The #7 University of Maine men’s ice hockey team is coming down the stretch of the regular season with just 10 games remaining, including a pivotal series with #10 Providence College at the Alfond Arena in Orono this Friday and Saturday night.
At 17-5-2 and 9-4-1 Hockey East they’ve only lost twice since December 1st (11-2-1), and currently sit in third place in the league standings behind Boston University and Boston College. Maine though has three games at hand with the Terriers, and two with the Eagles. The top four seeds in Hockey East get a bye in the opening round games and will host a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, March 16. The semifinals and finals are at TD Garden in Boston on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23. The Black Bears most importantly are #4 in the pairwise rankings (top 16 make the NCAA Tournament), as they seek their first appearance in the national tournament since 2012.
Maine, who is averaging 3.7 goals per game, hopes to operate better on the powerplay for the remainder of the season. The Black Bears are just 16-87 (18.4%) with the extra man, but the defense has done a terrific job at penalty killing as their opponent powerplay has gone just 16-90 (17.8%). Maine has also scored five times when shorthanded. The offense five on five has been consistent as four skaters have 20 or more points on the year, led by freshman forward Josh Nadeau with 13 goals and 21 assists (34 points) including six of the teams 16 powerplay tallies and four game winning goals. His freshman brother Bradly, the NHL draft pick of the Carolina Hurriances, has put in 14 goals and assisted on 18 others (32 points). Senior center Lynden Breen (6 goals, 18 assists- 24 points), and senior forward Donovan Villeneuve-Houle (eight goals, 12 assists- 20 points) have also helped the cause. Bentley University junior transfer Harrison Scott is one of the national leaders in faceoff wins and has also added 10 goals and eight assists, and is also tied for the team lead with four game winners. Sophomore defenseman Brandon Chabrier, who scored the only goal in the 1-0 Maine win over #11 UMass in Amherst on Saturday night, has also stepped up offensively as well with five goals and 13 assists. Senior Victor Ostman, who has seemed to struggle somewhat of late, still remains the teams top goalie starting 19 games in between the pipes and is 13-4-1 with a 2.66 goals against average and a save percentage of .897. Freshman Albin Boija has shown some promise, and in limited time is 4-1-1 on the season with a 1.33 GAA and a save percentage of .940. Boija earned the Hockey East Defender of the Week after registering his first career shutout in the win over the Minutemen on Saturday.
Maine has the two big games with Providence this weekend (Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.), in which the Black Bears (third in Hockey East, 28 pts.) and the Friars (fourth, 26 pts.) are separated by just two points in the standings. UConn (23), UMass (22), UNH (22), and Northeastern (20) are also lurking within striking distance of Maine and PC. Next weekend, the Black Bears renew their rivalry on the road in a border battle in Durham for two games against UNH. They then return to the Alfond Arena on Friday and Saturday February 23rd and 24th to host Northeastern. The Huskies scored five third period goals to beat Maine 6-3 this past Friday in Boston. The final road contests are on March 1 and March 2 in Burlington against Vermont, before closing the regular season back at home for senior weekend on March 8 and March 9 versus UMass.
If Maine can take care of business with six of their last 10 games being at home (8-0-2 at the Alfond Arena this season), they look to be in a very favorable position to host a Hockey East playoff game and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years.
Written by Chris Lessner
The University of Maine men’s hockey team lines up for the national anthem prior to a 7-3 win over UConn on December 3 at the Alfond Arena in Orono. The Black Bears are third in Hockey East, seventh in the nation, and fourth in the pairwise rankings with 10 games left in the regular season. Photo by Chris Lessner
