The pressure is mounting on Maine coach Tim Whitehead. The Black Bears are winless at home and winless in conference, with their only win coming in a neutral site game against Army. The Black Bears have been outscored 20-4 in home games, in the once extremely intimidating Alfond Arena.
Maine has a young roster and has had to deal with injuries, but for a program once accustomed to Frozen Four appearances and consecutive NCAA appearances, the last few years have been tough on fans. Led by a strong senior class, Maine made their first NCAA appearance in five years last season.
Beat writer Larry Mahoney wrote a column in today's Bangor Daily news questioning Whitehead's status as the bench boss of the Black Bears. Mahoney's article quoted Maine Athletic Director Steve Abbott as saying "Our focus right now is on supporting our coaches and players and trying to turn this season around...We will evaluate the program at the end of the season just like we do with all of our programs."
Maine certainly has more talent and skill than most of the teams around them at the bottom of the standings, so it is possible they could finish strong enough to make the league playoffs, but anything more than that seems out of reach.
Mahoney's article in the Bangor Daily News can be viewed here.
