ORONO — In Bob Dimmen's mind, swimming was a much more financially sound sport than hockey. When his middle child approached him and his wife about quitting swimming to play hockey, his first response was disbelief. Then he considered the budget.

"I was like, 'what?' " Bob Dimmen recalled of the moment Jeff Dimmen, now a sophomore defenseman for the University of Maine, showed interest in playing hockey.

"My wife knew about the sport but I think I looked more at the cost of it. Jeff was very involved in swimming and I thought, 'well, the cost of a Speedo and a towel is a lot less than hockey equipment.' "

When Jeff Dimmen told his parents he wanted to play hockey, he was 9 and didn't know what the sport was about. But he took to the ice in sweat pants underneath his hockey pants and baseball socks over his shin pads, and scored goal after goal after goal.

Regardless of the attire, Dimmen instantly became hooked. When he wasn't on the ice, he played street hockey until the sun set. When it came time to get serious about his future in the sport, he knew he would have to leave Colorado.

"I took the long road," said Dimmen, whose team faces Providence at 2 p.m. today at Alfond Arena. "I never thought I'd end up at Maine. When I was younger, I just wanted to play college hockey in Colorado. I just really wanted to score one college goal because I grew up watching college hockey. I never really thought about pro hockey. Just college hockey."

This year Dimmen has emerged as one of the Black Bears' most consistent defensemen. Typically paired with Will O'Neill, Dimmen has four goals and four assists in 20 games and is a team-leading plus-7. Furthermore, on a team with 11 freshmen, sophomore forward Tanner House believes Dimmen leads by example.

"He's been so solid for us," House said. "He competes so hard that a lot of the younger guys look up to him as well."

While he might not have the same offensive-mindedness as his Hockey East defensive counterparts – through Friday, Matt Taormina of Providence is Hockey East's leading scorer among defensemen with four goals and 12 assists – Dimmen's play has been defined by both a physical presence and a quiet confidence.

"Jeff had the one tough game against UNH and other than that, in the second half he's been great," said Maine Coach Tim Whitehead, whose team is winless in five games (0-4-1) after Friday's stunning 3-1 loss to Bentley, which had never beaten a Hockey East team in eight tries. "He was our top defenseman in the BU game, and he's been very consistent this season as a sophomore. We saw flashes of brilliance last year as a freshman, and now he's been able to string together a lot of games at a high level."

Dimmen was one of 10 freshmen last year who took their lumps in Maine's first losing season in 25 years. But paired with senior Bret Tyler, Dimmen had two goals and four assists in 31 games, with a plus-3 rating.

"It was definitely a good experience," Dimmen said. "You come into such a good program and you get the chance to step in and play right away. You try to make an impact and it's always fun at times, and a little nerve-racking at times. But it helps you grow and it helps you become a better player."

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:

rlenzi@pressherald.com