ORONO – An old political saying asserts that “as Maine goes, so goes the nation” with regard to electing the next President of the United States.

Translated to Maine hockey, the postulate may be translated into, “as the goaltenders go, so goes the team.”

For years, Maine has prided itself on producing top goaltending prospects. Since 1986, Scott King, Garth Snow, Mike Dunham, Blair Allison, Alfie Michaud and last year’s tandem of Matt Yeats and Mike Morrison roll off the tongue as some of the best in Hockey East history. When the goaltenders’ numbers are in good shape, so is the team itself.

This season has produced yet another tandem of puck stoppers who will lead the Black Bears into the NCAA tournament when No. 2 Maine meets No. 3 Michigan in a regional semifinal Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Frank Doyle, a junior who lost a year of eligibility in the juniors and then redshirted another, and Jimmy Howard, a true freshman from the U.S. Development Program, have been the masked men this season. In many ways, they have mirrored the ups and downs that have both blessed and plagued Maine.

“We have a job to do out there,” said Howard, “and that’s to stop the puck as often as we can. Just like the rest of the team has their own jobs. Ours is pretty simple, really.”

It looked that way through much of the first two-thirds of the season, when Howard and Doyle were among the national leaders in goals against and save percentage. Howard broke school records with a consecutive shutout streak and tied another with three shutouts in a season. Doyle and Howard also topped the mark for team shutouts in a season. This all happened the calendar changed to 2003.

“We were getting the benefit of some great play in front of us, and we had an easy time seeing the puck,” said Howard.

“The way it works with most teams is that defense and goaltending make a big difference,” added Doyle. “That’s no different than us. That’s what will win in the playoffs. We need to find the same cohesion that we had at the beginning of the season.”

After mid-season, the numbers for both goaltenders started to decline. At one point, Howard nearly assumed the starting role for keeps, starting four straight games in critical series. Following a few bad periods, however, Maine coach Tim Whitehead went back to the rotation.

“Everyone in this game goes through lows and highs,” said Doyle. “That’s what’s so important about having two of us here that can do the job. That’s why we always have to be ready to play. There were no specific points during the season, I don’t think, that one was clear-cut above the other.”

Now with a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four on the line, the two netminders are back to business. Neither has been in this situation before, and their reactions will be interesting to watch.

“Of course there are going to be some nerves at first,” said Doyle. “That crowd is going to be loud and very much against us, but I know that whoever gets the start that night will be just fine in there.”

jpelletier@sunjournal.com