MIH Preview: Maine vs. UVM

The Men’s Ice Hockey team will look to continue their hot streak as they travel to the University of Vermont to take on the Catamounts Saturday night.

Diamond, Black Bears riding hot streak

The Black Bears are currently riding a four game unbeaten streak, their longest such streak of the year and an streak that’s seen Maine take down Boston College twice and the now #16 UMass Lowell. This string of recent success has come in line with the improved play of senior forward and tri-captain Joey Diamond.

In his last five games, Diamond has notched six goals and two assists for 8 points. In the previous 19 contests, the Long Beach, NY native amassed a line of 4-3-7.

It’s not only Diamond’s point production that’s helped Maine in this recent run but also the scrappy forward’s improved discipline. Physicality is a big part of Diamond’s game but in this recent five game stretch, the oft-penalized senior has only taken 2 infractions for a total of four minutes.

What’s behind Diamond’s turnaround? One could argue that he has regained his confidence.

From the onset of the season, it looked like Diamond was pressing, trying to do everything on his own, trying to make up the scoring gap left by the departed Brian Fylnn and Spencer Abbott.

Now, Diamond looks much more comfortable on the ice. His level of play is starting to return to where it was a season ago, someone who could make a chance happen out of nowhere with a heads-up turnover or a weaving move through the defense.

But can Diamond sustain this personal success without his potent line mates from a season ago? Time will only tell but if he does, this Maine team will not go down quietly.

Roster taking shape

Despite the “serious” concussion Kyle Beattie suffered last Friday against Providence, the Black Bears, for the most part, are starting to get healthy again. Senior forward Klas Leidermark and junior defenseman Brice O’Connor returned Sunday vs. Lowell and played well. O’Connor notched an assist on Joey Diamond’s first goal of the night and nearly won the game for Maine in overtime with a great net-front chance.

Freshman defenseman Ben Hutton has missed the last four games with an upper body injury and could return this weekend in Vermont. Hutton has improved each time he’s taken the ice, becoming a solid, trustworthy defenseman with a fantastic shot. Fellow freshman Kyle Williams played in his place on Sunday and most likely will again if Hutton can’t go.

Beattie (concussion) and senior defenseman Nick Pryor (concussion) are out for the Black Bears this weekend.

For a closer look at Saturday’s contest, here’s how the two teams matchup by the numbers:

Record:
Maine: 8-14-5, 4-9-5 Hockey East, 8th place, 13 pts.
UVM: 7-14-4, 4-10-4 Hockey East, 9th place, 12 pts.

Maine: 3-5-1 on the road
UVM: 5-8-0 at home

Maine: 3-1-1 in last 5 games, streak: W1
UVM: 1-4-0 in last 5 games, streak: L1

Goaltending:
Maine: Martin Ouellette, Jr, 19 GP/19 starts, 6-7-5, 2.11 GAA, .925 SV %
UVM: Brody Hoffman, Fr, 25GP/25 starts, 7-14-4, 3.00 GAA, .902 SV%

Leading Scorer:
Maine: Joey Diamond, Sr, F (24 GP, 10-5-15)
UVM: Chris McCarthy, Sr, F (25 GP, 6-12-18)

Leading Goal Scorer:
Maine: Joey Diamond, Sr, F (24 GP, 10 goals)
UVM: Jacob Fallon, So, F (25 GP, 7 goals)

Power Play Goals:
Maine: Joey Diamond, Sr, F (3 PP goals)
UVM: Jacob Fallon, So, F (5 PP goals)

Team Offense:
Maine: 58/59 in the nation (1.78 G/GM), 10/10 in Hockey East play (1.72 G/GM)
UVM: T51/59 in the nation (2.20 G/GM), 9/10 in Hockey East play (2.00 G/GM)

Team Defense:
Maine: T25/59 in the nation (2.59 G/GM), 3/10 in Hockey East play (2.44 G/GM)
UVM: 49/59 in the nation (3.16 G/GM), 9/10 in Hockey East play (3.17 G/GM)

Power Play:
Maine: 57/59 in the nation (13/129, 10.08%), 10/10 in Hockey East play (9/86, 10.5%)
UVM: 50/59 in the nation (14/106, 13.21%), 8/10 in Hockey East play (9/73, 12.3%)

Penalty Kill:
Maine: T34/59 in the nation (82.8%), 8/10 in Hockey East play (81.4%)
UVM: 42/59 in the nation (80.7%), 10/10 in Hockey East play (79.1%)

Penalty Minutes:
Maine: 14/59 in the nation (14.37 PIM/G), 2/10 in Hockey East play (14.2 PIM/G)
UVM: 24/59 in the nation (13.00 PIM/G), T4/10 in Hockey East play (13.1 PIM/G)