UAlbany Road Warrior: Danes Tranquilize The Black Bears

Trip Mileage: 820 miles
Total 2011-12 Trip Mileage: 4,837 miles

This was a road trip I was definitely looking forward to. Normally the 6 hours to the UMaine campus would be a bit much, but my sister teaches at the university, so my girlfriend and I were able to stay with her and her boyfriend, turning a basketball game into a little family visit. With the game on a Saturday, it became a must go.

I had an early morning work commitment on Friday, but was able to finish up in time to hit the road shortly after 10am... with the required stop at Dunkin Donuts first, of course. Our plan was to drive to southern Maine Friday, stay the night and then get up early Saturday to make the rest of the trip. Splitting the drive up into two 3 hour parts definitely made it much easier. We arrived at the Kittery Outlets in Kittery, ME at about 1:30pm to do a little shopping (I had to entice my girlfriend with an early birthday present shopping spree there to help convince her to join me). After a few hours strolling through the numerous stores in the area, I made sure to hit up Yummies... a HUGE candy store in town. A must stop if you have any sort of a sweet tooth. From there we made our way north about 10 minutes to our hotel for the night, the Union Bluff Hotel in York Beach, right on the coast. It was a gorgeous vintage hotel that was affordable only because it was the ‘offseason' ($99 vs. $189). We finished off the evening with some mandatory Maine lobster dinner at the Lobster Cove in York. I seriously could eat that stuff Every. Single. Day.

Our day started relatively early Saturday morning to kick off the drive to Orono. Fortunately, we found a Dunkin Donuts about 15 minutes into our drive in the town of Wells, so I had the fuel I needed for the 3 hour trip. We made it to the UMaine campus in plenty time and while there wasn't a ton of signage, it wasn't too difficult to find Alfond Arena. A sign on I-95 directed drivers to take a different exit for the university's athletic complex than that of the main campus. We found parking directly across from Alfond, which I believe was free (meaning I didn't pay and didn't get a ticket).

The crowd was noticeably larger than the last, and only, game I attended there (January 2009), but I didn't see any students... at least none that were in a specifically identifiable section. The fans were also some of the quietest I've ever seen/heard. Pin drop quiet. The Danes came out with much more enthusiasm than their previous 3-4 games... hustling in transition, regularly diving after loose balls, etc. That energy translated into one of the better defensive efforts I've seen from the team this season. With Logan Aronhalt injured, the Danes got great play from Jacob Iati, Ralph Watts and Jayson Guerrier. Regular starters Luke Devlin (with an injured back) and Blake Metcalf made solid contributions. The game also included what I believe (?) was Gerardo Suero's first dunk... a two-handed slam on a breakaway. The 76-68 victory was much needed, snapping the team's three-game losing streak. From there, we made our way down the road to the Bear Brew Pub for dinner. The place had a great beer selection and a pretty cool atmosphere. Much easier to enjoy a drink and some good fare after a nice win!

We stayed the night at my sister's place outside of Orono to rest up for the 6 hour drive back to Albany on Sunday. We left at about 10am and... wait for it, wait for it... found a Dunkin Donuts to swing by before jumping on I-95. Despite a decent amount of snow having fallen Saturday night, it was clear blue skies Sunday for the drive back. We had seen that there was a Shipyard Brewery Restaurant outside of Kittery, so we made sure to stop for a quick lunch. The place sits in a non-descript strip mall, but was actually a very worthwhile mini-detour. After getting back on the road, we were back home in Albany at about 5:30pm.

Though quick, it was a great trip... game, food and all. Although it's definitely a haul, the Maine game is actually one of the more enjoyable drives if you have the time... when the weather cooperates, of course. The scenery is beautiful and there's plenty of touristy stuff to check out, especially throughout the 40 mile stretch from Portsmouth, NH through Kennebunk, ME (Kittery, York, Wells and Ogunquit in between). Only regret: we didn't see a moose!

UAlbany's last regular season road game will be February 23^rd at SUNY-rival Binghamton, which I'm most definitely planning on being at. After that, it's on to Hartford for the America East Conference Tournament!

Trip Mileage: 820 miles
Total 2011-12 Trip Mileage: 4,837 miles
2011-12 Road Record: 4-7