Maine Goalie Gets It Done Without Flair
Maine goalie Alfie Michaud didn’t make a bunch of flashy, sprawling saves Thursday. His Goaltending 101 style wasn’t exciting, just successful.
Michaud gave up only one goal on 36 shots, leading the Black Bears to a 2-1 overtime victory over Boston College and into Saturday’s NCAA title game against New Hampshire.
“This was a typical Alfie Michaud game,” Maine Coach Shawn Walsh said. “If you look back, he didn’t make any saves that were unbelievably spectacular. . . . Everything hit him. He is as good a positional goalie as we’ve ever had, and maybe that is why he doesn’t get the accolades that other goalies have gotten.”
Michaud, who leads the nation in wins with 27, was tested often in the second period, facing 17 shots, several from point-blank range. The junior’s only breakdown came in the second period on a Boston College power play when Marty Hughes fired a slap shot past him.
“We have been saying all year that every guy is a piece of the puzzle,” Michaud said, “and I just wanted to be one of the pieces doing their job. That is how I’ve been playing all year, just worrying about the exact second and telling myself to stop the puck, and fortunately, I did.”
Michaud also had to contend with his counterpart, BC goalie Scott Clemmensen, who was on a hot streak of his own. In the Eagles’ two previous NCAA Regional games, Clemmensen had given up just two goals on 59 shots.
Clemmensen was on his game again Thursday, matching Michaud with 35 saves and holding Maine to one goal before Bobby Stewart flipped a wrist shot past him in overtime.
“We had great opportunities to score and we needed to finish those,” BC Coach Jerry York said, “but give credit to Alfie, he played very, very well. We had our chances.”
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Forgive New Hampshire’s Jason Krog for not being consumed with thinking about college hockey’s biggest individual award. He has something else on his mind.
Krog, a front-runner for the Hobey Baker Award, has an NCAA title to play for Saturday.
The New Hampshire forward, who had two goals and an assist in the Wildcats’ 5-3 victory over Michigan State Thursday night, is among 10 finalists for the award, which will be announced at 11 a.m. today at the Hilton Anaheim and Towers.
“I’m just trying to wind down now,” Krog said. “I’m really excited about being in the title game and trying to relax. It’s hard to think about that now.”
Krog was the Hockey East player of the year and leads the nation with 84 points (34 goals, 50 assists). Other front-runners include Michigan State’s Mike York, Boston College’s Brian Gionta, Maine’s Steve Kariya and North Dakota’s Jason Blake.
York, who had two assists Thursday, was the Central Collegiate Hockey Assn. player of the year. Considered one of the top defensive forwards in college hockey, York ended his season with a team-leading 54 points (22 goals, 32 assists).
“I think York’s a terrific player,” New Hampshire Coach Dick Umile said. “It’s going to be a hard choice for the award.”
The ceremony is free.
Notes
Strange as it may seem, seven Boston College seniors ended their college careers where they started them--at the Pond. The Eagles opened the 1995-96 season in the Great Western Freeze-Out, which was played at the Forum and the Pond. . . . Maine’s Brendan Walsh, no relation to Shawn, suffered a knee injury in the first period and will not play the title game, his coach said. . . . Single-game tickets will be sold at the Pond for Saturday’s championship game.