The early signing period for National Letters of Intent began today, and while Maine Coach Tim Whitehead cannot speak publicly about Maine's recruits until they have all signed and returned NLIs to the school, he's pleased with the verbal commitments that have been made to Maine.

"The recruiting has changed a lot and we're doing things farther in advance," Whitehead said Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA's early signing period. "You've got to be prepared to lose players earlier (to the pros) and we've got players committed that we're excited about. I can't comment publicly on that, but we're excited about where our recruiting is at."

Whitehead said that NLIs went out this week, and he anticipates that the early signees could be announced next week.

The early signing period for hockey runs through Nov. 19, and the second signing period begins April 8, 2009.

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