Maine weekend awaits No. 11 men’s hockey

In consecutive games last weekend against then-No. 4 Boston College, the final two minutes of regulation were all that separated the No. 11 Boston University men’s hockey team from having a great series or an unsatisfied one.

What appeared poised to be a three- or possibly four-point weekend for BU turned into a two-day span in which the Terriers (11-7-4, 5-4-3 Hockey East) earned only one tie and subsequently only one point.

Days after the two-game set ended, head coach David Quinn did not paint a rosy picture about his team’s performance. Admittedly, he did not get a lot of sleep Sunday night, putting the onus on himself for the weekend.

Still, he was blunt about how the team played.

“I would describe our play as lazy,” Quinn said. “I certainly take a lot of responsibility for that. It’s been a funny three weeks since we’ve been back. It’s like we’ve had two seasons. I thought we did a lot of good things before the break and we’ve gotten away from those things.

“It’s almost like we’ve had to start all over again,” he added.

But all is not glum for the Terriers, as they can get back on the right track this weekend with a two-game series against last-place University of Maine that begins Friday in Orono, Maine.

The better news for the Terriers, at least to Quinn, is the fact that they’ve had a strong week of practices. That’s something Quinn said he hopes his unit can build off of as it enters a stretch of three Hockey East games leading into February’s Beanpot Tournament.

“We’ve had a great week of practice so far,” Quinn said. “Probably as good as we’ve had in a long time. I’m anxious to see how we play Friday night … There’s a good feel right now. I think the guys feel really good about their performance this week, and they feel good about what they’ve accomplished.”

Senior assistant captain Danny O’Regan, who added three points against the Eagles (15-4-3, 8-1-3 Hockey East) and now has a team-leading 26 for the season, reiterated Quinn’s sentiments about the team’s practices this week, saying the team skated harder and better over the past few sessions.

But what O’Regan has also done personally in preparation for these upcoming games, aside from his normal practice routine, is talk to the young players about the intensity and energy of Maine’s (5-13-6, 2-6-2 Hockey East) Alfond Arena.

“I’ve been building it up pretty good,” O’Regan said. “Orono, playing in that rink is just insane. It’s one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever played in.”

Indeed, Maine’s best efforts this season have come at home, where the Black Bears have compiled a 5-3-3 record. The rest of Maine’s numbers, however, are not as positive.

Head coach Red Gendron’s bunch has yet to win a game at a rink away from home, and it has not won a conference game since Nov. 20. Problems have especially been prominent in the goal-scoring department and on special teams.

Maine sits at the bottom of the conference in goals per game (1.79) and on the power play (9.6 percent). The penalty kill hasn’t been much better, where the Black Bears rank 11th in the conference at 78.7 percent. The offense that has been there for Maine has mostly come from forwards Blaine Byron and Will Merchant, who have 13 points apiece.

“I could probably say this about any team that doesn’t have a good record in our league — you can look at the shot chart,” Quinn said of Maine. “I talked to Coach [Mike] Cavanaugh from [the University of] Connecticut, and Maine played well and could have won both games [against UConn]. We can’t let our opponent dictate our work level and our physical play.”

And if there was any chance of an emotional letdown this weekend, going from an archrival to a bottom-of-the-standings team, Quinn said BU needs to only look at itself before making any judgments.

“The fact that we’re 5-4-3 [in Hockey East], who the heck are we?” Quinn said with a laugh. “We are who we are. And there’s a reason we’re 5-4-3, we deserve to be 5-4-3. If we’re going to climb the standings, we’ve got to put forth an effort night in and night out that’s worthy of getting two points.”