Hockey
Michael King

Face-offs and special teams. That was the name of the game for Maine in their 4-1 upset of No. 7 St. Cloud State in the second game of the quarterfinals in the NCAA East Regional. The Black Bears stormed out to 3-1 lead at the end of the first period, behind two power play goals. They also won 33 of 61 face-off attempts.

But the real story of the game is the return of Ben Bishop to the Black Bear crease. The sophomore missed all four games against UMass due to injury, but made 20 saves against the SCSU offense.

Just in case five games is not enough to decide a season series, UMass and Maine will face each other with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.

The return of Bishop is the most striking change since UMass and Maine met two weeks ago. The goalie gives Maine a different dynamic in net, something that perhaps translates to its offense and special teams units. The Black Bear offense appears to have regained its form after failing to perform against the Minutemen in four consecutive games.

But the Minutemen still hold the key to solving Maine’s Hockey East leading power play – limiting penalties. UMass was the least penalized team in the conference this season, although it allowed Maine to score six times on the power play during the four games (a 30 percent efficiency, higher than its average of 21 percent).