes to town, every fan of the University of Maine men’s hockey team marks the date. Both nights saw the student section at the Alfond Arena filled to capacity over an hour before puck drop. On Friday, the Black Bears fed off the energy from the rocking crowd early in the contest, which they rode to a 6-3 victory. On Saturday, the script flipped and UNH dominated UMaine for the whole contest en route to a 5-2 victory.

In the first game, it only took UMaine 42 seconds to take the lead. Second-year forward Donovan Houle hit fellow second-year forward Lynden Breen in front of the net with a pass, and Breen buried it in the back of the net, giving UMaine the early 1-0 lead and igniting the Alfond. 

Breen talked about the first goal of the night that he made with Houle’s help.

“The reason I love playing by [Houle’s] side is his effort … he made a nice play to me … [and] it was good to find the first [goal] tonight” Breen said.

The energy in the building Friday night was electric, and while UMaine soared, UNH sank. Just five minutes after the first goal, UMaine scored again. Third-year defenseman Dawson Bruneski’s shot from the top of the circle went off of fourth-year forward Jacob Schmidt-Svehstrup’s skate and past UNH fifth-year goalie Mike Robinson to put UMaine up 2-0. 

With less than six minutes to go in the first period, UMaine scored two more goals. After a wayward UNH pass on a zone entry, the puck exited to the right, giving fourth-year forward Adam Dawe a clear breakaway. Dawe went top shelf past Robinson to score the game’s third goal. The fourth goal of the game was scored by third-year forward AJ Drobot. While he was falling, Drobot successfully whacked the puck past Robinson, marking his first score of the year and putting UMaine up 4-0 at the first intermission. 

Head coach Ben Barr talked about the impact that the crowd had on the game and the players’ morale.

“I think it was amazing, especially when you get an early goal and it can snowball really quick. There’s not a lot of buildings in college hockey that that happens in, it was honestly the first time I’ve seen that here on the home side and it’s a huge home ice advantage. That might’ve been a one or two nothing game in the first period, and instead it’s four because our guys were just feeding off of adrenaline.”

UNH elected to pull Robinson from the game after the first period. Fourth-year David Fessenden took over between the pipes for UNH the rest of the night. 

UNH finally got on the board nine minutes into the second period when fourth-year forward Filip Engrås put one past second-year UMaine goalie Victor Ostman to cut the lead to three. UNH’s joy was short lived, as only 34 seconds later Houle, for the second time that night, set Breen up for a goal. Breen sniped bar down past Fessenden, putting UMaine back up by four with the score at 5-1. 

UNH again cut the lead to three when second-year forward Nick Cafarelli scored off a deflection, but once again UMaine responded, this time with the strangest goal so far this season. UMaine’s fifth-year forward Keenan Suthers was ejected from the game after officials deemed Suthers hit a UNH player in the head, giving UNH a five minute power play. 

Just over a minute into the power play, the Black Bears found themselves in a precarious position. Three of the four UMaine players’ sticks had broken on the play, leaving third-year forward Ben Poisson as the only Black Bear skater with a stick. Poisson proceeded to pull off one of the most unlikely plays ever seen. 

A UNH shot was blocked by fourth-year defenseman Simon Butala. Poisson reacted quickly and beat a UNH defender to the puck at the blue line, chipping it past the UNH defender and down the ice toward the Wildcats net. Poisson raced to the puck, but was beaten to it by Fessenden. Poisson blocked the goalie’s quickfire pass, leaving him with the puck and an empty net. Poisson buried it from a hard angle, putting UMaine up 5-2. The effort by Poisson sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Poisson talked about his unbelievable goal.

“What was going through my head I was just like, how do we only have one stick right now and then all of a sudden I was nearly on a breakaway, then I look up and I have an empty net …I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of such a crazy play.” 

Barr also commented on Poisson’s breakaway goal.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before. [T]hat was one of those situations we may never encounter ever again.” 

UNH scored the lone goal of the third period, but it was too little too late as the Black Bears closed out the contest 6-3. 

The second night of the series saw UNH outshoot the Black Bears 28-7 in the first period alone. Despite this effort, the score was only 1-1 after the first period. The onslaught of UNH shots led to Ostman setting the UMaine single period save record with 27, breaking the record set by Jeff Nord in the 1979-80 season. Third-year forward Matthew Fawcett got the lone UMaine goal in the first period, which was also his first goal of the season. 

