By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

Tim Whitehead was already feeling good about Sunday’s announcement. The Maine hockey coach felt even better when the final brackets for the NCAA Division I Tournament were unveiled.

Maine not only made the tournament but also don’t have to travel far. The third-seeded Black Bears play second-seed Harvard on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Pepsi Arena in Albany.

“We’re very excited,” said Whitehead. “We’re excited to be in the tournament, and then to be in the East Regional, that was an added bonus. We’ve had some tough draws in our history, so to be a third seed in Albany was really special.”

Last year, Maine had to face Minnesota on its home ice and lost 1-0 in overtime.

Having lost to Boston College on Friday in the Hockey East semifinals, there was a chance the Black Bears would be sent out West, either to Green Bay, Wisconsin, or Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The final pairings didn’t have many teams straying too far out of their region. Whitehead says the fact that attendance has been down at the regional tournaments in past years may have influenced the geographics. He’s excited about the fact that Maine supporters have a better opportunity to attend the game.

“I have to wonder if that was an issue for the selection committee,” said Whitehead. “I think having BC, us, UNH and BU, all four Hockey East teams, staying in the East was great.”

Hockey East champion Boston University and Boston College are seeded first and third, respectively, in Worcester in the Northeast Regional. UNH plays top-seeded Michigan State in Albany at noon Saturday.

By Sunday morning, Whitehead was optimistic about his team’s chances of earning an eighth straight trip to the tournament. Maine had dropped to 13th in the PairWise standings after Friday’s loss but was up to 12th after Saturday’s action. The PairWise standings attempt to mimic the process used by the selection committee. The only real suspense for the Black Bears Sunday was where they might play.

“I thought that because of what happened Saturday we’d be in the tournament,” said Whitehead. “When teams knew that North Dakota beat St. Cloud State in the WCHA championship, they breathed a sigh of relief. When we saw that, it obviously made us feel a little better.”

Though the first eight selections were announced on ESPN2 Sunday morning, Whitehead wasn’t concerned about not hearing his team’s name.

“I actually felt good because I knew we weren’t going out West.”

When UNH, a team ranked behind Maine in the PairWise standings, was pitted against North Dakota, the Black Bears knew their name was soon to follow.

Having gone 8-1-2 in its last 11 outings, Maine has been playing some of its best hockey, and Whitehead knows his club would have been a tough team to leave out. Denver, a team Maine beat twice and the two-time defending national champions, failed to make the cut.

“Those two games might have been the difference for them,” said Whitehead. “We improved in all our categories. Had we been the 13th or 14th team in the standings, I think we would have been fine.”

Maine (26-11-2) last met Harvard (21-11-2) in the NCAA Tournament in 2004, a 5-4 win for the Black Bears in Albany.

They’re a very tough opponent,” said Whitehead. “They’re playing great right now. They just ran the table in the ECAC. They beat Cornell, which is a very fine team.”

Maine also beat the Crimson in 2002, 4-3 in three overtimes. This will be Maine’s 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with championships coming in 1993 and 1999.

“There’s a good rivalry that’s building,” said Whitehead. “We’re excited, but we understand how tough it will be.”

The winners of Saturday’s second round games play Sunday at 2 p.m. The regional winners advance to the Frozen Four in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.