ORONO, Maine —- Inconsistency plagued the University of Maine men’s hockey team last season under first-year head coach Red Gendron.
But this year’s Black Bears should be more consistent and, despite a more challenging non-league schedule, they should improve upon last year’s 16-15-4 record if they receive solid goaltending from junior Matt Morris, who sat out last season after hip surgery, or freshmen Sean Romeo and Nik Nugnes.
Gendron and assistants Jay Leach and Ben Guite have added badly needed size to the team up front and on defense, which will enable the gritty Black Bears to win more puck battles in front of both nets and along the boards. They were the third-smallest team among 59 teams in Division I and it was detrimental in those puck tussles at times.
“It’s nice to add some size. It will make us even tougher to play against,” said junior center and captain Devin Shore.
Morris and Romeo turned in impressive performances in the 8-3 exhibition win over New Brunswick on Sunday.
Both were composed and technically sound, squaring to the shooters and economizing their movement to maintain good positioning for rebound attempts.
Goaltending is a critical component.
Martin Ouellette (15-15-4 record, 2.29 goals-against average, .925 save percentage) set the single-season school record for saves with 926 and was the main reason Maine had a shot to finish as high as second in Hockey East entering the final weekend of the regular season.
But the Black Bears were swept at home by Providence and, after a win over Merrimack in a first-round playoff game, the Friars ousted Maine in their best-of-three quarterfinal series.
Ouellette was simply not the same goaltender down the stretch and Gendron blamed himself for overusing him and wearing him out. Maine went 1-5-1 in its last seven games and Ouellette had a sub-standard 3.35 GAA and .892 save percentage.
Don’t be surprised if Gendron goes with a two-goalie rotation this season, at least early.
Maine also averaged just 2.29 goals per game and went 2-for-26 on the power play in those last seven games to cap a dismal 4-for-55 showing over the final 15 games.
The power play will be better than last year’s 16.4 percent, which was 39th in the country.
Maine will have a top-loaded unit that will boast returning All-Americans Ben Hutton and Shore. Hutton’s nine power-play goals and school-record (for defensemen) 15 overall goals led the nation’s blue-liners. He also had 14 assists. He has great poise with the puck, makes good decisions and has an accurate shot.
Shore led the team in scoring (14 goals, 29 assists) for the second straight year and is an elite centerman who started shooting the puck more, which made him even more dangerous. He is a game-changer whose 0.83 assists and 1.23 points per game ranked him 10th and tied for 15th in the country, respectively.
Hutton and Shore will be closely watched by opponents, so the Bears have to receive more scoring from their improved veterans and promising newcomers.
Swift-skating senior Connor Leen (6 & 17) should elevate his goal total. Reliable and versatile junior power forward Steven Swavely (10 & 10) should continue his steady improvement and quick and dynamic sophomore Cam Brown (4 & 15) could contribute more.
Sophomores Blaine Byron (8 & 8) and Brian Morgan (5 & 7) showed promise and have to elevate their games on a consistent basis.
The return of senior alternate captain and center Stu Higgins from knee surgery will be a boost. An all-situations player, he had 6 & 4 in 20 games before suffering the injury.
Freshmen Nolan Vesey, Jack Musil and Cedric Lacroix, who are all at least 6-foot-1, turned in strong debuts vs. UNB, as did shifty 5-11 Liam Pecararo.
Vesey, Musil and Lacroix are power forwards who can make plays and score goals and Pecararo plays a lot like Brown.
Don’t be surprised if all four are in the lineup for Friday night’s opener at Alaska Anchorage.
Senior Andrew Cerretani (1 & 1), juniors Andrew Tegeler and Will Merchant (1 & 0) and sophomore Brady Campbell (0 & 1) supply depth up front. Tegeler transferred from UMass, so he had to sit out last year.
Maine should score more than last year’s 2.91 goals per game (27th).
“We had eight different guys score goals against New Brunswick and, hopefully, that will continue into the season,” said Hutton.
“We should be a fun team to watch,” said senior defenseman Jake Rutt.
The defense corps will be bigger, stronger and should be less error-prone, which which will help the goaltenders. All but Brice O’Connor are back and they’ve added 6-3 Mark Hamilton and 6-2 Malcolm Hayes, who are both 220 pounds and hard-nosed.
With the exception of Hutton, it isn’t a flashy defense corps, but it is resourceful.
Maine was the nation’s 13th stingiest team a year ago, surrendering 2.37 ppg.
In addition to the talented Hutton, the returning defensemen feature the rugged Rutt (1 & 6), who has a heavy shot and a quick release, speedy and gritty junior Conor Riley (0 & 5); smooth-skating sophomore Eric Schurhamer (3 & 7) and dependable fellow sophomore Dan Renouf (1 & 10). Junior Bill Norman (1 & 6) is also in the mix.
The returnees know what to expect from Gendron and have a better understanding of his systems, which should prove beneficial.
Maine righted the ship at Alfond Arena last season, going 13-3 after the 2-9-6 embarrassment in 2012-13. But the Black Bears won just one road game (1-12-3) and they need to improve there immediately.
Gendron disregards the polls, but it’s a safe bet that the players will use them as extra motivation after being picked ninth among the 12 teams in the Hockey East preseason coaches poll and tied for 38th in the country in the first U.S. College Hockey Online poll.