The UMaine hockey team is adding a defenseman to increase impact

ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine men's ice hockey team must replace departed players who shot 36.1 percent last season to continue its rise to one of the nation's elite programs.

UMaine finished 23-12-2 a year ago, reaching the Hockey East semifinals and the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

One way to compensate for the lack of goal production is to get more offense out of the defense, which scored just 15 goals a year ago.

Brandon Chabrier (6 goals, 16 assists, 22 points) and Brandon Holt (4-11-15) were the only defensemen to score more than two goals and collect more than 10 points.

The entire defensive corps has returned and the addition of high-scoring Merrimack College transfer Frank Djurasevic should give the Black Bears more impact on the blue line.

As a freshman at Merrimack last season, Djurasevic recorded four goals and six assists for 10 points in 35 games. His 72 shots on goal were the third-most on the team.

Before joining Merrimack, he scored 10 goals and 36 assists in 54 regular season games for the British Columbia Junior Hockey League champion Penticton Vees in 2022-23. He scored two goals and twelve assists in 17 playoff games.

He was a finalist for the league's top defender and team captain award.

“He does a really good job of putting pucks in the net,” UMaine senior defenseman and co-captain David Breazeale said. “There is no additional stickhandling on the blue line. He gets the puck and rips it up, and hopefully that will give us a lot of offense.”

Breazeale added that Djurasevic has “a bomb for a shot” and is an excellent skater.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Djurasevic said when he's at his best, he's a two-way defender.

“I want to defend against the other team’s top line and be able to shut those guys down. At the same time, I also want to be able to produce on the other side of the puck. The ability to put pucks in the net, being involved in the second shift (on the rush) and on the power play were things I was good at,” Djurasevic said. “But for me, all of my individual things come down to the team perspective.”

UMaine fourth-year head coach Ben Barr said he is looking for Djurasevic to be a responsible player.

“He’s definitely good enough to make plays and be part of the offense,” Barr said. “But first and foremost he has to be a shut-out defender.”

He agreed with Breazeale's assessment that one of Djurasevic's strengths is his ability to put pucks on net.

“It’s not flashy, but it’s efficient. At times it was difficult for us to get the pucks into the net from the point. He will help us with that,” Barr said.

Djurasevic joined his new team during the optional six-week summer training program and said it was extremely beneficial.

“I was able to get a jump start on everything instead of coming in September. It was great,” said the New Rochelle, NY native. “I was able to chat with my teammates and get used to the coaching staff and the daily routine.”

UMaine Graduate Student Center co-captain Lynden Breen praised Djurasevic's offensive abilities and predicted he will have a big impact on the team.

“Picking him up will be a big challenge for us,” Breen said.

Djurasevic said he has enjoyed everything so far and has been able to adapt smoothly to his new team and systems.

“I learn things pretty quickly. I watched additional videos with the coaching staff and spoke with my teammates. That helped,” said Djurasevic.

The Black Bears will enter the season with high expectations. They were ranked 11th in one preseason national poll and 12th in the other.

“You want to have expectations. We like that. We are a humble team. This is part of our character and our identity. We want to be even higher,” said Djurasevic. “We want to finish the year as state champions. That is our goal.”

Djurasevic will make his debut at Alfond Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Black Bears open the season against Atlantic Hockey team American International College of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Djurasevic played against UMaine a year ago, but both games were at Merrimack in North Andover, Massachusetts.

“I've thought about it every day since I got involved here. You hear special things about the Alfond, about the crowd, the noise and so on. I can’t wait until Saturday at 7 p.m. to get out here and see the crowd,” Djurasevic said.