Ostman was kept busy throughout the night because of UMaine’s amount of penalties they racked up. Most notably, Dawe received a five minute major for boarding in the first period that resulted in his ejection. Not only did this lead to the opening goal of the game for UNH, but it also put UMaine down a player on the bench for the second night in a row. Two more minors saw UMaine on the kill for almost half of the first period. 

UMaine surprisingly took the lead 59-seconds into the second period, as Poisson drove to the UNH net with a partial breakaway. When a UNH defender closed in on him, Poisson shot into Robinson and the UNH defender took out Poisson as well as his own goalie. This collison sent Robinson and the puck into the net to give UMaine the 2-1 lead. 

Unfortunately it all went downhill after this for UMaine. The Black Bears never fully gained their footing in the game, and were outworked by UNH for most of the night. Their only saving grace was Ostman, who was playing more like a wall than a human in the first two periods of the game, stopping 39 of the first 40 UNH shots. 

UMaine’s fourth-year captain Jack Quinlivan talked about Ostman’s performance.

“He kept us in the whole game, he’s been playing outstanding lately. [I]f we didn’t have him, we’d be in big trouble.”

Despite Ostman’s effort, UNH eventually broke through, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 stranglehold. They capped the game off with an empty netter and ended the game with the Wildcats as the 5-2 victors. 

After the game on Saturday, Barr compared the team’s performance throughout the two game series.

“Our energy level is basically what controls our team, and we didn’t have it tonight in any shape or form. Last night we score[d] a couple goals, [felt] good about ourselves, and tonight it’s a little bit more of a grind and we weren’t up to it.”

UMaine finally moved out of last place in the conference following the results of this weekend, leapfrogging Vermont who now sits at the bottom. At this point, the Black Bears are essentially locked into the bottom two positions in Hockey East, finishing last or second to last depends on how the rest of their games go.

The end of the season is rapidly approaching with only four games left before playoffs, but luckily for UMaine, every team qualifies for the Hockey East playoffs. Next weekend, UMaine travels to take on Providence College for a two-game series. The season concludes at home the following weekend with a two-game series against Boston University on March 4 and 5.

 

 

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on UMaine men’s hockey “Border War” ends in a stalemate

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots win first Super Bowl

This past week, Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL, ending arguably the greatest career any athlete has ever had in the sport of football. Brady won seven Super Bowls in his career, winning his first 20 years ago on Feb. 3, 2002. 

Entering the 2001 season, Tom Brady was an afterthought. The Patriots quarterback was Drew Bledsoe, who had just signed a 10-year, $103 million contract to secure his place as the Patriots quarterback for the next decade. 

Bledsoe, a three time Pro Bowler, was a great quarterback for the Patriots. He led the team to a 1997 Super Bowl appearance, where they eventually fell short to future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Farve and the Green Bay Packers 35-21. 

On Sept. 23, 2002, in the fourth quarter of the week two game against the New York Jets, Bledsoe received a vicious hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. The hit forced Bledsoe out of the game and the subsequent internal bleeding nearly took his life. Luckily, Bledsoe survived, but was forced to the sidelines as his lung injury healed.

Filling in for Bledsoe, a young and inexperienced Tom Brady stepped onto the field as the Patriots’ quarterback. The game ended 10-3 with the Jets victorious and the Patriots falling to 0-2 in the Division Standings. 

In the next week, Brady had his first career start, and was the start of a rivalry that lasted the better part of the next two decades. Quarterback Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts were coming to New England after two dominant wins to start the season, and many were expecting Manning and the Colts to be strong AFC contenders. 

However, like most meetings between the two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Brady came out on top. The Patriots led with their defense and a strong run game battered the Colts 44-13. This victory not only gave the Patriots their first win of the season, but proved that the team could win without Bledsoe. 

Brady’s personal record with the Patriots by week 9 was 5-2, with the Patriots overall record being 5-4. In week 10, Bledsoe returned to the team, but he was not game ready. Brady held his starting spot in the team’s matchup against the favorites to win the Super Bowl, the St. Louis Rams. The Patriots lost the game 24-17, but it was far closer than many had anticipated, given how dominant the Rams had been. 

After this loss, many expected Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to go back to Bledsoe as the starter, but despite public outcry, Belichick stuck with Brady as his quarterback. In the week 11 game versus the New Orleans Saints, Brady arguably had the best game of his career up until that point, throwing four touchdowns en route to a 34-17 win. 

The Patriots and Brady did not lose another game that year, ending the season 11-5 and securing a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. After the bye, the Patriots had a home playoff game in Foxboro against the Oakland Raiders. 

