Maine Schedule Update #gomaine

More schedules are being released as the summer months begin.  So far Maine’s official schedule looks like:

10/04/14 New Brunswick
10/10/14 @Alaska-Anchorage &
10/11/14 v Alaska &
10/17/14 Union
10/18/14 Union
10/24/14 Alaska-Anchorage
10/25/14 Alaska-Anchorage
11/07/14 @Vermont *
11/08/14 @Vermont *
11/21/14 @Boston University *
11/22/14 @Boston College *
12/06/14 @Lowell *
12/12/14 v New Hampshire (Manchester)
12/13/14  v New Hampshire (Portland)
01/09/15 @Massachusetts
01/10/15 @Massachusetts
01/23/15 New Hampshire *
01/24/15 @New Hampshire *
02/01/15 @Connecticut *
02/06/15 Notre Dame *
02/07/15 Notre Dame *
02/13/15 @Merrimack *
02/14/15 @Merrimack *
02/20/15 Northeastern *
02/21/15 Northeastern *
02/27/15 @Providence *
02/28/15 @Providence *

& – Exempt
* – Hockey East games

The home conference games vs Lowell, Connecticut, Boston College and Boston University are yet to be scheduled.

There are four games left to be scheduled.  All are anticipated to be home games.  Teams with available dates which match Maine’s are:

AHA: AIC, Army, Bentley, Holy Cross, Air Force, Canisius
ECAC: Dartmouth
HEA: Providence, Vermont
B1G: Michigan, Penn State
NCHC: Western Michigan
WCHA: Bowling Green

Since Maine will be playing a NC game at UMass after hosting the Minutemen last season, it makes some sense that Maine will host Vermont as well.  That would leave one weekend series to fill.  There is still a chance for the new program at Penn State to visit Orono on January 2-3 but odds are that final spot will go to one of the remaining six AHA teams.

#48: Robert Morris Colonials

Robert Morris – AHA, CHA

143-174-45 (.457)

Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 1

NCAA appearances: 1

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 125.413

Winning the AHA tournament and getting some NCAA experience is just what the Colonials needed as they head into a second decade of Division I play. After splitting the first two games against Army, RMU put together a five game winning streak to capture the tournament. They have had a winning season each of the four years since the CHA folded and they joined the AHA after reaching the .500 mark just once in the old conference.

#49 Lake Superior State

Lake Superior State – CCHA, WCHA

145-187-53 (.445)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 105.699

It has been a long two decades since the glory days up on the Soo came to a sudden and painful end. The Lakers have won 20 games only once and had a winning season only five times since, and there has been no post-season hardware. They suffered seven first round exits in nine seasons in the old CCHA and missed the WCHA playoffs entirely this season. Lake State is hoping a new coach will bring back a winning tradition. His first task will be to qualify for the WCHA playoffs and advance past the first round.

 

#50 Army Black Knights

Army Black Knights – AHA

105-195-47 (.370)
Conference Titles: 1

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 102.581

The Army Black Knights won the 2008 Atlantic Hockey Regular Season crown but were ousted by Mercyhurst 4-2 in the tournament. The Knights had only two winning seasons and have suffered four consecutive 20-loss seasons, capped by a 6-28 mark last season. Army will be seeking a return to the old normal which saw them enjoy five winning campaigns in the 1990’s.

#55 Sacred Heart Pioneers

#55 Sacred Heart – AHA

129-206-31 (.395)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 86.032

Sacred Heart has had three 21-win seasons but also suffered through consecutive years with six, six and two victories. Only in 2010 did they advance to the AHA Championship game, falling 6-1 to RIT. They are an atrocious 10-57-2 (.159) out of conference in 10 seasons.

* A math error in Excel led to the Sacred Heart win total being inflated.  That error has been corrected and Sacred Heart has been assigned the proper number of points.

 

A Memorial Day pause

Back in the late 90’s I was coaching baseball and hockey at a local high school.  We were about to play in the championship hockey game and I sent out requests for all the other alumni to send in well-wishes for the team.  We got several replies urging the team’s success but one stood out.

My friend and classmate, John Marro (NYA ’91, USMA ’95), was serving in the Balkans at that time and he sent a note not willing the team to victory but describing his daily routine: avoiding snipers, worrying about land mines and suicide attacks and just general drudgery that goes with being in the army.  He said what a relief it was every time he got an update from me about how the team was doing and details of their latest game.  Not just because he was a proud alumnus, but because it gave him a few minutes to escape from his surroundings.  He could think back on his own playing career at NYA and he could imagine himself in the stands watching the team play.

Sports are often referred to as a battle or a war, the players we cheer are hailed as heroes but it is important to remember what a real war is like and who the real heroes are.  When the Americans played the Russians at the Sochi Olympics earlier this season, the game was won when TJ Oshie scored in the shootout.  After the game Oshie was hailed as an ‘American hero,’  Oshie quickly quieted that talk by responding, “The American heroes are wearing camo.  That’s not me.”  That is very true.  The men and women of our armed forces have sacrificed more than we’ll ever be able to comprehend and are real heroes.  However, it should be remembered that one of the reasons they are committing those sacrifices is so that we’ll be able to continue playing these games.  They do provide a respite, however brief, for them – whether they be Olympic games on a global stage or a high school game on a local one.

 

 

#51 Bentley Falcons

Bentley Falcons – AHA

132-184-45 (.428)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 91.264

Bentley is coming off a record season which saw the Falcons win 19 games and finish five games over .500. It was the first winning campaign since 2009 and only their second since joining Division I in 1999.  The next step for Bentley is a 20-win season which would give the Falcons a winning record for the second consecutive year. Winning a regular season or conference title would help increase their ranking.

 

#52 Connecticut Huskies

#52 Connecticut Huskies
Connecticut Huskies – AHA

135-203-31 (.408)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 88.814

UConn is switching to the Hockey East conference starting this year. On the one hand, they have a chance to upgrade their schedule and move up these rankings. Realistically, they have a better chance of becoming Michigan Tech or Alaska-Anchorage and get overwhelmed by the opposition. Outside the AHA the Huskies struggled with only 11 nonconference wins in a decade. With the new playoff format in Hockey East a reasonable goal for the Huskies is to host a first round series within the next few years. Cracking the Big Four in the conference is going to take a long time. Just ask Merrimack.

#53 Bowling Green Falcons

#53 Bowling Green Falcons

Bowling Green – CCHA, WCHA

127-226-37 (.373)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 88.736

No one lost more playoff games in the old CCHA than Bowling Green, and they picked up in the new WCHA with a perfect 0-2 record.  Their 226 losses rank third among teams over the decade.  This last season – the first in the WCHA – was easily Bowling Green’s high water mark since breaking .500 in 1997.  The next challenge for Bowling Green is to reach 20-wins for the first time since 1996.  If they can do that, the Falcons have a shot at flying up these rankings.

#54 Brown Bears

#54 Brown Bears
Brown Bears – ECAC (Ivy)

102-178-48 (.384)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 87.960

Brown is another team at the bottom that has shown signs of life recently. Two years ago they were above .500 for the first time in a decade and have reached double digits in wins four of the past five seasons. This is more difficult for an Ivy because of the limited schedule they play. On the other hand, it prevents them from the catastrophic losses of a Michigan Tech or Alaska-Anchorage. The Bears have twice won five games in the ECAC tournament to reach the conference semifinals, falling in the ECAC Championship in 2013.