FunkyBlueFish203

Defending champs Maine lost in the Hockey East semi-finals to Boston College this evening. The game went to 2 OTs. Howard made 36 saves and did everything in his power to keep Maine in the game. The game winner was deflected into the net by Maine's own d-man. Corey Schneider was equally stellar in net for BC who played without their star, Patrick Eaves. Maine might still qualify for the NCAA tournament as they are seeded 10th in the nation. BC will play the winner of BU and UNH tomorrow evening at the Fleet Center. And in addition, Jimmy Howard was named all-conference honorable mention at the annual Hockey East Awards banquet in Boston. He has six shutouts on the season and a 1.97 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. His 19 wins is the most by a Hockey East goalie this season.

Hockey East Online: Anybody's ballgame No. 4 Maine Overall record: 20-11-7 Hockey East record: 13-6-5 Current PairWise position: t-11th How they advanced: Swept No. 5 UMass-Lowell, 7-2, 5-1. Leading scorers: Derek Damon (14-13-27), Jon Jankus (18-7-25), Greg Moore (14-9-23), Michel Leveille (12-11-23) Goaltender: Jimmy Howard (19-11-7, 1.97 gaa, .921 sv%) Who’s Hot: Jimmy Howard (has allowed four goals only twice since Christmas), Michel Leveille (Five goals and 11 points in last eight games) Who’s Not: Ben Murphy (two points since Christmas) Why Maine can win this championship: In the postseason it’s all about goaltending. For the second consecutive season, Jimmy Howard has come ready to play in March. Last year, Howard brought Maine within a couple of goal pipes of a national championship, this year he’s brought Maine back from the dead, rallying the Black Bears to home ice and a weekend quarterfinal split of pesky UMass-Lowell. The Black Bears also have incredible offensive balance. Maine boasts 15 different players with double-digit scoring. Last weekend against Lowell, nine players different players accounted for the 12 goals that were scored. What Maine has to do to win the championship: Maine is going to get good goaltending. They’re going to get consistent scoring. The one thing that is critical to the Black Bears is special teams. Last week, Maine scored six power play goals in the sweep of UMass-Lowell. At the same time, the penalty kill stopped nine of ten Lowell chances. If Maine’s going to win this championship, they’ll need this special teams success to continue. At the same time, Maine has to continue to play with a sense of urgency. Last weekend, it was win or go home. Though an NCAA bid seems within grasp, the Black Bears would need to make the championship game to make that “probably� into a “definitely�. Without any doubt, the pride of the Black Bears showed last weekend. It’s been six straight NCAA appearances for Maine. No one in the North Country wants to see that streak end.

And 21 saves for Jimmy Howard tonight as Maine swept UMass Lowell. Final score: 5-1. Matt Lundin replaced Jimmy in net with a little over 2 minutes left to play. Howard was spectacular in net, especially in the 1st half when it was a 1-goal game. He was also terrific during the PK. Maine moves on the HE semifinals and improves it's chances of making it into the NCAA tournament. Simply put, Jimmy Howard is best goalie in the nation and no college team wants to face him in the playoffs

After a heartbreaking loss and tie with BC last week, Maine entered this weekend with one mission on their minds - win and move on. The Hockey East Quarter Finals have officially begun. Jimmy Howard put on a show tonight. 26 crackling saves. Took him over 55 minutes to surrender his 1st goal, after which he was replaced by freshman goalie, Lundin. The coach probably had Jimmy in for so long because he had the shut... going. Lundin surrendered a goal but the BlackBears still won this in convincing fashion, laying a 7-2 smackdown on UMASS Lowell. Game 2 tomorrow night.

Comrie played at Michigan. Left college and played in the WHL with Kootenay. The fact that Edmonton hadn't signed him after 2 years of drafting him, and the fact that he had quit college a year ago would've made him an UFA at the end of the year. But Edmonton inked him and that's how he got his big money. We keep the rights to Jimmy Howard until he stays in college. He's got a year left and he will play it out. There were talks of him leaving after his junior year and joining the Griffins next year, but that was only if the labor talks had been resolved. They didn't, and so the kid will play in college and then join the Griffins and work his way up.

