Oct. 23, 2006

ORONO, Maine - University of Maine men's ice hockey goalie Ben Bishop has been named the Pure Hockey Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Teddy Purcell has been named the Superskills Hockey Rookie of the Week by Hockey East. Bishop stopped 48 of 50 shots faced in the weekend sweep at North Dakota. Purcell had the Black Bears' first goal each night against the Fighting Sioux and added an assist.

The Black Bears, 5-0-0 on the season, have moved up in the national rankings to first place. In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, Maine picked up 31-of-34 first place votes. In the USCHO.com/CSTV poll, Maine had 34-of-40 first place votes. The last time Maine was ranked first overall in both polls was on March 22, 2004.

Bishop, a sophomore from Des Peres, Mo., leads the conference with a 5-0-0 record this season and also is tops in goals against average (1.49) and save percentage (.944). This is his second Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honor this season, having also received the honor on October 9. Last season he earned Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors three times and Hockey East Player of the Week honors once. He was also named Rookie of the Month twice and Hockey East Goalie of the Month twice.

Purcell, a freshman from St. John's, Newfoundland, leads all Hockey East rookies with seven points. His five goals are tops in the conference among all players, while his three power play goals are tied for fourth in the nation.

Maine will host Massachusetts on Saturday night at 7:00 pm in the Hockey East opener. The game will be broadcast by WABI-TV 5 and www.watchmainesports.com. For single-game tickets or more information, please visit www.GoBlackBears.com.