ORONO – Beneath his goalie mask, Jamie Gilbert couldn’t help but grin.

As he skated during warm-ups Friday night at Alfond Arena, the goaltender for the UMass Minutemen felt as though he’d arrived.

“It’s pretty unbelievable, coming here to Maine and seeing all the crowd support,” said Gilbert, a former St. Dom’s netminder. “I couldn’t help but smile. As a little kid, I always watched Maine. So it was fun to be out there.”

Next time, Gilbert would like nothing better than to play for the Minutemen against the Black Bears.

“Maybe one day,” he said.

Gilbert has already achieved one goal, but his dream of playing Division I hockey still has some mileage left.

“It’s been pretty unreal,” said Gilbert. “My dream has always been to play Division I, and I’ve finally got to do that now. It feels pretty good.”

Gilbert is one of four goaltenders for UMass. He joins senior Tim Warner, junior Gabe Winer and sophomore Michael Waidlich.

“He’s got two kids that have played a lot of hockey in front of him right now,” UMass coach Don Cahoon said, referring to Warner and Winer. “He just has to be patient enough, and if called on because of circumstances, to be ready to contribute.”

Gilbert has played in one game this season. He saw 4:47 in an 8-2 UMass loss to Merrimack in early November.

“It was pretty cool,” said Gilbert. “My parents came down. When I knew I was going in, I was pretty excited. All that hard work paid off.”

Gilbert finished his career at St. Dom’s as an All-State selection. He had a 2.13 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and seven shutouts.

After graduation, he played two seasons with the Cornwall Colts of the Central Junior “A” Hockey League. Gilbert appeared in 88 games, posting a 3.22 goals against average, .905 save percentage and five shutouts.

“It made all the difference in the world,” said Gilbert, who earned all-star honors while with the Colts. “Coming from high school would have been pretty hard. I knew I needed to go to another level before I could go to Division I.”

He’s still in the learning stages but feels he’s closing the gap. The shock of being at this level is wearing off and getting down to the business of hockey is taking precedent.

Though Gilbert could have redshirted as a freshman, especially with so many other goaltenders in the system, Cahoon likes having the options and giving Gilbert a hands-on opportunity to grow and learn.

“He’s doing fine,” said Cahoon. “He’s doing a good job. He’s got very experienced guys in front of him. It’s just day-to-day work for him.”

Cahoon typically dresses Warner and Winer, and has added either Gilbert or Waidlich as a third goalie. Waidlich played in six games overall as a freshman two years ago. After playing in the USHL last year, he has played just once this season, for 3:49. Gilbert might see a few minutes here or there, but the important thing, says Cahoon, is that he works toward that end.

“He’s learning everyday in practice and the tough thing for him is to keep working and not lose his focus and not lose his will to work,” said Cahoon.

He’s already made a significant jump to the next level. Now he just works and waits to make the step.

“I just need to keep getting stronger and be patient because I’m a freshman,” said Gilbert. “There are guys that have been around here longer. So I just need to learn from them.”