Marshfield’s Pat Shea focused on present as he prepares for pro hockey future.

No doubt about it, but no way to prove it.

That’s about how the final chapter of Pat Shea’s college hockey career went. There was, nor will there ever be, any question in Shea’s mind that he and his University of Maine teammates would have eliminated UConn in a best-of-3 series, then taken their show to TD Garden for the Hockey East Tournament, if the coronavirus pandemic hadn’t resulted in the March 12 cancellation of the series and the remainder of the season.

Shea, a forward from Marshfield, will always have that “What if?” in the back of his mind, but “Who? When? Where?” are now more pertinent questions. And Shea, 23, is remarkably OK with having no answers yet regarding his move into professional hockey.

“People would probably expect a guy like me to be stressed out,” said Shea, who played three seasons at Marshfield High (Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic as a junior in 2013-14), then two at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire, before his four-year career at Maine. “But I kind of just understand the situation.

“I have no idea what the future holds right now, so I’m kind of just trying to keep my mindset in the present.”

That has become a little easier over the past few weeks, as rinks in the region have started to re-open and Shea has been able get back on the ice. That hasn’t changed the fact, however, that the 2015 Florida Panthers draftee (Round 7, No. 192 overall) doesn’t have a contract yet, or that nobody is likely to know what a minor-league schedule for the 2020-21 season looks like until the NHL can complete the 2019-20 campaign, which it’s currently attempting through its Return to Play plan.

Shea, content to leave contract matters in the hands of advisor Brett Peterson (who played defense on Boston College’s 2001 NCAA championship team), understands how much the Panthers have on their plate (they’re one of 24 teams still in the running for the Stanley Cup), and is optimistic about joining the organization.

“Right now, there’s no rush for them to do anything; (the coronavirus situation) has kind of slowed everything up in that sense,” Shea said. “But I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with them through the Development Camps (he has attended five since he was drafted), conversations we’ve had in the past, all those things.”

Shea is also coming off his most positive experience at Maine, which went 44-54-12 over his first three seasons and was rarely considered a viable Hockey East title contender. An 0-3-1 slip before the Christmas break left the Black Bears at 8-8-3 (4-6-2 Hockey East) and made it seem like 2019-20 wouldn’t be anything special, either, but things changed once everyone returned to campus: Relying heavily on its two primary assets -- the goaltending of Jeremy Swayman (since signed by the Bruins) and a healthy slate of home games -- Maine went 10-3-2 down the stretch, including a 7-1-2 record at Alfond Arena to complete a 13-1-3 season at home.

“We went into Christmas break at a low point,” Shea said, “but we kind of shook off some stuff when we came back.

“We had a lot of inexperience, a lot of young defensemen especially, who were put into roles they didn’t have last year. They started to come along, and we just started firing.”

Shea’s season went about the same way.

Injured in the 2019-20 opener, Shea sat out six games over the next month and wasn’t 100 percent healthy when he came back. By the Christmas break, he had contributed only one goal and one assist over 12 games.

“The first half was rough,” Shea said, “but injuries happen to just about everybody, so I don’t use that as an excuse.

“I was able to really heal up over the Christmas break, though, so I was healthier and started playing better. I ended up moving up in the lineup, so statistically I did a bit better.”

Shea put up five goals and eight points over Maine’s last 15 games to finish 6-4--10 for the season -- a bit below the 15 points he averaged over his first three seasons, but the six goals represented a career high. Big goals were a specialty: His three game-winners tied him for second on the team, and he was the only Black Bear to score two overtime goals.

Coronavirus concerns stopped everyone’s forward motion.

“It was brutal,” Shea said. “We knew we were going to go far. It was the first time we’d felt that confidence, that we were going to make a push for it. We all knew it, so when they called it off, it was pretty heartbreaking -- especially for the seniors.”

Since returning home in late March, Shea has done everything possible to be prepared for whatever, whenever and wherever.

“I have a goal, especially now that I’m back on the ice, to improve my game as much as I can,” he said. “I’m trying to get better before I go into my first pro season. I’m not looking past that.”