Time is running short on the 2025-26 Maine men’s hockey team to secure a first round bye and a home quarterfinal game for the Hockey East Tournament.
The Black Bears (14-11-2, 8-9-0 Hockey East), who dropped out of the top 20 in the most recent USCHO National Poll, are currently in a fifth place tie in the league standings with Merrimack and Northeastern with 23 points. Providence (39 points) is first, followed by Boston College and UConn who are tied for second with 31 points. Maine will host those UConn Huskies for a pair of games at Alfond Arena this weekend in a rematch of last seasons conference championship game. The top four in the league standings will secure a first round bye in the postseason, while seeds 5-8 will host an opening round game meaning if the Bears finish in that 5-8 range they would need to win once at home and once on the road against one of the top four to advance to the semifinals at TD Garden. Seeds 9 and below will be on the road the entirety of the playoffs. Maine is 8-5-0 at home, but only 5-6-2 away from Orono this season.
After dropping back to back overtime games to Providence and Boston University, where they held a one goal lead in the third period of both contests, it is gut check time for Maine beginning with UConn in front of the Alfond faithful this Friday and Saturday with just seven games left in the regular season. It is now a must that the Black Bears have a successful weekend vs the Huskies.
Photo from a game earlier this season courtesy of Anthony DelMonaco (UMaine Athletics)
