Clearing the Bases Blog Index
February 06, 2009
Pregame, Maine at No. 11 UNH

DURHAM, N.H. - It's a "Whiteout at the Whit." About 90 minutes before tonight's game between Maine and No. 11 New Hampshire, the doors opened and students, clad in white shirts, raced in to grab seats and Thunderstix. It's already loud here in the Whittemore Center.

Dave Wilson's No. 1. For now. The junior goalie, whom you probably read about today, will be tonight's starter against UNH.

Now as for New Hampshire, they'll be not only without Joe Charlebois but also forward Jerry Pollastrone, who suffered a shoulder separation last weekend against No. 7 Vermont.

Of note: UNH forward James van Riemsdyk is looking to bust out of a slump. In January, van Riemsdyk scored only one point since returning from the World Junior Championships. Still, he leads the Wildcats with nine goals and 18 assists, and is fourth in Hockey East in points.

***

Craig Janney probably doesn't like to admit it, but he's part of the media now. Janney, a former Boston College and NHL standout, is doing color commentary for NESN, teaming with Tom Caron for tonight's broadcast of Maine at UNH.

"But," he said, "you realize that everyone's got a job to do."

Janney is in his third week on the job with NESN and said the biggest challenge in his new capacity is the lack of familiarity he has with the college level of the game, particularly putting names with players.

"Even knowing the main players on the team is a challenge, but some of the assistant coaches have been great in helping me," Janney said. "They've been fountains of information."

To get some insight, Janney relies on a network of former NHL players and teammates.

"I can call people up and ask about certain players," Janney said. "The connections I have are guys I played with professionally. It's great that I can pick up the phone and ask, 'what's going on, what are your systems, which one is your checking line?' It surprises me how helpful they are."

One of those connections is Maine assistant coach Bob Corkum, a former teammate of Janney's with the Phoenix Coyotes.

***

Starting lineups for tonight:

Maine
Forwards
Brian Flynn-Tanner House-Gustav Nyquist
Robby Dee-Chris Hahn-Spencer Abbott
Nick Payson-Will O'Neill-Kyle Solomon
Glenn Belmore-Brett Carriere-Jeff Marshall

Defense
Ryan Hegarty-Matt Duffy
Mike Banwell-Simon Danis-Pepin
Josh Van Dyk-Jeff Dimmen

Goalies
Dave Wilson
Scott Darling

Scratches for Maine: Keif Orsini (illness), Lem Randall (illness), Theo Andersson, Mark Nemec, David de Kastrozza.

O'Neill is starting his second game at center, but will likely continue to work on the point on Maine's power play.

UNH
Forwards
Greg Colins-Peter LeBlanc-Paul Thompson
James van Riemsdyk-Phil DeSimone-Mike Sislo
Danny Dries-Thomas Fortney-Bobby Butler
Alan Thompson-Mike Borisenok-Steve Moses

Defense
Kevin Kapstad-Mike Beck
Jamie Fritsch-Matt Campanale
Nick Krates-Blake Kessel

Goalies
Brian Foster
Matt DiGirolamo
Tyler Scott

Posted at 06:56 PM

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Rachel is in her fifth year as a sports reporter at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. A former college soccer and softball player, she covered sports at newspapers in Pennsylvania, Texas and Colorado before joining the Press Herald/Sunday Telegram staff in June of 2004.

Rachel takes over coverage of the University of Maine hockey team and was introduced to Maine hockey as a seventh-grader in Annapolis, Maryland, after reading a 1988 Sports Illustrated story about Shawn Walsh's impact on the program. Nearly 20 years later, she still has the four-page article in her possession.

She and her husband, Tommy (who also works for MaineToday Media, Inc.) are avid sports fans who root for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Kansas Jayhawks. After a year of marriage, their next step in life is to find a bigger house!



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