Maine shuts down Vermont on the road in the semifinals, breaks 12 year winless drought vs the Catamounts and advances to first conference championship game in 21 years 

The University of Maine executed a perfect defensive game plan on Tuesday night, holding Vermont to under 26% shooting in a 57-42 win at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington in the semifinal round of the America East Men's Basketball Tournament. The Black Bears advance to their first championship game appearance since 2004, and will have another opportunity to get the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history when the title game tips-off at 11 a.m. on Saturday. 

Maine never trailed at any point, and scored the first six points of the contest in silencing the large contingent of Catamount supporters. With the score 13-10 with 9:14 left, the Black Bears took their largest lead of the first half with a 10-0 run in a span of 3:30 to extend the advantage to 23-10. Christopher Mantis hit a pair of three-pointers during the spurt, while Quion Burns hit two free throws and made a layup to force a Vermont timeout. The hosts responded after the timeout by running off seven straight points to get back within six, but Maine still held a 27-19 lead at the break.

After Maine went back up by 11 early in the second half, Vermont sliced it to 38-31 on a three-point play by Illeri Ayo-Faleye with 10:35 left to play but that is as close as they'd get. The Black Bears responded with an 11-3 run to match what was the biggest lead of the night at 49-34 with 5:39 remaining. AJ Lopez had six of those points. The lead never got under 11 the rest of the way, as Maine snapped their 30 game losing streak to the Catamounts. 

#3 seed Maine used a balanced scoring attack and only turned the ball over three times in the victory. Graduate guard Kellen Tynes led the way and filled up the stat sheet once again with 13 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots. Lopez finished with 12 points, while Jaden Clayton had nine points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Burns ended up with eight points, and Mantis had seven. Burns also contributed six rebounds, three steals, two steals, and two blocked shots. Ayo-Faleye was the only double digit scorer for Vermont in the defeat as he had 14 points and six rebounds. The #2 seeded Catamounts went 14-54 (25.9%) from the floor and 4-26 from three-point range in ending their season with a record of 21-12. UVM also turned the ball over 17 times, as Maine outscored them in points off turnovers 21-3. Leading scorer TJ Hurley (15.8 points per game) was held to five points by the Black Bears on 1-15 shooting that included 0-7 on three-pointers. 

It is the first Maine win over Vermont since January 22, 2013 (71-68 at Alfond Arena in Orono). The Black Bears (20-13) now play in their first conference championship game since March 13, 2004 (loss to Vermont) this Saturday at 11 a.m. in Smithfield, Rhode Island against top seeded Bryant (22-11). Maine lost both games to the Bulldogs in the regular season, 81-55 on January 4th in the league opener in R.I. and 80-72 in Orono on March 1st. This will be the second appearance in an NCAA Division I conference title game for Bryant (won the Northeast Conference in 2022), who was a long time member in NCAA Division II.

Maine baseball drops 16 inning decision to St. John's in a series opener on Friday 

Adam Agresti hit a walkoff two-run homerun in the bottom of the 16th inning on Friday, as the St. John's Redstorm defeated Maine 7-5 in non-conference baseball action at Jack Kaiser Stadium in Queens, New York.

Chris Bear had four hits including a solo homerun in the Maine loss. He also scored three times. Brody Rasmussen, Dean O'Neill, and Myles Sargent had two hits a piece. Rasmussen also knocked in a pair of runs. Colin Fitzgerald started on the mound and allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 7.0 innings. Jason Libby (Bangor Christian) was tagged with the defeat in 4.0 innings in relief, as St. John's (4-11) laid down a bunt single to begin the last of the 16th before Agresti took the next offering over the fence in left for the walkoff victory. The Black Bears (4-11) will continue the three game series with the Redstorm on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Bryant runs past Maine in the America East Men's Basketball Championship game, punching their ticket to a second NCAA Tournament appearance

The top seeded Bryant University Bulldogs shot 50% from the floor, and outrebounded the Maine Black Bears 45-25 on Saturday culminating in a 77-59 win in the America East Men's Basketball Championship game at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island. 

