Brendan Walsh, who played at the University of Maine from 1998 to 2000, is part of NESN's Hockey East broadcast team, joining Bob Beers (another former Maine player) as a studio analyst. Both will work Friday's Maine-New Hampshire game, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on NESN.

Television is strictly moonlighting for the effervescent Walsh - he makes a living as a police officer in Boston.

"I had a family that was in civil service, for me the ability to go in, it appealed to me because I was a neighborhood kid and I grew up in Dorchester and had a lot of friends who were police officers," Walsh said. "It was an added bonus for me to make a living and pursue a career that could take me in any direction. Media relations, drug officer, SWAT team, there's all different types of things you can do. Also, by doing this, I knew I could get back into the game."

Walsh had a five-year pro hockey career and was on Greg Cronin's coaching staff at Northeastern before joining the Boston police force in 2007. Walsh still skates on Sundays, hosting neighborhood hockey clinics in South Boston.

Walsh got some practice in multitasking during his days in Orono. One season he interned at Channel 7 in Bangor, and recalls leaving campus after Friday night hockey games to help the crew prepare for the 11 p.m. broadcasts.

"It was kind of strange calling the goals I scored," Walsh said, laughing.

***

Will O'Neill hasn't been a full-time forward in years. But the Maine freshman got some serious on-the-job training Sunday when he centered the Black Bears' third line with Kyle Solomon and Nick Payson.

"I've played hockey my whole life and it's a different position, but you're still playing hockey," said O'Neill, who began the season as a defenseman but sat out the two games prior to Sunday as a healthy scratch. "You adjust and you learn as you got. It's the same basics, but it's a different position.

"I tried to do my best there, I tried to work hard and do things simple, and hopefully be of a value to the team."

Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said Wednesday that O'Neill will play this weekend - he's just not sure where.

***

Hockey is supposed to be played in just about anything, right? But if you're on the hockey team at St. Cloud State, you might be on volcano alert this weekend.

The Saints are scheduled to play two games at Alaska-Anchorage this weekend but the St. Cloud Times is reporting (per SCSU beat writer Kevin Allenspach's blog) that UAA officials have warned St. Cloud State that their travel plans could be put on hold because of the threat of Mount Redoubt erupting.

E-mail this entry to a friend