Transfer comes up big for Maine men's hockey

Mar. 20—The University of Maine men's hockey team was bolstered by a handful of transfer players this season. The lone defenseman in the group is Frank Djurasevic, who not only has been a strong defensive player for the Black Bears, but also has been an offensive catalyst.

A sophomore who spent last season playing for Maine's Hockey East rival Merrimack, Djurasevic entered Thursday's Hockey East semifinal against Northeastern with seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points. Of his seven goals, two came on the power play and one was shorthanded. Djurasevic's 27 points is the most by a Maine defenseman since the 2013-14 season, when Ben Hutton had 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points from the blue line.

Djurasevic had a goal and an assist in last week's 7-1 win over UMass Lowell in the conference quarterfinals.

Coming to Maine was the exact right decision, Djurasevic said following Tuesday's practice.

"It's everything I could've hoped and dreamed of. It's exceeded that. Obviously, we're in a great spot right now, playing for championships," he said. "That's what I wanted. That's why I wanted to be here. Now that we have the opportunity, it's time to go out and get it."

THE BLACK BEARS' opponent Thursday, Northeastern, had a distinct Maine presence in the lineup. Jack Williams, the Huskies captain, is a Biddeford native. Also on Northeastern's roster is Andy Moore, a Cumberland native.

A junior, Williams entered the game as the Huskies' leading scorer with 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points. Against the Black Bears this season, Williams had an assist in a game at Northeastern's Matthews Arena on Oct. 25, and another assist the following night. He was held off the scoresheet when the Huskies visited Alfond Arena on Jan. 31. Williams had an assist in last Saturday's 3-1 win over No. 1 Boston College, the Huskies' biggest win of the season thus far.

Prior to attending Northeastern, Williams spent four seasons with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.

A sophomore forward, Moore had three assists entering Thursday night's game against the Black Bears. After graduating from Greely in 2020, Moore spent two seasons with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL.

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS in the Hockey East tournament, the league is going to be well represented when the NCAA field is announced at 3 p.m. Sunday on ESPN U.

Entering Thursday's Hockey East semifinals, the conference had six teams —Boston College, Maine, Boston University, UConn, Providence, and UMass — ranked in the top 11 of the PairWise rankings, the formula used by the NCAA to determine and seed the tournament. A seventh Hockey East team, Northeastern, could crash the NCAA tournament party with a win in Friday's conference championship game.

Since the NCAA expanded the men's hockey tournament from 12 to 16 teams in 2003, a conference has sent six teams to the tournament four times. Hockey East was the last to do it, in 2016. No league has had seven teams qualify for the tournament.

HOCKEY EAST ANNOUNCED its major award winners earlier this week. Boston College forward Ryan Leonard was named Player of the Year, Cole Hutson of Boston University was chosen Rookie of the Year, and UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh was voted Coach of the Year by his peers.

Leonard led the Eagles and conference in scoring with 29 goals and 18 assists for 47 points. His 29 goals currently leads the nation. Hutson is the third consecutive BU player to earn Rookie of the Year honors. With 12 goals and 27 assists, Hutson is the highest scoring freshman in the country.

After his Huskies were picked eighth in Hockey East's preseason poll, Cavanaugh coached his squad to fourth place in the regular season, while ensuring the team would earn a bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time. Maine coach Ben Barr was a finalist for the league's coach of the year honors for the second straight season.

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