Weekend In Maine

A weekend ago, BU had an interesting pair of games. First, they were shelled by NU 6-1 on Friday, before blanking UNH 4-0 at home behind a 29 save shutout by Max Prawdzik in his first collegiate start. This weekend, BU will make the long trek to Maine, where they will play one game against the Black Bears in Orono, before heading south to Portland for game two.

From The Vault
Nik Olsson scores a late goal against Maine last January in a
4-1 Terrier win at Agganis.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Maine has been a bit of a surprise this year and has the ability to play teams tight. It's just another example of how wide open Hockey East is this year. The Black Bears are currently 2-2-0 in league play with wins over UConn and Lowell, including a 6-2 drubbing of the River Hawks last weekend in Lowell.

Overall, Maine comes into this weekend with a  3-5-0 record, but as stated before, they play teams very close. Earlier this year, Maine was swept by Minnesota Duluth at home by scores of 2-1 and 2-0. While they only managed one goal against the Bulldogs, Maine has the ability to find the back of the net. In a weekend series with Miami, the Black Bears pumped home 11 goals in a two-game split with the RedHawks.

A year ago, BU swept Maine in January with a 4-1 win at home, followed by a 3-1 win at the Alfond the next night.

Scouting the Black Bears
Gone are the days where Joey Diamond, Gus Nyquist, and Brian Flynn carried the entire Maine offense. This year, Maine has one of the most balanced attacks in the country. They have scored 25 goals and yet no one has more than seven points on the roster. All but three skaters have registered a point and among those three, only Keith Muehlbaurer has played in all eight games.

Nine of the 25 goals come from Eduards Tralmaks and Mitchell Fossier. Tralmaks, a freshman from Riga, Latvia (same hometown as former Terrier defenseman Jekabs Redlihs) has a team-high five goals and has added two assists. Fossier, on the other hand, comes into the weekend with four goals and three assists. Other players to watch include Nolan Vesey, Chase Pearson, and Tim Doherty.

In goal, Jeremy Swagman is 2-2-0 in five appearances with a 2.86 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. Junior Rob McGovern has posted a .891 SV% and to go along with a 3.87 GAA.