Bryant led from start to finish, and their heighth and length bothered Maine attempts at the basket all game long. The Black Bears were within 22-18 on a turnaround jumper in the paint by Quion Burns with 6:38 left in the first half, before the Bulldogs responded with six straight points on a driving layup by America East Conference Player of the Year Earl Timberlake, a hookshot by Keyshawn Mitchell, and a dunk by Barry Evans. After Maine had cut it to four on the shot by Burns, Bryant scored 16 of the final 25 points of the opening 20 minutes to take a 38-27 advantage to the halftime break.

Bryant began the second half on a run of 10-2 to increase their advantage to 19, capped off by an ally-oop pass by Timberlake to Evans for a dunk. Maine never really got into an offensive flow all day, but did use an 8-0 run to cut a 21 point deficit to 13 at 61-48 finished off with two free throws from Keelan Steele with 5:56 left to play. The regular season conference champion Bulldogs sealed it with a 14-6 spurt over the next 4:33 to win their first postseason title as part of the America East.

Senior guard AJ Lopez (7-14 FG, 6-7 FT) led Maine in the loss with 20 points. Graduate guard Kellen Tynes was the only other Black Bear in double figures as he recorded 10 points, six assists, four steals, and three rebounds in his final time in a Maine uniform. Burns put in eight points and had five rebounds, while Steele and Jaden Clayton each had seven points. Steele also grabbed eight rebounds, while Clayton had three assists and three steals. Bryant had four players in double figures in the win. Evans had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Timberlake filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, five assists, four rebounds, four steals, and two blocked shots. Rafael Pinzon contributed 13 points, and Mitchell had a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Bulldogs (23-11) won the defensive boards 32-19, and the offensive glass 13-6. The long time member of Division II heads to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as part of this league, and second overall. Bryant won the Northeast Conference in the 2021-22 season for their first D1 postseason championship, before falling in the NCAA First Four to Wright State. Maine ends a fantastic run and season at 20-14, appearing in their first league final since 2004. The Black Bears during the course of the playoffs hosted their first tournament game in 30 years, won a home postseason game for the first time in 31 years (72-64 over UMass-Lowell), and also ended a 30-game losing streak to Vermont dating back to 2013 with their semifinal victory in Burlington (57-42).

Maine baseball falls in walk-off fashion for second straight day, while softball splits doubleheader at Merrimack

The Maine baseball team fell 8-7 at St. John's on Saturday. The Black Bears had taken a 7-4 in the sixth on a three-run homerun by Brody Rasmussen, but the Redstorm (5-11) responded with three runs in the bottom half then won it on a walk-off RBI flyout by Sean Britt in the ninth. Rasmussen had two hits and four RBI, while Drew Reynolds and Quinn Murphy also had two hits each. Caleb Leys pitched 5.0 innings in the no-decision allowing four runs on eight hits with three walks and six strikeouts, while Luc Lavigueur (0-2) took the defeat in relief. Maine (4-12) will try to avoid to sweep on Sunday afternoon.

The Maine softball team split a doubleheader at Merrimack College in falling 2-1 in the opener in 11 innings, before taking game two by mercy in five innings 12-2. The Black Bears only had two hits in game one, and Francesa Guerrera provided the offense with a sacrifice fly. Alysen Reith (2-8) went the distance in the circle in taking the loss giving up just one earned run on seven hits with five walks and seven strikeouts in 10.1 innings. In the second game- Maine scored five times in the top of the first inning including a three-run homer from Madison Hand and rolled to the mercy rule victory. Morgan Pool had two RBI while Kyrah Haba-Dailey, Immie Gie, Guerrera, and Pool all scored two runs. Madison Simmerman (3-5) got the pitching win allowing two runs on six hits in 3.2 innings. The Black Bears (5-15) and Warriors (2-10) play the rubber game of the series on Sunday afternoon.

