Maine focus

Before the season started, Boston University men’s hockey coach Jack Parker said he thought the University of Maine would be the most improved team in Hockey East. But even he didn’t think the Black Bears would be this good.

“I thought they had a chance to be fighting for home ice,” Parker said after Wednesday’s practice. “I did not think they’d have a chance to win first place.”

Yet, the No. 12 Black Bears (14-9-3, 11-6-2) have that chance. They enter this weekend’s series with the Terriers (11-12-3, 8-9-2) tied with No. 10 Boston College for second in the league with 24 points, three behind the No. 15 University of New Hampshire.

Faceoff at Agganis Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday.
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Maine has finished ninth and eighth in the conference in the last two seasons, respectively, but now appears to be on its way back to national prominence &-&- the Black Bears reached a remarkable 11 Frozen Fours from 1988 to 2007 and won two national titles in 1993 and 1999.

The key to the Black Bears’ turnaround has been their explosive offense, which ranks second in HE and fourth in the country with 3.73 goals per game.

“They’re a pretty high-octane offensive team,” said Terrier captain and junior defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. “They have really fast forwards. Their defense likes to join in as well. We just have to make sure we’re backchecking hard, which we’ve been doing really well lately. That helps us kind of take the rush a little better and stop the play before it really happens.”

Maine also boasts a lethal power play. The Black Bears rank first in the nation with a 30.2-percent conversion rate. In a 3-2 loss at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine on Nov. 8, though, BU managed to hold Maine to a 1-for-6 showing with just five shots on the man advantage.

The principal cog for the Black Bears on offense and on the power play is forward Gustav Nyquist, whom Parker called “the best player in the league offensively.” The sophomore from Sweden is fourth nationally in points with 40 (14g, 26a) and second in points per game with 1.54.

“Today, Coach pointed out that their two power-play units have two completely different looks,” Shattenkirk said. “So first off, it’s a matter of knowing who’s out there. Obviously, Gustav Nyquist is a very dangerous forward. Whenever the puck’s on his stick, you know he wants to make a play. So we have to keep the puck off his stick and just pressure them and force them to make passes they don’t want to make.”

That pressure the Terriers like to bring when they’re killing penalties has resulted in nine short-handed goals, the most in the country. Sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky is leading the way in that department &-&- his four shorties are tied for first nationally.

Any thought of backing down a little against Maine’s potent power play is one that’s not in the heads of the Terriers, though.

“The reason we’ve been doing well in that area is just because we’ve been pressuring teams a lot and kind of forcing them to hesitate a little bit,” Shattenkirk said. “A lot of guys have been just jumping plays and making good reads. If we keep playing that way, I think we’ll be fine.”

Although Nov. 8 was a long time ago, BU doesn’t have to go that far back to draw on experiences against a fast, dynamic team. That’s because that description also applies to BC, a team the Terriers have played three times in a little more than a month, including Monday’s 4-3 loss in the Beanpot championship game.

“They’re very similar to BC,” Parker said of the Black Bears. “A lot of their forwards can really move and put a lot of pressure on your defense. . . . We just played a team that has a great power play and was hot as hell on the power play. So we got good practice playing against BC for this Maine series, that’s for sure.”

Game notes: BU is currently tied with the No. 17 University of Vermont and No. 20 University of Massachusetts-Lowell for fifth in HE with 18 points. … Sophomore goalie Kieran Millan, who is 6-2-0 with a 2.63 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in the new year, will get the start Friday night. Parker said he would decide on Saturday’s starter after that. … Junior defenseman Colby Cohen, who re-aggravated his hip last week and missed Friday’s 3-2 win over UML before returning and scoring a goal Monday, did not skate Wednesday.Parker said he will play Friday, though, and that the trainers will see how he feels after the game before his status for Saturday is determined. Parker said Cohen “stiffened up quite a bit” after Monday’s game.