The University of Maine men’s hockey team finished 10th among 12 teams in Hockey East a year ago and the league’s coaches and media representatives don’t expect them to make any progress this season.
Maine was chosen 10th in the coaches poll and 11th in the Hockey East Writers and Broadcasters Association poll released Monday and Sunday, respectively.
The men finished tied for ninth in points with newcomer UConn last season but UConn won the tiebreaker by going 1-0-1 vs. Maine.
Maine went 8-12-2 in league play, 14-22-3 overall and has finished in the top four just twice over the last nine seasons: fourth in 2011-12 and tied for third in 2009-10.
The Black Bears’ last two NCAA Tournament appearances came in 2011-12 and 2006-07.
Boston College and Boston University were chosen as the top two teams, respectively, in each poll. Defending NCAA champion Providence was third and UMass Lowell was fourth in the coaches poll but they flip-flopped in the media poll with UMass Lowell third and Providence fourth.
Providence beat BU 4-3 in last year’s NCAA title game in Boston.
The Bears will return 13 of last year’s top 17 point-getters and both goalies under third-year coach Red Gendron. The team will be infused by a nine-member freshman class.
Center Devin Shore and defenseman Ben Hutton, who were All-Americans in 2013-14, decided to pass up their senior seasons to begin their pro careers.
“I don’t care where we were picked,” said Gendron. “It’s all a reflection of how we’re viewed around the league. We’ll see.”
He said the league is “exceptional” like it is every year.
“There are all kinds of good teams. There are no easy opponents,” said Gendron.
Gendron has had limited exposure to his team thus far because, under NCAA rules, Division I coaches are allowed to conduct just two hours of instruction per week until the official start of the season on Oct. 3.
Teams can hold several captain’s practices without coaches.
“I’ve only had two hours with them but I like the way the team is coming together and the way the older players have taken charge of the team,” he said.
Despite the loss of key players, Gendron said, ‘We have a whole bunch of guys coming back and if they did their work during the summer, they will be improved. A lot of our players will be assuming larger roles.
“We also have an older group of freshmen. They’re a bigger group physically and they are more mature. I’m pretty excited about the class,” said Gendron.
Seven of the freshmen stand at least 6-foot-2.
He is also expecting noticeable improvement from his goaltending tandem of sophomore Sean Romeo and junior Matt Morris, who both gained a lot of experience a year ago.
“We’re in much better position than we were last year … They each played way better in the second half than they did in the first half. The mistakes we made defensively put them in a difficult position. For a team to be successful, it has to play well collectively, individuals have to step up and make plays and they all have to cover each other’s backs,” said Gendron.
Maine will have a free Blue-White scrimmage followed by an autograph session at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4.
The Black Bears will open the season against Michigan State and North Dakota on Oct. 9-10, respectively, at the IceBreaker Tournament in Portland’s Cross Insurance Arena.
There were no Maine players selected to the Hockey East Writers and Broadcasters Association preseason team. The players chosen were forwards Tyler Kelleher (New Hampshire), Danny O’Regan (BU), Kevin Roy (Northeastern) and Alex Tuch (BC); defensemen Matt Grzelcyk (BU) and Ian McCoshen (BC) and goalie Thatcher Demko (BC).
A preseason coaches poll was also released for Hockey East’s women’s teams with UMaine selected fourth in the nine-team league. Boston College was picked first, followed by Boston University and Northeastern.
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