Maine uses seven different goal scorers and thumps UMass-Lowell in the quarterfinals, advancing to the TD Garden in Boston for the second year in a row

ORONO- The #4 nationally ranked Maine Black Bears scored three goals in the second period, and four more in the third on Saturday night in hammering the #19 UMass-Lowell Riverhawks 7-1 in a men's Hockey East quarterfinal at a soldout Alfond Arena. Frank Djurasevic had the game winner, and graduate co-captain Lynden Breen also scored for the first time since returning from injury in his final home game. The Black Bears now advance to the final four of the conference playoffs next week at TD Garden for a second straight season.

It was a scoreless first period with Maine seeing the better quality chances. Near the end of the opening stanza, Black Bears defenseman Brandon Chabrier was whistled for a five minute major penalty and a game misconduct for butt-ending. That powerplay had 4:33 of carry over time for UMass-Lowell into the second, but it was evened out when the guests were called for interference just 1:04 in. The turning point of the game came at 3:54 when one of the Riverhawks leaders Scout Truman was also given a major penalty and a game misconduct for contact to the head elbowing on Owen Fowler. Originally, there was no call on the play but Maine head coach Ben Barr asked for a review and it was confirmed. The Black Bears cashed in at 7:13 on a shot through traffic from the high slot by Sully Scholle off a nice drop pass from Frank Djurasevic that found the back of the net. Djurasevic took matters into his own hands by extending the lead to 2-0 just after the major powerplay expired with another shot that had net front presence this time by Taylor Makar at 8:59. Breen joined the goal party at 15:31 off a beautiful pass from Charlie Russell. It was the sixth tally of the season for Breen, and his first since returning from injury on February 21st at UConn. Breen, who was playing in his final home game in Orono, suffered a fractured fibula on November 30th at RPI and had to undergo surgery shortly after. It was another outburst in the third period for Maine getting goals from Thomas Freel at 1:39, Harrison Scott at 14:26, Josh Nadeau at 17:15, and Ross Mitton at 18:20. Nick Anderson spoiled the Albin Boija shutout bid at 7:56 of the final period for UMass-Lowell. The goal by Mitton who was just returning after a month off (knee injury) was his first since December 1st at RPI and his fourth of the season.

#2 seed Maine (22-7-6) had several multiple point scorers in their biggest goal output in any game this season. Scholle, Djurasevic, Freel, and Nadeau each had one goal and one assist. Owen Fowler, Thomas Pichette, Bodie Nobes, and David Breazeale each had two assists. Boija made 27 saves, and the Black Bears went 1-5 on the powerplay. The goal by Scott was just his second in the last 15 games, while Freel notched his second in the last 14 contests. Jack Collins and Dillan Bentley each registered one assist in the loss for #7 seed UMass-Lowell. Henri Welsch stopped 35 shots, and the Riverhawks went 0-3 on the powerplay. UML had made it into the quarterfinals with an overtime home win over UNH on Wednesday, as they end their season with a record of 16-16-4. Maine is now 6-0-1 vs Lowell in the last seven meetings. With Boston University beating UMass 3-2 in overtime and #9 seed Northeastern pulling a shocking 3-1 upset over top seed Boston College in the other quarterfinal games on Saturday, the Black Bears are now the highest seeded team remaining and will take on those Northeastern Huskies in the semifinals on Thursday night, March 20th at TD Garden at 7:30. BU and UConn will meet in the earlier semifinal at 4 p.m., with the two winners meeting the next night on Friday, March 21st at 7:30 for the Hockey East Championship. NU is the first #9 seed ever to advance to the Garden for the semifinals.

Maine softball takes two of three at Merrimack with a win in the rubber game on Sunday 

Freshman Morgan Pool hit a game winning three-run homer in the sixth inning and drove in four runs on Sunday, as the Maine softball team took a series win over Merrimack College with a 9-6 victory in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Immie Gie, Gabby Papushka, and Francesa Guerrera had two hits each. Papushka and Guerrera each had two RBI. Alysen Rieth (3-8) picked up the win in the circle going 6.0 innings allowing four earned runs on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Maine (6-15) plays a doubleheader at Iona on Tuesday, before opening their America East schedule next Saturday on the road in a three game series at Bryant University.