Brady’s first playoff start was one for the history books. Snow was a major factor, and it severely impaired the offensive strategies of both teams. Entering the fourth quarter, the Raiders had a 13-3 lead, and seemed to be in prime position to advance to the next round. Unfortunately for them, they became the first of Brady’s legendary playoff comeback victories in his storied career. 

Brady led the Patriots offense down the field, despite the blizzard conditions, and put together a 10-play, 67-yard touchdown drive. It was then capped off by Tom Brady scoring a rare rushing touchdown to put the Patriots within three with under eight minutes left. 

After a few changes of possession, Troy Brown produced a 27-yard punt return, putting the Patriots in great field position at the Patriots’ 46-yard line with 2:06 left on the clock. Brady and the Patriots had one last opportunity to tie the game. They ran two plays to pick up their initial first down of the drive, then produced one of the most infamous plays in NFL history. 

Brady, on first down from the Raiders’ 42-yard line, dropped back in the pocket and was hit on a blitz by Raiders star cornerback and Brady’s former college teammate Charles Woodson. The hit forced the ball out of Brady’s hands and onto the ground, where the Oakland Raiders recovered the ball, seemingly ending the game and the Patriots season.  

However, a review was called on the play to see if there was a turnover. In a decision that was shocking to fans and broadcasters alike the referees determined Brady’s arm had been moving forward with the ball as Woodson hit him. As such, the play was not in fact a fumble, but an incomplete pass. The ruling on this play is the “tuck rule.” Since Brady was tucking the ball back after a pump fake it was deemed not a fumble. This rule was eventually changed, and in today’s NFL this play is ruled a fumble. 

With this newfound opportunity, Brady led the Patriots into field goal range, where Adam Vinateri hit a 45-yard field goal despite the tough snowy and windy conditions to tie the game and send it to overtime. In overtime, Brady led an impressive 14-play drive deep into Raiders territory, capped off by Vinatieri hitting another clutch kick, a 23-yard field goal to give the Patriots the win. 

The next game saw the Patriots travel on the road to Pittsburgh to take on the number one seed Steelers. This game is often forgotten about in Patriots lore, but is one of the more intriguing upon review. In the late stages of the second quarter, with the Patriots leading 7-3, Brady left the game with an injury to his ankle from a low hit after completing a pass to Troy Brown. In to replace Brady was Bledsoe, who had not played since his injury in week two that allowed Brady to take his spot. 

In relief for Brady, Bledsoe played well en route to a 24-17 victory that secured the Patriots a spot in the Super Bowl for only their third time in franchise history. Coach Belichick again faced a tough decision, whether to start the inexperienced quarterback who had led the team for most of the year, or the veteran who just led them to victory. Belichick decided to go with Brady for the Super Bowl, despite heavy criticism over the decision. 

In the Super Bowl, the Patriots faced an opponent from a previous matchup that season: the St. Louis Rams. Nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Turf,” the Rams had an explosive offense led by future Hall of Famers quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk and wide receiver Issac Bruce. The Rams had won the Super Bowl two years previous, and many expected this game to be a walk in the park for them. They entered the game as 14 point favorites. 

The Rams, despite averaging a league high 31.4 points per game, were held to three points in the entire first half. The Patriots defense came out flying, playing smashmouth football as the Rams struggled early. The Patriots scored the first touchdown of the game when Warner threw an errant pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Patriots cornerback Ty Law, making the score 7-3 midway through the second quarter. 

The Patriots forced another turnover later in the second quarter, but this time, Patriots defensive back Antwan Harris forced a fumble on Rams wide receiver Ricky Proehl that was recovered by the Patriots with 1:33 left in the half. The Patriots took advantage of the remaining time and turned it into points, when Brady hit David Patten on an 8-yard touchdown pass to put the Patriots up 14-3 going into the half.

In the third quarter, the Patriots scored a field goal, bringing the score to 17-3. The team maintained this lead until the Rams woke up in the fourth quarter. With less than 10 minutes remaining Warner scored a two-yard touchdown run to cap off a long Rams drive and put them within one score to tie the Patriots. 

After trading possessions a few times, the Rams broke through again with under two minutes left in the game. A quick three-play drive ending in a Warner to Proehl 26-yard touchdown reception tied the game. 

With the game tied 17 – 17 and only 1:21 remaining on the clock, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots got the ball back. The late great famous football coach and commentator John Madden famously said on the broadcast that the Patriots should just “run the clock out” and “play for overtime.” 

Brady and the Patriots did the complete opposite and went for the win. Against all odds, Brady found himself in a position to win the Super Bowl. 

