The movie "Kingpin" is somewhere among Tim Whitehead's collection of DVDs. The Maine hockey coach will dust off the 1996 Woody Harrelson flick tonight and bring it along for the bus trip to Boston's Logan Airport, the first leg of Black Bears' trip to Alaska.

Watching the Farrelly brothers' lowbrow comedy about a former professional bowler who trains an Amish farmer to compete for a million-dollar bowling championship will prepare the Black Bears for a team bonding experience. During a five-hour layover in Seattle, the Black Bears will break the monotony of airport travel for a few frames of bowling on the West Coast.

"We have a few hours of a layover and with all the time sitting in airports, and sitting on buses and planes, we wanted to get out fo the airport and do something, get some physical activity that wasn't too rigorous but fun," Whitehead said Monday. "Kingpin's one of my favorite movies. It's a long season and there's a lot of travel, especially on this trip. Fortunately there's a bowling alley near the Seattle airport. We'll have some fun on the lanes, then get back to the airport and get back to business."

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Freshman goalie Scott Darling left Saturday's game against the University of New Brunswick less than six minutes into the third period after suffering cramping in his legs and stomach. He labeled it as an extreme case of nerves, and it wasn't the first time he's seized up during a season opener.

What did he want to take from the first weekend?
"That I don't want to cramp up again," said Darling, who was relieved by junior Dave Wilson. "It won't happen again. It happened last year in the first game I played last season. I think it's a combination of things."

Whitehead said Darling has been mindful of hydrating and of eating properly since Saturday.

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