Maine baseball swept at St. John's

The St. John's Redstorm swept a three game non-conference baseball series from the Maine Black Bears with an 11-6 win in Queens, New York on Sunday afternoon.

St. John's put the game away with four runs in in the sixth inning and four more in the seventh. Quinn Murphy and Aidan Bardi (one RBI) had two hits each for Maine, and Myles Sargent drove in a pair of runs. Gianni Gambardella got a no-decision in his start on the mound allowing three runs on five hits in 4.0 innings, while Owen Wheeler (0-3) took the loss in relief.

Maine (4-13) has now lost five in a row and will play single games at Fordham and Army on Tuesday and Wednesday, before opening up America East play with a three game series at Binghamton on Friday.

Renwick plays the hero in double overtime, sending Maine to the Hockey East Championship game for the first time in 13 years

Nolan Renwick was in the right place at the right time on Thursday night. Renwick banked in a shot/pass by Charlie Russell 11:02 into double overtime, lifting Maine to a 4-3 win over the Northeastern Huskies in a men's Hockey East Semifinal at TD Garden. The Black Bears are headed back to the conference title game for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

Maine got off to a good start, as junior Owen Fowler scored the lone goal of the first period. After a Northeastern turnover at the tailend of a powerplay at the Black Bears blue line, senior Harrison Scott got control of the puck and located Fowler just coming out of the penalty box. Fowler broke in alone and beat Huskies goalie Cam Whitehead five-hole at 14:02.

Fowler doubled the lead early in the second, as he got a rebound in the low slot and fired it in at 2:03 for a 2-0 advantage. Northeastern stole the momentum from there though and made the most of their opportunities to score the next three. Dylan Hryckowian put them on the board on the powerplay less than two minutes later to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 4:01. Just after a Maine powerplay expired just over 15 minutes later, they would find the equalizer as Cam Lund broke in off a feed from Jackon Dorrington and scorched one glove side past Albin Boija at 19:11.

Northeastern took their only lead at 4:29 of the third period. Vinny Borgesi made a move in the right circle and spun a shot on net, and Andy Moore was able to get to the rebound and backhanded it past Boija. The tally was the first collegiate goal for the sophomore and Cumberland, Maine native. An unlikely source tied it back up for the Black Bears. After a faceoff win by Scott in the Huskies zone, Luke Antonacci faked a shot to get the defenseman down and then snapped one from the high slot that bounced off an NU defender and into the back of the net with 7:16 remaining. It was the second goal in the last three games for the junior D-man and just the second of the season. Both teams had some decent looks for the remainder of regulation, but it reminded tied as it headed to overtime.

Maine really hemmed in Northeastern in overtime, as the Huskies looked overly gassed. At one point the Black Bears held the puck in the offensive zone for over 1:00 in the first extra session, but Whitehead and his defense in front of him as they've done in the entire playoffs kept their opponent mostly to the outside and off the scoreboard. Maine had 116 shots attempted through four periods, while NU had blocked 38 shots. After many great chances to end it, the sophomore Russell made a great effort in double overtime that led to the game winner. Russell kept possession and skated around the net from the left to right and to the top of the right circle. He then spun and glided into the bottom of the circle sending a pass or shot across the crease. Renwick was standing wide open with other traffic in front to the right of Whitehead as the puck went off either the shaft of his stick or chin and settled into the back of the net to send the Black Bears to the title game.