Five completions by Brady put the Patriots in field goal position with seven seconds left. Vinateri once again was called on to make a game winning field goal from 48-yards. Vinateri hit the kick down the middle as time expired to make the New England Patriots the Super Bowl Champions for the first time. 

The Patriots dynasty and the mythological career of Tom Brady had begun.

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots win first Super Bowl

UMaine sits at the bottom of Hockey East after series against Vermont

This past weekend, the University of Maine men’s hockey team lost twice to the University of Vermont at the Alfond Arena. UMaine’s record now sits at 1-13-3 and they are currently the only team in the country to not have a win in regulation. 

UMaine was shutout by Vermont 1-0 in the first game of the series. The lone goal of the contest did not come until overtime when Vermont was given a power play after first-year defenseman David Brezeale took an interference penalty that stopped a breakaway for the Catamounts. Although the penalty stopped Vermont from gaining a scoring chance in the moment, Vermont capitalized on the power play when a wrist shot by second-year defenseman Cory Babichuk beat second-year UMaine goalie Victor Ostman. 

The second game of the series put UMaine’s scoring struggles on full display. UMaine outshot Vermont 51-17, but only managed one goal. UMaine’s power play struggles were on full display late in the game on Saturday night. 

Late in the third period with the game tied 1-1, Vermont first-year defender Luca Münzenberger was ejected from the contest for a hit to the head of UMaine fourth-year forward Adam Dawe. This gave UMaine a five-minute power play for the last 4:27 of regulation and the first 33 seconds of overtime. A golden opportunity for UMaine to score and win their first game in regulation. 

UMaine was unable to score on the power play, and they lacked high quality opportunities. After Vermont finished off the impressive penalty kill in overtime, neither team could break the deadlock and the game went to a shootout. Vermont fourth-year forward Philip Lagunov scored the only goal of the shootout, winning the game for Vermont with a highlight reel deke to beat UMaine third-year goalie Matthew Thiessen. 

After the weekend the Black Bears are now ranked 58 out of the 59 teams in the country according to the Pairwise ranking system. Vermont is currently ranked 55 after getting the better of UMaine both nights. The only team ranked below UMaine is Yale University, who currently have a 2-7-0 record.

The defense for UMaine has not been the problem, but rather it’s their inability to score that has made UMaine fall to the bottom of the country. UMaine is bottom five in the country in goals with 25 goals in 15 games, averaging a measly 1.67 goals per game. They have been shutout five times and have scored more than one goal only eight times this season. 

This past weekend in the span of two games that both went into overtime, UMaine was only able to score one goal on 74 shots. That one goal was more so the result of a mistake by Vermont than UMaine’s ability to score. The lone goal came in the second game of the two game series when second-year Vermont goalie Gabe Carriere passed the puck directly to UMaine second-year forward Donovan Houle who put it into essentially an empty net. 

This weekend UMaine received solid performances from both goalies. On Friday, Ostman made 23 saves on 24 shots and was not beaten until overtime. On Saturday, Thiessen stopped 16 of 17 shots. Both were let down by their teammates’ inability to score. 

One of the reasons UMaine cannot score is because they are particularly bad on the power play. Currently, UMaine has the third worst power play in the nation, only converting on 6.4% of man advantage opportunities. The average across the country is around 18-19%. 

Breazeale and fourth-year defender Jakub Sirota make up the team’s top defensive pairing. They also share the team lead in scoring with seven points. The team’s leading scorers amongst the forwards are Dawe and second-year forward Lynden Breen with six points each. UMaine has not gotten enough production from their skill players offensively, and the depth scoring is non-existent. 

Along with being at the bottom of the country, UMaine also currently sits at the bottom of the Hockey East standings. Not to mention most of their remaining in-conference games are against the better teams of the division such as Providence College, UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell. 

Next up on the schedule is two non-conference home games against Union College next weekend. Union has been decent as of late, and they have won three of their last four contests, only losing to Quinnipiac University in that stretch, who are currently ranked seventh in the country according to Pairwise. 

UMaine knew with a new head coach this year was going to be a rebuilding year, but the play on the ice has far underperformed everyone’s lowest expectations. 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on UMaine sits at the bottom of Hockey East after series against Vermont

Black Bears finally win a game

On Friday night, the University of Maine men’s hockey team finally picked up their first win of the season. The Black Bears won a thrilling game in overtime against Merrimack College 6-5. UMaine went on to lose the second game of the weekend 2-0, resulting in a series split with Merrimack. 

