It was a frustrating end to a memorable season.
The University of Maine men’s hockey team reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2011-12 season, just two years after winning only seven games.
The Black Bears’ 23-12-2 record was the program’s best since the 2005-06 team went 28-12-2.
But Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to Cornell in the NCAA Springfield regional tournament was a game the Black Bears could have won and probably should have won.
Just 55 seconds after taking a 1-0 lead on Harrison Scott’s 15th goal of the season, the Black Bears went on a five-minute power play with a golden opportunity to extend the lead and take a strong foothold in the game.
But they failed to convert and had only five shots on goal although two of them were rapid-fire opportunities by Scott that were saved by Cornell goalie Ian Shane.
UMaine’s inability to convert proved costly. It was a game-changer.
“If we had gone up 2-0 or 3-0, it would have been a different story. But we didn’t,” said UMaine head coach Ben Barr.
UMaine outshot Cornell 32-18 and did a nice job defensively against the Cornell forecheck, keeping the Big Red to the perimeter for the most part so they couldn’t take full advantage of their significant size advantage.
Cornell had 10 players who were at least six-foot-two compared to UMaine’s three.
But UMaine turnovers led to Cornell’s three goals. Cornell was opportunistic.
Like Barr said after the game, his team didn’t turn the puck over much but when it did, it wound up in the back of their net.
Senior goalie Victor Ostman, filling in for the sick Albin Boija, turned in a respectable performance as did Boija in the Black Bears’ previous game, a 4-1 loss to Boston University in UMaine’s first Hockey East semifinal appearance since 2011-12.
Boija and Ostman each made a number of high-quality saves.
But the opposing goalies, BU’s Mathieu Caron and Cornell’s Shane, were both better than UMaine’s two goalies on that night.
All six goals allowed by Ostman and Boija — BU’s fourth goal was an empty-netter — were on initial shots.
And they weren’t off breakaways or two-on-ones.
They were all quality chances from the slot that beat them cleanly.
None of them were soft goals and they weren’t at fault but, in playoff games, goalies need to make big-time saves in critical situations like Caron and Shane made.
That being said, the goalies certainly can’t be blamed for the losses.
Teams simply aren’t going to win many hockey games scoring just one goal.
The dynamic All-Hockey East Nadeau brothers, Bradly and Josh, were difference-makers for the program. The freshmen were the primary reason this team went from a 15-win middle-of-the-pack Hockey East team to a third place Hockey East team and NCAA Tournament representative.
They were the team’s top two scorers as Bradly finished with 19 goals and 27 assists and Josh had 18 & 27.
But Scott was the only other Black Bear to score more than nine goals.
So opponents’ primary emphasis was shutting down the Nadeaus, and that’s what BU and Cornell did.
They didn’t score a goal in either game. Bradly had an assist against BU but that was it.
UMaine relied heavily on the Nadeaus.
When at least one of them scored a goal, UMaine was 19-3-2. When neither one scored, the Black Bears were 4-9.
That tells you that they need to develop more scoring depth.
UMaine did finish 17th among 64 Division I schools in scoring (3.22) and was also 17th in defense, allowing 2.54 goals per game.
Everyone is eligible to return except graduate student left wing Ben Poisson, who had six goals and nine assists and completed his career with 31 goals and 41 assists in 155 career games.
The big question marks are center Lynden Breen, who eclipsed the 100-point mark for his career (42 & 60 in 122 games), and right wing Donavan Houle (28 & 36 in 120 games).
They are seniors who could return or decide to begin their pro careers.
Breen, who had 9 & 21 this season, and Houle, who had 9 & 15, are exceptional, hard-working three-zone players who could have huge seasons next year.
Breen had 21 goals a year ago and could return to that level next year.
He is also a valuable co-captain and leader.
Bentley University transfer Scott was a revelation, finishing with 12 assists to go with his 15 goals. The junior had a game-high eight shots on goal against Cornell, four more than the next highest on either team.
His line with sophomore left wing Thomas Freel (6 & 16) and Houle was UMaine’s most consistent in all three zones.