Lund had a goal and an assist for Northeastern, who made a great run to get to the semifinals as the #9 seed. Whitehead made 57 saves, finishing with 131 stops in the three playoff games for the Huskies who were seeking their first appearance in the championship game since they beat Boston College in 2018-19. NU went 1-3 on the powerplay and ends up with a final record of 14-20-3, as they needed to win Hockey East to get the automatic qualifier to participate in the NCAA Tournament. As team, they blocked 42 shots on the night. Scott had two assists for Maine, joining Fowler who had his two goals as multiple point scorers in the win for the Black Bears. Boija made 33 saves and his team went 0-4 with their extra man opportunities. Russell, Lynden Breen, and Frank Djurasevic added one assist each. The attempted shots were 137-69. Maine, who lost the title game to BC in 2012, will be seeking their first Lamoriello Trophy since the 2003-04 season when they defeated UMass. The Black Bears (23-7-6) and UConn Huskies (22-10-4) face-off 7:30 Friday night to decide who is the champion. UConn seeks their first in Hockey East. This will also be the first time since 2002 (Maine vs UNH) that the final of the league won't include a team from Massachusetts.

Maine shows up huge in their biggest game of the season so far, captures first Hockey East Championship in 21 years

BOSTON- The old adage of "it's hard to beat a good team three times in one season" showed its colors on Friday night. The University of Maine rode first period goals from Lynden Breen and Josh Nadeau, along with two markers in the third from Taylor Makar in defeating the UConn Huskies 5-2 in the men's Hockey East Championship game at TD Garden. It is the first title for the Black Bears since the 2003-2004 season in their first appearance in the final in 13 years.

The Black Bears never trailed. Breen got the scoring started at the 12:47 mark of the opening period. With UConn attempting an attack and the puck sifting out near the Maine blue line, Nadeau would chip it over a defender to Breen that led to a 2 on 1 breakout with Owen Fowler. The graduate co-captain finished beautifully snapping off a wristshot from the right circle that beat Huskies goalie Tyler Muszelik five-hole. Just under four minutes later at 16:29, Nadeau extended the lead to a pair on the powerplay with one of the prettier goals you'll ever see. Nadeau took it from his own zone coast to coast, where he made a move left to right splitting three defenders once he passed the blue line to create space. He got the netminder Muszelik leaning left who was trying to cut down the angle, and then fired a shot against the grain from the low slot into the net back to the right on the blocker side.

After Albin Boija made several key saves to keep UConn off the scoreboard in the second period, one of the Maine leaders stepped up to make it 3-0 at 16:37. David Breazeale kept the play alive in the Huskies zone, and attempted to get it to the front of the net where UConn defenseman Trey Scott tried to clear it but it dropped off the blade of his stick to Harrison Scott who batted it out of mid-air and found the back of the cage for his 18th goal of the season.

UConn gained some momentum early in the third period. Kaden Shahan backhanded a pass from behind the Maine net that found Tabor Heaslip who had gotten position on defenseman Bodie Nobes in front. Heaslip made no mistake in slipping the puck past Boija at 3:11 to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Black Bears though responded well, as just over six minutes later another important piece of the team this year came through in senior UMass transfer Makar. The forward got control of a loose puck near the Huskies blue line, took a few strides into the left circle and blitzed a laser of a wristshot over the glove of Muszelik into the far right corner at 9:21 to restore a three goal lead. Filip Sitar thought he had gotten UConn back within a pair a short time later, but Maine called for a review on a possible offsides on the play. It was ruled an offside reversing the goal as it remained 4-1. Heaslip did get his team within two again at 14:41 with his second of the period, but it was too little too late despite pulling Muszelik for an extra attacker with 2:38 remaining. Makar began the championship celebration by finding the empty net with 1:25 to go, also his 18th on the year to tie him with Scott for the team lead.