Despite picking up the win on Friday night, the game could not have started worse for UMaine. Not even three minutes into the game, the Black Bears found themselves down 2-0. It seemed as though UMaine was going to lose again. 

However, UMaine’s fourth-year defenseman Jakub Sirota gave the team a little life five minutes after Merrimack’s hot start when his wrist shot beat Merrimack’s first-year goalie Hugo Ollas. Sirota used a Merrimack defender to block Ollas’ vision and the six-foot-eight-inch goalie was unable to make the save. 

Despite scoring a goal, this was one of UMaine’s worst periods of their season. UMaine was out shot 15-1, and a late goal by fifth-year forward Max Newton put Merrimack up 3-1 after the first period. 

There was still hope for UMaine, as a late first period penalty by Merrimack saw UMaine start the second period on a power play. UMaine seized the opportunity when fourth-year forward Grant Hebert found the puck and put it in the net after a well worked play to get the puck to the net. UMaine was now only down 3-2 and very much still alive. 

Merrimack followed this up by taking two more penalties within the first 10 minutes of the second period. UMaine did not strike on the first power play but they found the back of the net on the second one. Second-year center Lynden Breen beat Ollas with a wrist shot from the top of the circle blocker side to tie the game 3-3. 

One minute after Breen’s goal, UMaine shockingly took the lead. A failed clearance by Merrimack led to UMaine getting a puck on net, and fourth-year forward Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup punched home the rebound from right in front of Ollas. 

After looking like they were going to get blown out after the first period, UMaine was now leading 4-3 going into the third period. Shots in the second period favored Maine 15-3, a complete script flip from the first period. 

Like the second period, the third started with one team on the man advantage and scoring, but this time it was Merrimack. Newton scored his second goal of the game just 31 seconds into the period on a rebound back post that he put past second-year UMaine goalie Victor Ostman, tying the game at 4-4. 

As time was winding down in the game, it looked like the game was going to go into overtime, but Merrimack third-year forward Filip Forsmark broke the deadlock with under four minutes left when his wrist shot off of an offensive zone faceoff beat Ostman. 

Down by one with under two minutes left, hope was fading from the Alfond Arena. UMaine pulled their goalie to get an extra skater on the ice in hopes of tying the game once more. The strategy paid off when Sirota scored his second goal of the game, beating Ollas with a wrist shot for the second time of the night. The roof came off the building and momentum felt like it was on UMaine’s side heading into overtime.

In overtime a first-year player stepped up when UMaine needed it most. Late in overtime a board battle was won by Breen which set up first-year defenseman David Brezeale with a breakaway. Breazeale coolly went from forehand to backhand and put it top shelf past Ollas to give UMaine their first win of the season 6-5. 

“It’s pretty incredible, just really thankful for the opportunity that I’ve gotten here,” Breazeale said, reflecting on the overtime goal after the game. 

The game was also coach Ben Barr’s first win as a Division 1 head coach. “It’s better than losing,” Barr said about the win. 

Despite the high of a comeback victory on Friday night, the following night the Black Bears fell back down to earth and played one of their worst games of the year. 

On Saturday night, Merrimack took the lead midway through the first period on a goal on a four-on-three power play. Merrimack third-year forward Ben Brar capitalized after a sloppy defensive zone turnover by UMaine immediately led to Brar putting the puck past third-year goalie Matthew Thiessen. 

Merrimack doubled their lead to 2-0 in the second period when a UMaine defensive breakdown left second-year defenseman Christian Felton by himself in a dangerous area in front of the net. Felton was eventually found by a teammate and one timed the puck top shelf. 

Merrimack held onto this lead against an uninspiring UMaine offense and won 2-0. UMaine only mustered up a measly 18 shots on net to Merrimack’s 28. 

Coach Barr was not happy after the game with his team’s performance. “We didn’t really generate much, didn’t deserve to win, didn’t deserve to score, disheartening a bit,” Barr said after the game. “There’s nothing about that game that was good enough, there’s nothing about how we played really the entire weekend that was good enough, if I’m being honest.” 

Next weekend, UMaine will travel to Conte Forum to take on Boston College in a two-game series. UMaine will need to play a lot better if they hope to come back from Boston with positive results. Boston College is 6-5-1 on the year and are currently ranked tied for second in the Hockey East standings, meanwhile UMaine still sits at the bottom of the table. 

“If we play like that we won’t [win],” Barr said when asked about facing Boston College. “If we play a little bit harder maybe we’ll have a chance, that’s just gonna be our team this year.”

   

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Black Bears finally win a game