Freshman Sully Scholle was a late addition to the program last summer, and the right winger was a nice find, chipping in seven goals and four assists in 33 games.
Even though he is a first round draft pick of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, you can expect Bradly Nadeau to return next season along with his older brother.
They need to get physically stronger to enhance their games, particularly on the forecheck.
That will make their transition to pro hockey much smoother.
Besides, they are both fierce competitors and tireless workers who have some unfinished business at UMaine.
In the losses to BU and Cornell, they were a combined minus-seven in plus-minus.
Players receive a plus-one if they are on the ice when their team scores an even-strength or shorthanded goal, and they get a minus-one if the opponent scores one.
That isn’t going to sit well with them, and they will want to atone.
Junior center Nolan Renwick, the Black Bears’ biggest everyday forward at 6-foot-3 and one of only three who are over 6-1, had an injury-marred season and finished with just two goals in 25 games to go with nine assists. He did have four assists in his last four games while centering a line between the Nadeaus.
But he will be relied upon for a lot more goal production next season.
Even though turnovers by freshman Anthony Calafiore (2 & 2) and sophomore Parker Lindauer (1 & 1) led directly to goals by BU and Cornell, respectfully, both of them provided some useful grit on the fourth line surrounding junior center Cole Hanson, who had 4 & 4. Felix Trudeau (3 & 2), Nicholas Niemo (2 & 2) and Reid Pabich (1 & 4) also got some playing time up front.
UMaine needs to bring in at least one or two big power forwards with a scoring touch to add that element to their game. Six-foot-four Aidan Carney, who was an effective role player on the fourth line a year ago, could help out after missing this season due to back issues.
The youthful defense corps will be formidable led by junior co-captain David Breazeale (2 goals, 7 assists). He is the only defenseman who isn’t a sophomore or a freshman.
Sophomores Brandon Chabrier (6 & 16) and Brandon Holt (4 & 11) were the top point-getters along the blue line, and fellow sophomores Grayson Arnott (2 & 3) and Luke Antonacci (0 & 5) were steady defenders with 6-foot-5 freshman Liam Lesakowski (0 & 2) being a nice find as the other regular.
Fellow freshmen Ryan Hopkins (1 & 2), Bodie Nobes and Jack Dalton saw some valuable playing time.
Even though the blue line corps is undersized with the 6-4 Breazeale and Lesakowski being the only defensemen bigger than 6-foot-1, it compensates nicely with its mobility. All of them can skate the puck out of the defensive zone on their own.
UMaine could use a top-notch offensive defenseman.
Boija was a very pleasant surprise in goal, starting the previous nine games and 12 of 13 before falling sick on Thursday. He finished with a 10-6-1 record, a 2.01 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
Ostman (13-6-1, 2.80, .892) and fellow senior Connor Androlewicz could also return, and Patriks Berzins will be coming in after playing in the United States Hockey League.
“It’s awesome to see how far we’ve come in two years, and I’m proud of what we’ve done this year,” said Breazeale. “We have to continue to grow our culture, and we’re excited to take that next step which is to get out of the first round (of the NCAA Tournament). We want to continue to grow this program and take it to a national championship.”
Barr sees there is work ahead.
“These guys have worked extremely hard to put the program back on the map again. I’m very proud of them. We have to get better individually and get deeper as a team, and I have to become a better coach,” said Barr.
There are a lot of positives moving forward.
The electric game-day atmosphere at Alfond Arena is back. UMaine went 13-2-2 at home where there were 11 sellouts and over 97 percent of the seats were filled.
And $45 million in renovations to the Alfond Arena courtesy of the Harold Alfond Foundation’s $170 million gifts to upgrade all the athletic facilities on campus will certainly help recruiting, the players’ development and the game-day experience for fans.
The late legendary UMaine hockey coach Shawn Walsh took his third UMaine team (1986-87) to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, and the following year’s team went to the Frozen Four.
That would be a nice blueprint to follow.
