This summer, Maine goalie Scott Darling plans to visit his family in Illinois for a few weeks, then will return to Massachusetts, where he will live this summer and help out with local hockey camps and train with Brian Daccord's Goaltending Consultant Group.

But Darling plans to take some time in June to head to Arizona. Not a great place to be in the early summer, as high temperatures can soar into the 100s between May and September. But Darling plans to attend the Phoenix Coyotes prospect development camp in June, the third year he's gone to the Phoenix metro area.

(Click on the link and look at the photo of the group of prospects at the summit of Camelback Mountain. Darling is in the back row, the 13th player from the left, next to the guy in the floppy hat and sunglasses.)

It's a business trip of sorts after Darling's first season at Maine, which he regarded as a learning experience.

"I learned how to battle under pressure, bounce back from adversity and work through the second half," said Darling, whom the Coyotes selected in the sixth round of the 2007 NHL entry draft. "Goaltending-wise, I learned about fighting through traffic and seeing the screens and controlling the rebounds through the screens. I think I'll be that much better next year."

Steve Lyons, the assistant director of amateur scouting with the Coyotes, said that the team took Darling on the basis of his potential as a professional player, and that his height (6-5) and athleticism work to Darling's advantage. Ultimately, he believes, so will the struggles Darling had this past season.

"Any time you go through some adversity, it's going to help you down the road," Lyons said. "It gets you tougher mentally, especially as you get to a higher level."

Darling came from an unlikely hockey background - the suburbs of Chicago, known better for Northwestern University, O'Hare Airport and nightmare traffic jams on I-90.

Chicagoland isn't necessarily a hotbed for hockey, unless you count Chris Chelios and Ed Olczyk.

But, Lyons said, Darling gravitated to better hockey. After his first season at Maine, Lyons said that as of right now, Darling will continue to play at Maine and that talk of turning pro isn't much of a discussion.

"We stay out of that," said Lyons, who stayed in touch with Darling throughout his first season at Maine, and said they spoke strictly in hockey terms. "When I speak to Scott, it's a pep talk."

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The outcome of Boston University's Hockey East quarterfinal series against Maine shifted the balance of power in the national polls, at least for this week. Notre Dame is atop this week's USCHO.com/CBS College Sports top 20 poll but the Terriers are still No. 1 in the USA Today/USA Hockey top 15 poll.

BU faces Boston College at 8 p.m. Friday in a Hockey East semifinal at TDBanknorth Garden in Boston, following the first semifinal between Northeastern and UMass-Lowell.

Notre Dame faces Northern Michigan in a CCHA semifinal Friday in Detroit.

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