Pucks and Pins

This past weekend Dan and I went up to Orono, Maine for the UNH vs. Maine hockey games at Alfond Arena. Dan actually went to see Maine vs UNH (since he was a Maine graduate).

Temperature in the Orono area was a balmy 6 degrees. We had planned to take a shuttle bus from the parking lot near the Collins Center (on the other side of campus from the arena). However, on Friday night the shuttle was non-existent, so we had to walk to and from the parking lot (about a 10 minute walk). It actually wasn’t bad and ended up being much better than standing around in the cold and waiting for a bus

Alfond Arena was packed as usual on both nights. Even as “the enemy”, I appreciate the passion of the Alfond faithful.

Friday night’s game was scoreless for the first two periods. About 4 minutes into the third period, Cam McDonald put the Cats up 1-0 on a beautiful breakaway goal. The UNH defense and goalie Kyle Chauvette stood on their heads for the rest of the game. Final Score: CATS 1 – Maine 0.

On Saturday morning we went to Ocean State Job Lots so Dan could replace the gloves that he lost. After that we went over to try our luck at the Hollywood Casino. I was down about $35 of my budgeted $40 on some unfriendly slot machines. I then headed over to the roulette machine and put $1.00 on the number of our Captain, Morgan Winters (26), and two of our Assistant Captains, JP Turner (16) and Marty Lavins (6). JP Turner’s number came up and brought me back to break even.

We had an early dinner at Pat’s Pizza then headed over to the arena. We caught the shuttle bus (avoiding another walk across the frozen tundra) and checked out some of the Alfond renovations, which are amazing). The Maine Student section trolled the Cats during warmups by swinging “cat toys” from the balcony. Even as a UNH fan, I found that hilarious.

Maine took a 1-0 lead early in the first period on a goal by Josh Nadeau. Nick Ring tied the game up a few minutes later. JP Turner broke the tie 9 minutes into the second period, and Josh Player added to the lead with his first collegiate goal, making the score Cats 3 – Maine 1.

Maine cut the lead to 3-2 early in the third period. I spent the rest of game wishing that the play clock would speed up. No lead is safe when you are playing the Black Bears on their home ice. Once again Kyle Chauvette stood on his head, and the UNH shut down the Maine offense by blocking shots with their sticks, skates and bodies. Maine thought they tied up the game with seconds remaining – referees signaled no goal, and the call was held up on review.

Maine won the game 3-2, sweeping a series in Alfond for the first time since 2008.

Other highlights of the weekend include

Congratulations to Mike Souza for this 100th career victory as UNH Head Coach. It was especially nice for it to be against his arch rival. Coach was a player on the 1999 Wildcat team that lost to Maine in the National Championship game.

It was great to see Marty Lavins back on the ice after sustaining an injury on opening weekend against Michigan State.

I stayed at the same hotel as team – so I was able to wish them luck as they boarded the team bus to go to the game. I also had the great fortune to meet some of the players’ parents. It’s nice to get to know them off the ice.

Alfond Arena has great hot chocolate for only $3.00

I always receive some good natured ribbing from Maine fans when I am at Alfond. Usually it’s the standard “We’ve got two, how about you”. I’ve always said that I’m going to buy a drink for the person who comes up with something more creative. This year someone came up to me and said “I bet you wish UNH had more medals than you do”. I burst out laughing – then went over, gave him five bucks (I had originally planned to get a $5 Dunkin gift card) and said “buy yourself a drink”. He didn’t know what to think, but eventually had a good laugh and we had a great conversation. Turns out his son is one of this years “Naked Five”.

Sitting two rows behind the bench gives you an interesting perspective of the game. I resisted the urge to tell Coach he was blocking my view. I did get to see the interaction between the players during the game. They have each other’s back and are coming together as a very cohesive unit.

It’s back to the Whittemore Center on Sunday for the “Battle of New Hampshire” and a game against nationally ranked Dartmouth.

Seriously, this was one of the best college hockey weekends ever.