The Black Bears celebrate Brandon Chabrier’s overtime winner at Quinnipiac last October.

In each of the past three years, Maine’s contests with the Quinnipiac Bobcats have proven to be early-season barometers for the Black Bears.

In October of 2021, Maine Hockey Head Coach Ben Barr’s first game behind the bench was a 7-0 drubbing by the Bobcats in an exhibition game. It was a sign of things to come as the Black Bears would go on to have a rocky 7-22-4 season.

Two years ago, Maine managed to pull off a series split against Quinnipiac. At the time, the Friday night victory at the Alfond over the #3 in the nation Bobcats was the most monumental win for the Black Bears in recent memory. That year would see a marked improvement, as Maine ended the season at 15-16-5.

Then, this time last year, Maine also managed to split a weekend set with Quinnipiac, this time going down to Connecticut to earn an overtime victory on Friday against the then-defending National Champions and #5 team in the country.

It was a statement win for Maine, as it was the program’s first victory on the road over such a high-ranked opponent since the end of the 2019-20 campaign. The early season split announced Maine back onto the national stage, and they never looked back, recording a 23-12-2 record en route to their first NCAA Tournament berth in over a decade.

This dogged climb up College Hockey’s rungs over just four seasons has turned the Black Bears from underdogs into targets. They now have a bullseye squarely on their backs. Polled this week by USCHO.com as the #9 team in the nation, Quinnipiac ranks #7.

Unlike in seasons past, this time, when the Black Bears and the Bobcats square off in Orono, it won’t have the feeling of David versus Goliath. Instead, it has the aura of a heavyweight prize fight. Who will land the knockout blow?

“I know that two years ago, we played this team around the same date; we’re probably [ranked in the] fifties or forties. And if we win, great.” Graduate forward Lynden Breen said. “When you’re a team like that, you have no expectations, you have nothing to lose, you just go out and play. But now we have all that expectation, and we’ve earned it.”

This weekend’s showdown between two top-ten teams will once again serve as an early-season measuring stick for Maine’s campaign.

“To have them for our test of our season to see where our culture is at, it’s really important for us. It’s a huge weekend. It’s probably the biggest weekend we’re going to have in the first half, Breen said after practice on Tuesday.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more consistently dominant team in College Hockey than Quinnipiac over the past decade. Since the 2012/13 season, the Bobcats have made the NCAA Tournament nine times, the second-most of any program (Denver has ten appearances since 2013). During that run, they have been to three National Championship games, falling in 2013 and 2016 before making it over the line to win it all in 2023.

They have had more recent success than typical blueblood programs such as Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan, BC, BU, and Maine have had. For a school that almost nobody has heard of outside of New England, that is astonishing.

“What they’ve done [in] the last ten, fifteen years is pretty remarkable,” Barr said.

By now, much of the hockey world has learned that Quinnipiac is synonymous with success, all thanks to Bobcats’ Head Coach Rand Pecknold.

Pecknold took over the then Division II program back in 1994. Quinnipiac’s subsequent meteoric rise to the top of Division I, alongside the consistent and sustained success the Bobcats have enjoyed, is exactly what Barr at Maine is striving for. Quinnipiac could be considered the model modern-day hockey program.

“They have an identity, and it doesn’t matter who comes and goes in that program, and that’s the sign of a very healthy culture. Good players leave, the team is still good. New players come in, and it looks the same as before, if not better.” Ben Barr said. “There are a lot of things that they do that we’re trying to integrate into our program.”

Not only do the two teams go about their off-ice business in a similar fashion, but their on-ice identity mirrors each other as well. Both teams' cultures revolve around playing in a hard-working, detail-oriented style that prizes hunting pucks in packs while using lethal skill to put it in the back of the net in the blink of an eye.

“They are one of the stingiest teams to play against every year,” Barr said. “[Pecknold] gets his teams to play extremely structured, [but] they also play free, they make plays. They play a skill game on top of being structured, which is why, at the end of the year, they are always at the Frozen Four.”

While Maine’s high-flying, free-flowing victories over AIC 6-0 and Army 5-0 so far this season have impressed, outshooting their opponents 76-25, the Bobcats are an entirely different beast.

“It’s going to be a whole different ballgame,” Barr said after Maine’s win over Army last Saturday afternoon.

As good as Maine has looked over the past two weeks, Quinnipiac is by far a higher caliber team in all areas of the ice than AIC and Army are. Maine will need to be better than what they’ve already shown if they are to rise to the Quinnipiac challenge.

“For the most part, the guys all played pretty well [against Army]. There were some guys with average games, which isn’t probably going to work obviously against Quinnipiac or anybody we will play down the road.” Barr said.

The Alfond Faithful will see a completely different type of game this weekend than what they witnessed over the first two games.

Firstly, the Black Bears will see a lot less time in possesion of the puck, which they dominated control over against AIC and Army. Quinnipiac prides themselves on being as defensively stubborn as they come and won’t allow Maine skaters an inch of open ice through which to move. Maine, who had pretty much everything going for them during the first two games., They will need to get used to being frustrated by the Bobcats’ dogged defense that can be expected to lay a body on every Black Bear who touches the puck. There will be no open ice and Maine will need to work incredibly hard for every scoring opportunity they create.

“We’re going to get frustrated against Quinnipiac because they are really well coached. They are always on the right side of the play. They’re not going to make mistakes, so we have to be able to play our game when it’s not wide open, and we have the puck, and it's fun all the time.”

Maine will need to be willing and able to play pucks into the dirty areas of the ice, put on their hard hats, and get to work in order not to allow the Bobcats’ stringent defense to frustrate the Black Bears so much it throws them off their game. Winning the battles against the boards and supporting the puck by staying connected and organized will be critical for Maine’s offensive success this weekend.

