Bryan Roche and Cody Beckett preview Men’s hockey’s matchup vs. the St. Lawrence Saints.
Monthly Archives: October 2012
Bryan Roche, Cody Beckett, and Liam Nee breakdown Maine’s 21 to 28 loss at the hands of the UNH Wildcats.
Bryan Roche and Cody Beckett break down Maine’s 5-0 loss at the hands of the St. Lawrence Saints.
The University of Maine football team is back in Orono after a two week road swing to play the 12 ranked University of New Hampshire Wildcats in the 100 battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket.
The 2-4 Black Bears have got off to a rough start to the 2012 season but things have been looking up as of late. Maine was able to topple Delaware 26-3 two weeks ago but fell to offensive juggernaut Towson 24-19 last weekend in a close contest.
A bit about at the Wildcats
UNH comes to Orono on a three game winning streak, batting Delaware, Georgia State, and Richmond. The 5-2 Wildcats offense has been explosive this season, scoring at least 34 points in six of their seven contests, and ranks fourth in the nation. Sophomore quarterback Andy Vailas has lead the charge for the Wildcats this season, completing 115 of 194 passes for 1430 yards, 16 touchdowns, and three interceptions. On the ground, Vailas…
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Bryan Roche and Cody Beckett break down Maine’s 2-1 loss to Quinnipiac in the 2012-13 Men’s ice hockey home opener.
Bryan Roche and Cody Becket preview the Black Bear’s 2012-13 home opener against the Quinnipiac Bobcats from Alfond Arena.
(Sorry about the attire, we cant look glamorous all the time…)
Football Preview: Maine vs Villanova
The UMaine Black Bear Football team is back in action this weekend against the 3-1 Villanova Wildcats. Maine will try to avenge the 30-20 loss they suffered at the hands of Albany last weekend in the 2012 home opener. Maine is hoping to give the home crowd something to cheer about after a disappointing showing last time out. They have a tough test in the Wildcats who have been impressive, led by freshman quarterback John Robertson.
A bit about Villanova
Villanova’s 3-1 start has been a bit of a surprise as they were picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll. After a 41-10 loss at the hands of Temple, (FBS) the Wildcats bounced back with a 29-13 victory vs Fordham, followed by two more victories against Rhode Island and Penn.
Robertson has been a pleasant surprise at quarterback and has been honored as CAA rookie of the week the past three weeks. A dual threat, Robinson has completed 44-of-81 passes for 597 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, the freshman is second on the team in rushing with 242 yards and four touchdowns. Robinson is averaging 5 yards a carry.
Sophomore Kevin Monangai has had a great start to the season, rushing for 322 yards on 51 attempts, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. With two powerful options on the ground, the Villanova rushing attack is poised to wreak havoc against Maine and their 70 ranked rush defense
Defensively, Villanova is feeling the same woes as the Black Bears as the Wildcats are ranked 72 in rush defense but bring third best pass defense up to Orono this weekend. What this means for the Black Bears is that their running game is going to have to step it up this weekend, a questionable task especially with the status of running back David Hood being unknown.
What’s up with the offense?
We knew coming into the season that their would be a bit of a learning curve for the Maine offense with the loss of Warren Smith and Pushan Brown but there was still plenty of optimism with strong-armed Marcus Wasilewski and his deep corps of receivers. Things haven’t gone exactly as planned as, on paper, the stats look promising but the discipline of this team has been flat-out embarrassing. The sloppy Black Bear offense has averaged eight penalties and two turnovers a game.
Marcus Wasilewski completed 23-of-36 passes last week for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception and is continuing to progress nicely at quarterback. The trouble for him is that he is not being allowed to throw as much as he should and in critical situations. This could be attributed to a lack of trust in the first-year starter. As desperation mounted last weekend against Albany, he was given more of a chance to throw the ball, responding nicely. With a rainy forecast and a strong ‘Nova pass defense, it does not seem that Wasilewski will have too many opportunities to be affective in the air this weekend.
Hood no good for a second straight week?
Maine’s running back depth has been tested early in the season. With no Terell Walker, Rickey Stevens has seen much more playing time than expected and is responding quite well to the additional minuets. The junior had another solid outing against Albany, rushing for 83 yards on 20 chances, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Stevens showed last week that he can be affective running up the gut and wearing the defense down to open up the field for Wasilewski.
It looked like Maine had the makings of a two-headed monster at running back with Stevens and sophomore back David Hood but Hood was held out of last week’s contest for an undisclosed reason. Hood has had trouble holding on to the ball this season but has rushed for 166 yards in two contests, 102 of those coming against Bryant. The sophomore has two touchdowns on the ground and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.
Whatever the reason was for last weeks scratch, Hood needs to be in the line up Saturday as a compliment to Rickey Stevens. It was evident watching Stevens last weekend that he does not yet have the stamina to be an every-down back with Wasilewski acting as the de-facto backup running back. With Villanova’s weak run defense, the Black Bears would benefit greatly having both Hood and Stevens in the lineup.
Defense needs to rebound
It was a rough weekend for the Black Bears defense as they allowed 379 total yards against Albany. Fatigue may be the cause of the defense’s lethargy as it felt like they were out there the whole game. Albany and quarterback Will Fiacchi did a fantastic job controlling the tempo of the game and capitalizing on Maine’s offensive mistakes, keeping the D on the field. Again, with the sloppy forecast, Maine’s 70 ranked run defense will be put to the test. The D needs to start strong and establish control to hinder the Wildcats’ powerful ground attack. (I’m looking at you, Donte Dennis)
Final thoughts
If Maine truly wants to win this game, they need to start the game off with two or three MISTAKE FREE drives. When this offense is disciplined, it is extremely potent. Defensively, Maine needs to be aware of the dual-threat Robertson and expect the unexpected. Hit hard and hit often, put Villanova in a shell and take control from there.
WMEB Sports coverage of Maine Football kicks-off at 3:15 PM with the pregame report and at 3:30 Bryan Roche, Cody Beckett, and Liam Nee will have the call from Morse Field.
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