ORONO, Maine — Friday’s hockey game will be an emotional evening for University of Maine sophomore defenseman Frank Djurasevic.
Not only will he be playing against the team he played for last season, the Merrimack College Warriors, in the first of a two-game series at Alfond Arena in Orono, it will be the one-year anniversary of the death of his mother, Nadine.
“It’s probably going to be a hard day. A lot of family will be up from my mom’s side. I’m looking forward to seeing them all and seeing my (two) sisters,” said Djurasevic. “A lot of them I haven’t seen in a few months. My dad will be here. There will be 12 people, give or take, who will be here to support me.”
Djurasevic, a native of New Rochelle, N.Y., said he has never experienced anything like this and he’s going to deal with it the only way he can.
“I’m just going to take it minute-by-minute and play hard for my mom and my family,” he said.
Djurasevic said his mother died tragically at home and he preferred not to discuss the details. He said she was always supportive of him.
“I always loved coming off the ice after a game and seeing her text messages. I played hockey in British Columbia (Penticton Vees) for three years but she always did her best to stay up late and watch my games. She always supported me and that’s something I really miss,” he said.
He knows she will be watching over him, Djurasevic said.
“I’m going to try to build off that and not try to make it too much of a weekend for me. There’s enough to play for already. I have to try to stay focused,” he said.
The two teams will also play on Saturday night. Game times are 7:30 p.m.
Djurasevic has a lot of friends on the Merrimack team and said he feels indebted to head coach Scott Borek and his staff for giving him his first opportunity to play NCAA hockey.
“They have a lot of new players that I’m not familiar with. It’s kind of a new team. I’m trying to look at them as just another opponent and not make it too big of a thing,” said Djurasevic. “There will be extra motivation once the puck drops. There is always going to be a little animosity from their players (because I transferred). They want to beat us as much as I want to beat them.”
Djurasevic had a solid freshman year there last season with four goals and six assists for 10 points in 35 games. He was their 10th leading scorer and was third on the team in blocked shots with 43.
He is off to a good start at UMaine with four assists through his first five games while playing on a tandem with senior co-captain David Breazeale.
“Frank’s a great kid,” said UMaine head coach Ben Barr. “He had a turbulent year there, not on the ice, necessarily, but in his life. He is in a good place here, mentally. He has a really good support system here.”
The coach said you never know how weird it is for someone playing against his former team.
“In our world, it’s very common now where you have transfers all the time. I’m sure there will be some emotion for him but we’re here to help him through that. And we have a job to do,” Barr said.
The 6-foot-2, 201-pound Djurasevic is thoroughly enjoying playing at UMaine and said playing on a tandem with Breazeale has been awesome.
“Our chemistry is getting better every week, especially in practice. We work on little things and watch a lot of video,” said Djurasevic. “It has been a good start so far but there’s a lot of things I still want to build on. I’ve got to keep working hard.”
Barr said Djurasevic contributes more than good play on the ice.
“He has been a steady player but there is a lot of room for growth in his game and I think he knows that. He is a good defenseman at this level and our job is to keep pushing him and make him better,” said Barr. “He also adds a lot to the locker room. He is a really outgoing New York City kid and he can tell a joke and have a laugh which helps because we can get a little serious sometimes.”
Djurasevic’s teammates know it will be a hard night for him.
“We will be playing for each other and for him, especially, this weekend,” said junior defenseman Brandon Holt.
“He has been playing unbelievable for us. He is a big part of our team,” said graduate student center and co-captain Lynden Breen.
The Black Bears, ranked sixth in the country in one poll and seventh in the other, come into the series at 4-0-1 overall, the best start since the 2006-07 team won seven straight to open the campaign. UMaine is 1-0-1 in Hockey East.
Merrimack is 1-3-1 and 0-1-1, respectively.
UMaine has won the last three meetings, all by one goal, after Merrimack had won the previous five.
Merrimack returns just four of its top 10 scorers off last year’s 13-21-1 team and its two goalies have also departed.
Zach Bookman (4 goals, 24 assists), Ty Daneault (13 & 8) and Mark Hillier (7 & 12) were the Warriors’ second, fourth and fifth leading point-getters a year ago and Bookman and Daneault are two of six players sharing the current team lead with two points each.
Harrison Scott (2 & 6), Taylor Makar (4 & 3), Holt (2 & 5) and Nolan Renwick (4 & 2) have paced the Black Bears. Scott and Holt have registered at least a point in all five games and Scott has a six-game point streak dating back to last season.
