Why the wins are so important now
ORONO - The earlier the wins, the better for the University of Maine hockey team. The Black Bears enter this weekend's series against Merrimack on a five-game winning streak, after last weekend's sweep of Providence.
Picking up as many points as possible is crucial for the Black Bears, if they want to reach the postseason. Last year, the Black Bears scrambled late in the season to remain in playoff contention but were eliminated on the last day of the regular season.
"This early in the season we can't afford to drop any games, because that can come back and kill us in the end," Maine senior forward Chris Hahn said. "Last year we put ourselves in a tough situation and I think our team was better than our record (13-18-3). We couldn't get the wins earlier, and it killed us at the end of the year."
Maine was 4-2 at the start of last season before going winless in six games last November, then going winless in eight games from Jan. 25 to Feb. 16.
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Maine swept Providence over the weekend and faces Merrimack this weekend before travelling to Vermont next Saturday (Nov. 29).
While it would be easy to label this stretch of hockey, well, "easy," it's a deceiving stretch.
Looking at Hockey East's standings, right now six points separate No. 1 Boston College from No. 8 Vermont. Bringing up the rear is Merrimack (ninth, three points) and Providence (10th, one point) and in the middle is Maine, UMass-Lowell and New Hampshire, who are in a three-way tie for fifth with six points, entering this weekend.
"Anybody can beat anybody," Maine co-captain Jeff Marshall said. "This weekend, the scores were a little backwards after the last couple weekends. Teams we thought should be winning games weren't. You've got to be ready to play no matter who you're facing. It's such an even league that there really aren't any favorites."
Among those unusual scores Marshall referenced:
Massachusetts 5, Boston University 1
UMass-Lowell 8, New Hampshire 3
Boston College 5, Merrimack 5
Boston University 3, Northeastern 0
Posted at 02:55 PM
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