“We’re not going to just be able to pick up the puck in our zone and skate it all the way down; you’re going to get hit every time,” Barr said.

On the other side of the puck, Black Bear Nation should be prepared to hold their breath as their team will be subject to exponentially more sustained pressure than the mere 25 shots on goal from AIC and Army combined. Quinnipiac is one of the best puck-possession teams in the country, so while Maine has enjoyed having the puck in their control for the majority of their first two games, they will have to adapt to facing an opponent that excels in holding on to the puck and making plays with it.

“This will be a totally different test for us. It will be a lot different feel of a game [compared to] where, in our first two games, we had the puck a lot, probably most of the game. It’s not going to be like that, we’re going to have to defend more, we’re going to have to play more structured, we’re not going to get away with things,” Barr explained on the Black Bears Coaches Show on Wednesday.

The Black Bears will bend, that is certain, but much of the weekends’ results will rely on their ability not to break under prolonged pressure when their net is under siege.

Maine will need to match Quinnipiac’s stingy defensive play hit for hit, battle for battle, effort for effort. If they give the high-octane Bobcats an inch, these cats will most certainly take a mile. 

“We’re going up against a team that doesn’t give you any time or space. And we pride ourselves on being a team that is similar to that. The team this weekend that does that the best, and then when you get a chance to take advantage of it, that’s the team that’s going to win,” Barr said. “In that scenario, when we give a guy five feet, that five feet is enough for him to score a goal. That’s what Hockey East is. That’s what Quinnipiac is going to be, so we’re trying to be as tight as we can all over the ice.”

Although few Bobcats remain from their 2022 National Championship-winning team, roster turnover has never been an issue for Pecknold and Quinnipiac’s prolonged success. Year in and year out, the Bobcats are a well-oiled machine that consistently churns out championship-caliber teams.

“No matter the year, no matter the night, they have a structure that they stick to. It doesn’t matter what top guys leave the program or what top guys come in.” Breen explained. “They play the same way, they play hard, they limit teams in getting to the net.”

While much of last year’s Quinnipiac team has moved on from the program, including top talents such as Colin Graff, Jacob Quinlan, Sam Lipkin, and Christophe Tellier, the Bobcats have brought in fourteen new players, including five highly touted transfers.

None of these stand out more than junior forward #16 Jeremy Wilmer, who comes to Quinnipiac from Boston University, where last year he dished out 30 assists for the Terriers, which was tied for 6th best in Hockey East. Wilmer scored twice for Quinnipiac in the Bobcats’ only game to date, a 3-2 victory over Penn State last week.

Wilmer is just one of the many Bobcats whose dangerous offensive prowess could hurt Maine. Other names to watch out for include sophomore #20 Mason Marcelus (14g-22a-36pts), sophomore #26 Andon Cerbone (12g-14a-26pts), and graduate student #17 Travis Treloar (12g-12a-24pts).

Taking care of the puck will be crucial for the Black Bears. The Bobcats, whose arsenal is loaded with high-end offensive weapons, excel when pouncing on mistakes. Maine will need to be very careful with the puck in all areas, but especially when the Black Bear d-men have it at the point by the blue line.

After Maine’s exhibition win over Army, Barr wasn’t pleased with the number of shots from the point that were fired straight into the opposition's shin guards from close range. Even when a team is in possession of the puck in the opposition zone, it is an extremely vulnerable area to play in. A blocked point shot can easily deflect into the neutral zone, where the team that is set up in the offensive zone suddenly finds itself on the wrong side of the puck, flat-footed. Meanwhile, the side that blocked the shot is already facing the right direction and can often win the race for the loose puck, creating an odd-man chance off the rush or even a breakaway.

The area between the tops of the faceoff circles and the blueline is a dangerous place to play in, but it is one in which Maine relies, using their defensemen to change the angle of attack and put pucks on net. Barr would like to see his blueliners move their feet more when walking the point or by the half-boards in order to get pucks through traffic and limit the chances the opposition’s blocked shot can spring an attack the other way.

“If we’re going to be the team that we want to be, we have to be able to use those guys and get pucks down to the net from the point. It doesn’t always have to be on net, it can be off net, it can be behind the net, it just can’t be into the guy standing two feet in front of you.” Barr said about his defensemen. “Those guys, they’re capable of doing it, they just have to focus a little bit more and maybe be a little more deliberate with working on the first step on the line, one way or the other.”

With a paper-thin margin separating the two teams, this weekend’s results will most likely come down to who can limit their mistakes and execute on their chances. Both teams will generate their handful of quality scoring looks. The difference is going to be which team’s goaltender can stand on their head and make the big save or which side’s forwards can come through and put it in the back of the net when the game is on their stick.

“It’s a very, very small margin of error against a team like that,” Barr said. “Who’s going to break, who’s going to make that one extra mistake, who’s going to make that one extra play that’s probably the difference.”

But it’s also going to come down to who’s culture is stronger. Because both teams physically play a very similar style of game that emphasizes work ethic, attention to detail, and gritty hockey infused with a touch of sublime skill, whichever team can win the mental battle will most likely win the war.

“We’re at a point in our season already where we feel super confident in ourselves and we’re going to go into it with that mindset. But at the end of the day it’s going to come down to who’s culture is going to be stronger,” Breen said.

Barr reiterated his co-captain's message that whichever team’s culture can shine the brightest through the rollercoaster of up and down, edge-of-your-seat hockey this weekend will have the best chance of emerging as victors.

“We know what we are, we know what they are. It almost becomes more of a culture game where, are we going to be able to play through them being really tight on us defensively? Can we defend well enough? Really that’s more of in our heads. Are we willing to play that game and able to play that game against a really good team for sixty minutes?” Barr said.

Strap yourselves in. It’s going to be a lot of fun.