The Maine Black Bears and University of New Hampshire Wildcats will renew their Border Battle rivalry series on the ice and on the gridiron this week.
The 5th ranked Black Bears men’s hockey team heads to Durham on Friday night to tangle with the Wildcats at the Whittemore Center. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Maine is coming off a win and a tie (shootout loss) with Boston University at home this past weekend. It was nearly a sweep but the Terriers forced overtime by scoring an extra attacker goal with 20.6 seconds left in regulation on Saturday night, and after a five minute scoreless extra session they would take the extra Hockey East point by winning a shootout 1-0.
Maine (7-2-2, 4-2-2 Hockey East) will need to play better away from Alfond Arena, and has struggled in their recent trips to Durham and the Whittemore Center. The Black Bears are 1-2-1 on the road so far on the young season all in league play, with a win and a tie at Northeastern before being swept at Boston College two weeks ago. They are winless in seven straight with UNH on the road (0-4-3), including last season when they lost 6-2 and 5-2 at the Whitt in February. Maine got some payback about a month later when they defeated the Wildcats 5-0 in Orono in the Hockey East quarterfinals, paving the way to their first conference semifinal appearance since the 2011-2012 campaign. UNH enters this game on Friday night with a record of 4-3-2 and 1-2-2 in the league.
The Black Bears leading point getters thus far are senior forward Harrison Scott (6 goals, 10 assists), junior defenseman Brandon Holt (2 goals, 11 assists), sophomore forward Charlie Russell (3 goals, 9 assists), junior forward Thomas Freel (7 goals, 4 assists), and senior forward Taylor Makar (4 goals, 6 assists). Freel leads the nation in powerplay goals, with all seven of his tallies coming on the extra man. Sophomore goaltender Albin Boija has started all 11 games and has a 1.64 goals against average, with a .928 save percentage and two shutouts. Sophomore forward Ryan Conmy is the only double digit scorer for the Wildcats (6 goals, 4 assists). Junior netminder Jared Whale has started all nine games in the UNH net and has a 2.10 goals against, with a .912 save percentage and one shutout. Chris Lessner will be in Durham as Maine will look for their first road win in the series since February 2, 2019 and will have updates, a recap, and postgame video interviews.
Maine senior forward Harrison Scott (#22) gets set to take a faceoff against Merrimack during a 5-0 Hockey East win for the Black Bears in Orono on November 1. #5 Maine heads South to Durham this Friday night to meet up with the #21 UNH Wildcats. Photo by Chris Lessner
Maine football will host #24 UNH on Senior Day on Saturday at Alfond Stadium in Orono. The regular season finale is the 112th all-time football meeting between the two schools, and is the annual battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket. The Black Bears (5-6, 3-4 Coastal Athletic Association) will be looking to regain the rivalry musket for the first time since 2021.
UNH took down Maine in Durham last season 44-25, and the last meeting in Orono in 2022 was a thrilling 42-41 overtime victory for the Wildcats. The Black Bears will be looking for their first home win over their long time rivals since 2018. This game is also huge as far as postseason aspirations for UNH (7-4, 5-2 CAA), as a win would certainly almost guarantee a trip to the FCS playoffs while a loss would put them on the bubble.
UNH has been anchored offensively by senior quarterback Seth Morgan who has passed for 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, while completing 66% of his throws (208-315). Graduate wide receiver Logan Tomlinson has 73 catches for 789 yards and nine scores. Maine will rely on their graduate transfer quarterback Carter Peevy who has tossed 17 touchdowns with five interceptions, while completing 68% of his attempts (201-295). Junior Brian Santana-Fis (422 yards, three TD) and graduate student Jaharie Martin (381 yards, six TD) have led the Black Bears backfield, while senior Montigo Moss has been the mainstay in the receiving core hauling in 56 receptions for 672 yards and six scores. Kickoff on Saturday in Orono is set for 1 p.m.
The Maine defense tries to stop a Colgate ball carrier during a 17-14 season opening win for the Black Bears over the Raiders in Orono on August 30. Maine will host #24 UNH this Saturday at Alfond Stadium in the regular season finale in the annual battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket. Photo by Anthony DelMonaco
