The University of Maine and Merrimack battle this weekend for a spot in Hockey East’s Final Four, and more.

This quarterfinal series could also decide who goes to the NCAA tournament.

“Most likely,” Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said when asked if his team needs to win the series to secure an NCAA berth. “That’s what we’re assuming.”

Maine (20-11-3), seeded fourth in the league playoffs, will host No. 5 Merrimack (17-10-7) in a best-of-three series, starting tonight at Alfond Arena.

Maine is tied for ninth in the Pairwise Rankings, the system based on the one used by the NCAA tournament selection committee. Merrimack is tied for 14th.

The NCAA tournament is comprised of 16 teams — five conference champions and 11 at-large selections.

If Maine losses two games to Merrimack, it could drop out of contention. The Warriors would likely be done with two losses to Maine.

This is familiar territory for the Black Bears, who have been on the brink of reaching the NCAAs the previous two seasons but were stopped in the Hockey East playoffs.

“Nothing we haven’t seen the last two years,” Whitehead said. “We’ve been in that bubble area, fighting every game, (so) we’re used to it.”

The Black Bears made a charge through the 2010 Hockey East tournament as underdogs, needing to win title to qualify for the NCAAs. They lost the championship game to Boston College, 7-6 in overtime.

Last year, Maine was the fifth seed in Hockey East and on the NCAA bubble, but was swept in a quarterfinal series at Merrimack.

Now the Warriors must travel to the Alfond Arena. They broke a 14-year winless streak in Orono with a 2-1 victory in October. And Merrimack has been a decent road team this year, with a 7-5-1 record.

“Part of it is having a good veteran corps,” Merrimack Coach Mark Dennehy said, “a lot of seniors who have played tough games. Whether we drive to Orono or Timbuktu, all that matters is what is happening between the glass.”

The Warriors feature the second-best defense in Hockey East, allowing 2.26 goals per game. Joe Cannata has a 2.19 goals-against average.

Maine counters with the third-best offense in the league (3.5 goals per game), the best power play (27.8 success rate), and one of the best lines in the country, with Spencer Abbott, Brian Flynn and Joey Diamond, who rank 1-2-3 in scoring in Hockey East.

Maine has a total of only five goals in three games against Merrimack this year — two losses and a tie.

“They’re an offensive juggernaut. You have to be very respectful and make sure you get on the right side of the puck,” Dennehy said. “We’ve had some success forcing them to defend. Offensive players don’t like to play defense. The further away the puck is from your net, the better.”

But Dennehy knows the Black Bears’ strength is more than offense.

“Anyone who saw the Maine-UNH game (a 1-0 Maine win last Saturday) — they can defend,” Dennehy said. “(Goalie) Dan Sullivan seems to be coming into his own.”

Merrimack was ranked No. 1 in the country earlier in the season but is 6-7-4 since New Years Day. That includes a 1-5-2 mark against Hockey East’s top three teams — Boston College, Boston University and UMass-Lowell.

“I would argue that there is probably not a tougher second half in the country,” Dennehy said of his team’s schedule. “I really like how we came through it. We’re battle-tested.”

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: KevinThomasPPH

 

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