ORONO, Maine – When the Boston University ice hockey team was told to leave their road scarlet sweaters at home before the trip to Maine, it may have raised some eyebrows in the Terrier locker room. The thought of wearing white jerseys outside of Walter Brown Arena was enough in and of itself enough to make the Terriers feel uncomfortable.
But wearing those white jerseys in a vast sea of blue was enough to push them into a Bear trap. And unfortunately for the Terriers, it took them 15 minutes to wiggle their way out.
By then, it was too late.
The Terriers spent the first 15 minutes of Saturday night’s 2-1 loss to the University of Maine on their heels as the Black Bears skated circles around every BU turnover, misplay and errant pass. And in their new baby blue third jerseys they looked damn good doing it too.
‘I didn’t think we played that well,’ Parker said bluntly. ‘There were a lot of guys who just struggled to get going offensively. We had good balance tonight on all four lines none of them played very well. They were competing like hell, but they just didn’t seem like they had their legs.’
When the two teams took the ice for pregame warm-ups, the Bears emerged from their cave wearing their usual home whites. As the two squads went through pre-game drills, everyone inside sold-out Alfond Arena knew Maine head coach Tim Whitehead was hiding something and it wasn’t just the new blue sweaters.
‘From the opening faceoff, Maine came with a one-man forecheck and we couldn’t get out of our zone,’ Parker said. ‘We just misread what we were doing out there many, many times. And that really hurt us. And I thought Maine played extremely well.’
Every time the puck found its way into the corner, that one-man Maine forecheck somehow kicked it back to the point and onto the waiting stick blade of a Black Bear defender. The Bears managed 13 shots in the first period and forced the Terriers to scramble just to stay in the game.
Parker said he told his team how to handle the 1-2-2 strategy. But from the looks of it, it took the Terriers a little while to catch on.
‘Two shifts into the game, I said ‘hey boys, forget what we talked about, they’re not coming hard, they’re only playing with one guy … use the net and lose ’em,” Parker said. ‘We just couldn’t seem to do it for a while.’
While the Maine forwards were busy burying BU in its own zone, the ‘Maine-iaks’ in the stands were helping their team dig a grave fit for a Terrier. Not even a second-period Matt Radoslovich goal could bring the Terriers back to life. And combine the new blue jerseys with a free t-shirt for every fan, and ‘The Alfond,’ as the locals call it, was just a little louder than your average cemetery.
Unlike many arenas in college hockey, Alfond is home to fans that not only love their team, but know enough about hockey to make even a Canadian proud. The blue-clad Mainers make themselves heard not only when one of their beloved Bears gets on the board, but at moments that would make the casual hockey fan turn up an eyebrow in confusion.
Perhaps the most striking example of Alfond’s effect came in the closing minutes of the third period. After a sustained Terrier attack, Maine was forced to ice the puck into the BU end. During the ensuing pause in action, Whitehead and his team seemed to send a subconscious message to each of the 5,641 fans in attendance, begging for some help.
The ‘Maine-iaks’ responded, coming to their feet and making enough noise to wake up Black Bear fans from Bar Harbor to Bangor and Kittery to Kennebunkport, who were surely listening on the radio or watching on CBS.
Yes University of Maine hockey games are on the local CBS affiliate. That should tell you all you need to know about how much this state loves its Black Bears.
‘Our fans were unbelievable they were the extra player,’ Whitehead said. ‘That’s as good as I’ve ever seen them I think. I thought that the atmosphere gave us a boost right from the beginning, and hopefully that was worth a goal or two early, and we battled hard to hang on to our lead.’
And hang on they did, as the Terriers shook off the jitters with a strong penalty kill late in the first period that served to wake up the seemingly-slumbering squad. But just as BU saw the bright light from the bottom of their two-goal hole, the Bears and their fans kicked, screamed – boy did they scream – and kicked enough dirt on the hole to put BU back in its place.
The Black Bears proved that when you have 21 hockey sticks – and 5,641 shovels – you can dig a grave in just 15 short minutes.