Dec. 22, 2005

THIS WEEK: Maine will travel to the Florida College Classic for the sixth straight season and will face Minnesota-Duluth and either Cornell or Northeastern. Maine is coming into the Tournament following 17 days off and with a two-game win streak. The Maine penalty kill is first in the country at 94.2% and the Black Bears have the third-ranked defense in the nation. Minnesota-Duluth is 7-10-3 overall and have a 5-6-3 record in the WCHA following two loses to Denver. Cornell is 8-3-1 overall and are 5-2-1 in ECAC play. The Big Red are ranked eighth in the USCHO/CSTV poll and tenth in the USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine poll.Northeastern is 1-9-4 on the season and are 1-6-4 in Hockey East play. The Black Bears are 11-5-0 overall and 5-4-0 in conference play and are currently in sixth place in Hockey East. Maine is ranked tenth in the USCHO/CSTV poll and eighth in the USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS: The Black Bears are led on offense by senior captain Greg Moore (Lisbon, Maine), who has scored a team-high ten goals with four assists for fourteen points. Senior Derek Damon (Bangor, Maine) has five goals - three on the power play - and added eight assists for thirteen points. Junior assistant captain Michel Léveillé (Levis, Quebec) has scored seven goals and added five assists for twelve points. Senior Jon Jankus (Stoney Creek, Ontario) has three goals and three assists on the season. Junior Josh Soares (Hamilton, Ontario) has scored six goals - five on the power play - and has added eight assists. Sophomore Billy Ryan (Milton, Mass.) has four goals and has a team-high twelve assists. Sophomore Keenan Hopson (Prince George, British Columbia) has scored three goals and has also has a team-high twelve assists. Junior Keith Johnson (Windsor, Conn.) has a goal and five assists. Junior Brent Shepheard (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia) scored his first two goals of the season at UMass Lowell. Sophomore Rob Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.) has three goals and three assists for five points. Junior Mike Hamilton (Victoria, British Columbia) has three assists on the season. Senior John Hopson (Prince George, British Columbia), who transferred from Alaska-Anchorage, has four goals and six assists on the season. Sophomore Wes Clark (Oakville, Ontario) has not seen action this season due to injury. Freshman Vince Laise (Brampton, Ontario), who sat out last season due to NCAA regulations, has played in six games. Freshmen Christopher Hahn (Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan) and Jeff Marshall (Kyle, Saskatchewan) have both seen limited action this season.

The defense is anchored by senior assistant captain Steve Mullin (Cartwright, Manitoba), who has two assists and has played in 75 straight games. Junior Mike Lundin (Apple Valley, Minn.) has five assists on the season, and missed two games due to injury. Senior Travis Wight (Fannystelle, Manitoba) has played in all 16 games this season and has one goal and two assists. Sophomore Bret Tyler (Maynard, Mass.) had a goal and two assists against Northeastern, bringing his total to two goals and eight assists on the season. Sophomore Travis Ramsey (Lakewood, Calif.) has played in all 16 games this season. Joining the defense this season are Simon Danis-Pepin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec), who has one assist, Matt Duffy (Windham, Maine), who has two assists, and Bryan Plaszcz (Apple Valley, Minn.), who scored a goal against Alabama-Huntsville.

In goal, sophomore Matt Lundin (Apple Valley, Minn.), has a 0.96 GAA and a .957 save percentage, with shutout wins over Alabama-Huntsville and Massachusetts and a 5-1-0 record. Freshman Ben Bishop (Des Peres, Mo.) has started ten games with a 6-4-0 record, posting a .914 save percentage and a 2.17 GAA. The third goalie is sophomore Ryan Shelley (Gray, Maine), who saw time in the exhibition game against the US Under 18 Team.

SLAPSHOTS: Maine has outscored the opponent 52 to 27 ... Maine's penalty kill is first in the nation at 94.2%, the scoring margin of 1.56 is fourth in the nation and the power play is eleventh in the nation at 20.9% ... The Black Bears scoring has been balanced, with 15 goals in the first, 16 in the second and 21 in the third period ... With road wins over Boston College and Massachusetts, it marked the first time Maine had two Hockey East road wins on the same weekend since November 15 and 16, 2002 against Northeastern and Boston University ... Matt Lundin had a shutout streak of 161:03 ended against Boston University ... Bryan Plaszcz scored his first collegiate goal against Alabama-Huntsville (10/21) ... Travis Wight scored his first collegiate goal against UMass Lowell (11/11) ... Billy Ryan is averaging 1.14 points per game.

MAINE PLAYERS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Matt Lundin is first in the nation with a 0.96 goals against average and a .957 save percentage. Ben Bishop is 12th in the nation with a 2.17 goals against average ... Bishop is 24th in the nation with a .914 save percentage ... Greg Moore is tied for third in the nation with four game-winning goals ... Josh Soares and Michel Léveillé are tied for 20th in the nation with five power play goals ... Billy Ryan is 25th in the nation with an 0.86 assist per game average and he is 50th in the nation with a 1.14 point per game average.

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