Four Maine players recorded multiple points in what may be the most complete win of the season at a most opportune time. Makar had his two goals, Nadeau had a goal and an assist, while Breazeale and Nolan Renwick added two assists each. Boija even contributed an assist on the Nadeau goal, and Charlie Russell chipped in one assist as well. There was only one powerplay in the game and that was converted by the Black Bears, as they held the high powered Huskies to no chances which was also a key to the victory. Boija made 27 saves, as the the Huskies had 29 shots on goal. Maine went 0-2-1 vs UConn in the regular season, and gave up 45 shots in the most recent loss 3-2 in overtime in Storrs on February 21st. Heaslip had two goals in the defeat for #4 seeded Connecticut (22-11-4), as they had their five game win streak snapped. They were appearing in their first Hockey East Final since the 2021-22 season (lost to UMass), and were seeking their first title since becoming part of the league in 2014-2015. Shahan, Jake Percival, and Jake Carabin had one assist each. Muszelik made 19 stops in net. The Huskies, ranked #7 nationally and #6 in the pairwise, will await where they're headed for the NCAA Tournament. #2 seed Maine is now 24-7-6, ranked #4 in the nation and sitting at #3 in the pairwise. All indications are that the Black Bears will be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in the Allentown, Pennsylvania Regional but will find out for sure on Sunday at 3 p.m. during the selection show. This was the 15th tournament championship game for Maine, and their sixth title overall.

Penn State rolls past Maine in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Regionals in Pennsylvania 

The Maine Black Bears scored the first goal on Friday night just over four minutes in, but unfortunately that is all they had to show for as the speed and skill of Penn State took over from there as the Nittany Lions rolled to a 5-1 win in a first round game of the NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Tournament at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

That lone score by Maine came on a fluke play and a good bounce at the 4:08 mark of the opening period. A shot by Bodie Nobes from the right point was kicked out by Penn State goalie Arsenii Sergeev, but the puck glanced off the skate of Nick Fascia and up and over Sergeev into the back of the net. Because Nobes was the last stick to touch it, the sophomore defenseman was credited with his first collegiate goal. The Nittany Lions found the equalizer just 56 seconds later on the powerplay by JJ Wiebusch off a beautiful setup. After a faceoff win in the Black Bears zone the puck came to Charlie Cerrato at the top of the left circle, who one-touched it to the bottom of the circle onto the stick of Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist Aiden Fink. Fink then beautifully sent it over to a wide open Wiebusch in the bottom of the right circle where the freshman snapped it into a half empty net at 5:04. PSU then got the game winner at 14:26 with the first goal of the night by Matt DiMarsico. The freshman found himself open gliding into the low slot by beating his defender Harrison Scott, receiving a pass from Wiebusch before sizzling a wristshot glove side past Albin Boija just inside the right post. The powerplay came though again to extend the advantage to 3-1 at 18:08, as Danny Dzhaniyev sent a perfect shot through traffic from the left circle near the boards that went off the skate of teammate Dane Dowiak and found its way into the cage.

Maine, the top regional seed in Allentown who had scored 16 goals in three games of their conference tournament in taking home the league title, just could just not muster enough offense to get back into the game. Another defensive breakdown led to the second goal of the evening for DiMarsico who was wide open again in the low slot at 5:41 of the second period. Boija did make at least 3-4 Grade A saves to keep his team within three, but unfortunately a comeback for the Black was not in the cards. They would pull Boija for an extra attacker with just over four minutes left to play, and Dowiak would send his Nittany Lions to the regional final on Sunday evening with an empty net tally at 16:37.

Boija made 29 saves in the loss, and Maine went 0-2 on the powerplay. Boija had only allowed four goals twice this season in 36 starts entering Friday night. Transfer players in Scott, Ross Mitton, and Taylor Makar all played their final game with the team. It was also the final collegiate appearances for Nolan Renwick and co-captains Lynden Breen along with David Breazeale. DiMarsico and Dowiak had a pair of goals for #4 regional seed Penn State. Wiebusch had a goal and an assist, while Cerrato had three points by dishing out three assists. The UConn transfer Sergeev had 26 stops in net, and the Nittany Lions went 2-5 on the powerplay. PSU (21-13-4) will play those UConn Huskies (23-11-4) in the Allentown Regional Final on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. with a spot in the Frozen Four on the line which will be the first trip for either team. The Black Bears, who won their first Hockey East Championship in 21 years seven days ago, end their season with a first round loss for a second straight year finishing with a record of 24-8-6. The back to back NCAA appearances are a first since 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, but they remain winless in the tournament since that 06-07 campaign.