Jimmy Howard Named Hockey East Defensive Player Of Week

This Week in Hockey East: It Doesn't Get Any Bigger Some Jimmy Howard bits... Big weekend for Maine. Every game is potentially huge for them. And Maine just beat UMass-Lowell 2-0 in the 1st game. 6th shutout of the season for Jimmy - 27 saves.

Red Wings Central says he's doing okay as of late. Still, nothing very exciting. At this point, I rank Jimmy Howard over Stefan Liv. Howard's going to finish out college and then spend a year or two with the Griffs. Hopefully he keeps up the good form and earns a spot on the Wings. He's a quality kid and we're lucky to have him.

Icer, absolutely. Jimmy Howard should definitely spend a year or two in the AHL before joining the big boys. But it's good to know we have a solid prospect in the system, a goalie at that.

I'm all for chips on shoulders when it comes to my goalie. If he has a swagger, hell ya, good for him. But from whatever I've read and heard about him, he is absolutely adored by his coaches and teammates. The video I linked is just one example. If he's cocky, he's backing it up, so I've got no issues with it. On a side note, Jimmy Howard has been named the Hockey East defensive player of the week. He stopped 57 of 60 shots faced last weekend against New Hampshire. Also, the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Jimmy as one of fifteen NCAA Division I semi-finalists for the fifty-third Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England. Jimmy is one of five players who are repeat nominees for the Walter Brown Award and one of nine nominees from Hockey East. Complete article here.

Bwahahaha. This is a topic I should not be started on because I don't know where to stop. Okay, here goes. I'm S-O-L-D on this kid. I never thought we'd land him at 64th overall in the 2003 draft but that was a very deep draft and we got lucky. He was sensational with the US NTDP team playing in Ann Arbor. What stands out from that time is his fantastic performance with the US U-18 team, which went on to win the gold with him. He came to Maine and had a solid start to his freshman year but seemed to slow down as the year went by. In his sophomore year he blew the field open and set all sorts of NCAA records, which includes a best .956 SVV and 1.19 GAA. In the Hockey East Championship Game against UMASS he recorded 63 saves, 19 of which came in 1st OT as the Maine Black Bears won 2-1 in triple OT. Jimmy was named MVP of the tournament. In the NCAA frozen four final, the Black Bears fell to Colorado College 1-0 but Jimmy had played a big part in them getting to the finals with 8-straight 1-goal game wins. During those entire playoffs he was like this ninja-goalie coming up with 1 great save after another. I remember watching these thrilling games on FSNNY and ESPN2 with my hands over my eyes. This season, which is his junior year at Maine has been a rollercoaster. Maine has suffered with some graduating seniors and Jimmy was injured earlier in the season. But ever since he's been back he's been great. He's recorded 5 shutouts so far this season. He recorded an unbeaten January with a 4-0-3 record, 2 shutouts and 1.24 GAA. He was named Hockey East goalie of the month. Everytime he makes a big save at home games, the Black Bears band plays Unbelieavable by EMF. This weekend Maine played UNH, which is a top-offensive school, not to mention a big Maine rival. Maine won the Friday game 3-1 and Jimmy recorded 28 saves. They lost 2-1 on Saturday and Jimmy had 30 saves. Last weekend they played NorthEastern, and I mention this because in the 2nd game the teams tied 2-2. At one point, ALL the NorthEastern guys on the ice got near the net and started whacking at Jimmy. 2 sat on him as the tying goal was scored. So Jimmy got up and whacked the guy who had been smacking at him. He's the calmest guy on the ice but he doesn't let people run all over him. After the game he pointed to #9 from NE and said a few words to him. Anyway. Jimmy is rightfully known as the best collegiate goalie in the country. Patrick Eaves might be the front runner for the Hobey Baker right now but a big February could push Jimmy right up there with him. There would've been much more hype around him had he played in the 2003 WJC. He couldn't go because of a freak injury, which occurred when he full on a puck. Montoya played instead of him and the rest is history. I really, really like this kid. I've been raving about him for a couple of years now. You've got to watch him play, he's just wicked good. His game is so fundementally sound, he's got no holes. He's big, he's athletic, moves well, excellent side-to-side coverage, great personality. He's well loved by coaches and teammates alike and has a bright future. Here's a link to a video from CSTV. It's the last one titled, Last Line of Defense. If he continues to work on his game and keeps getting better like he has, he can really become the face of our franchise, and maybe even Team USA down the line.