College men's hockey: Defending champion UMD plays host to rebuilding Black Bears at Amsoil Arena

When Dennis "Red" Gendron was hired to revive the legendary Maine men's hockey program in 2013, the school made sure to tout his previous ties to the program, specifically his time as an assistant under the late Shawn Walsh.

Together Walsh and Gendron helped coach the Black Bears to their first NCAA title in 1993, and it'd be easy for Gendron to fall back on those days - the glory days for Maine. Instead, he's focused solely on the now, as rough as that has been in recent years for Maine.

"We took some significant steps last year. We have to establish our own identity," Gendron said. "Every coach has to recruit his own players. He has his own vision for how the program ought to be shaped. That's certainly true with me and our staff here."

This weekend, the defending national champion and third-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (2-1-1) welcome one of college hockey's more historic programs, Maine (2-0), for a pair of 7:07 p.m. games Friday and Saturday at Amsoil Arena.

From 1986 to 2007, the Black Bears made 17 NCAA tournaments, played in 11 Frozen Fours and appeared in five NCAA championship games, winning the national championship in 1993 and 1999.

During its 1993 title run, Maine went 42-1-2 for a .956 winning percentage.

"We like playing good teams," said UMD coach Scott Sandelin, who has guided the Bulldogs to seven NCAA tournaments, three Frozen Fours and two national championships in the previous 10 seasons. "They became a pretty good team last year in the second half of the year. They are carrying some of that momentum into this year.

"They play hard, they play aggressively. Last year was a very physical series. I know one thing, their goalie is pretty good. We saw him one game last year, but he took over the net. (Jeremy) Swayman is a real good goaltender."

Maine finished 18-16-4 overall a year ago to finish above .500 for just the first time in four seasons and fifth time since 2007.

Three of their six sub-.500 seasons over the past 11 years have come in Gendron's five seasons as coach. Maine seemed destined for a fourth-straight season under .500 a year ago after getting swept by the Bulldogs in Orono en route to a 4-7 start.

Like the Bulldogs, Maine made a push in the second half to post the program's best record since the last team that made the NCAA tournament in 2012. Maine tied for fifth in Hockey East after back-to-back 11th-place finishes in the then 12-team league. The Black Bears even won their first conference playoff series since 2014 before bowing out in the quarterfinals at Providence.

Last year's Black Bears had just four seniors. This year Gendron's team has five. An increase in veteran leadership is a big plus for Maine going into this season, as is greater depth both at forward and defense, Gendron said.

"At the end of the day, you need depth," said Gendron, whose team opened the season with a home sweep of St. Lawrence last week. "Our coaches have done a great job on the recruiting trail. It may have taken us a little longer than we hoped, but I think now we have a team that can compete with anyone in college hockey."

Maine's 2017-18 season earned the 60-year-old Gendron a two-year contract extension in the spring, a sign that the school is in a much more patient place than it was in 2013 when it fired Tim Whitehead after 12 seasons.

Whitehead took over the program after Walsh, at age 46, died of cancer in 2001. Walsh led Maine to seven NCAA tournaments, four Frozen Fours and two appearances in the national championship game. All but one NCAA tournament appearance came in Walsh's first six seasons, though, and he was ousted after going 11-19-8 in his final season.

Gendron's extension last spring came under interim athletic director Jim Settele, who was replaced by Ken Ralph on Sept. 1.

Ralph has a history of managing athletic departments that feature historic men's hockey programs with multiple NCAA titles having served as AD at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) from 2002-07 and the last 11 years at Colorado College.

Ralph showed a tremendous amount of patience in his final four seasons running the Tigers, letting Mike Haviland keep his job after posting a combined 20 wins in his first three seasons. A year ago that patience paid off as the Tigers took a big leap, posting a 15-17-5 mark while finishing in a tie for fifth in the powerhouse NCHC.

Ralph rewarded Haviland with a multiyear extension in the spring before being named the AD at Maine in the summer. Ralph said Maine and Colorado College are both on "parallel paths" these days and he feels good about the direction of the Black Bears.

"It's hard in college hockey once you lose your place to try and get it back and rebuild it," Ralph said. "With recruiting being so far out and players being recruited so young, it's not like the old days where one or two recruiting classes puts you right back in the mix because kids are coming straight out of high school. It's about rebuilding your recruiting connections, it's about rebuilding trust with junior coaches and agents and others who are influencing the game at this time.

"You have to be more patient now than you had to be 15-20 years ago. That's the way college hockey has gone. There is more on the line now, it's more important than ever."

MAINE (2-0) at NO. 3 UMD (2-1-1)

What: Nonconference series

When: 7:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Where: Amsoil Arena

TV: My9

Radio: KDAL 610 AM/103.9 FM

Internet:  nchc.tv (video)

Twitter:  @mattwellens

Fast facts: The Bulldogs swept the Black Bears 2-1 and 2-0 in a pair of tight, physical contests last season at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine. UMD left the series minus four players due to injuries sustained in the two wins.