The Maine Black Bears must have felt ten-feet tall after their sweep over the #7 Quinnipiac Bobcats last weekend, especially following Saturday’s dramatic finish to a memorable rollercoaster of a game that saw Maine squander a 4-1 lead, falling behind 5-4 in the third period, only to storm back to tie the contest in the game’s dying moments before capping off the Homecoming Weekend sweep with an overtime winner.

“I think that [game] creates a lot of momentum for our team and belief in who we are,” senior forward Harrison Scott said. “It’s just understanding who we are. When the moments get tough, we have the capability to step up, and it’s just building confidence.”

Scott contributed five assists over the weekend, four of which came on Saturday, including setting up the game-tying and game-winning goals. Scott’s impressive weekend earned the San Jose native the Hockey East Player of the Week award. 

“He does everything for our team,” Head Coach Ben Barr said about the Black Bears’ spark plug, “He’s always there, making his teammates better, making his linemates better, and making plays.”

For Barr, while earning a sweep over a top-ten opponent will have felt sweet results-wise, he was most pleased with the mental toughness and never-say-die attitude his team showcased after Quinnipiac roared back to score four unanswered goals in Saturday’s barnburner.

“The best part of it was just the guys, the mentality, and the vibe on the bench,” Barr said. “To pull yourself out of that, culturally, that was a good thing for us.”

The Black Bears, now polled at #6 in the nation in USCHO’s Coaches Poll, will need to put last weekend in the rear-view mirror, turning the page to look ahead to the gauntlet of Hockey East play, beginning with a tough trip to Northeastern.

“You come right back down to reality when you go on the road in our league,” Barr said.

Maine hopes to bring all of this early-season momentum down south as the Black Bears head to Beantown for one final trip to Matthews Arena.

The world’s oldest ice hockey arena still in use is entering its 114th and final season. Built in 1910, known as Boston Arena for most of its life, the historic rink was the original home for both the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics.

“It’s pretty incredible. I remember someone telling me that’s where Bobby Orr played some of his games, so being on the same ice as Bobby Orr was is pretty incredible. Definitely going to take it all in when we get down there,” senior defenseman David Breazeale said.

Unfortunately, Matthews Arena’s structural integrity has been irreversibly compromised, as it is sinking into the man-made land built at the edge of Boston’s Back Bay. This situation has forced Northeastern to make the difficult decision to replace the storied old barn with a new multi-purpose arena.

Matthews Arena has long been a house of horrors for Maine, which hasn’t won at Northeastern’s rink since February 25th, 2012, going a dismal 0-14-2 since.

“We always feel like crap leaving that rink, so I don’t have a lot of great memories [at Matthews Arena], so hopefully the last time we go there, we can change that feeling,” Barr said, who has gone winless in five games at Matthews during his time behind the Maine bench.

Recent history aside, the Black Bears will be chomping at the bit to close the book on their program’s history at the 114-year-old rink on a positive note and keep their perfect start to their campaign going.

“It’s been like fifteen years since Maine has won at the Mathews Arena. That’s kind of just giving us the jump and the juice. We want to take them down, and obviously, we want to keep on winning,” Scott said.

Before we look ahead to the Black Bears’ final-ever test at Matthews Arena, let’s look back on some of Maine’s most memorable wins at the historic barn.

Memorable Maine wins at Matthews

Saturday, March 7th, 1981

Maine’s third-ever trip saw the program’s first-ever win at Matthews Arena — then Boston Arena — a 5-2 victory for the Black Bears in their final regular season game. Senior forward Paul Wheeler scored the game-winning goal, while senior goaltender Jeff Nord stopped 26 shots.

The fourth-year program, only in its second season playing at the Division I level, was coached by Jack Semler, who steered the Black Bears to a 23-11-0 record before falling to Cornell in the first round of the ECAC conference playoffs.

Friday, February 12th & Saturday, February 13th, 1993

Maine’s first-ever weekend sweep at Matthews Arena came during its most memorable campaign. The Black Bears rolled past the Huskies 7-1 on Friday, with senior captain Jim Montogomery scoring Maine’s second goal. The next night, freshman superstar Paul Kariya scored the game-winner in a 6-2 win. Maine’s unbeatable goalie tandem was on full display as Mike Dunham stopped 31 shots on Friday, while Garth Snow saved 52 the next night.

The Black Bears would go on to have a near-perfect season, ending the year with a 42-1-2 record, its third Hockey East Tournament Championship in five years, and the program’s first National Championship, defeating Michigan and Lake Superior State at the Frozen Four in Milwaukee. Paul Kariya would win that year’s Hobey Baker Award, the only recipient of college hockey’s most prestigious honor to make it into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Friday, February 5th, 1999

The Black Bears’ only trip to Matthews Arena that season was a 5-1 win. Junior forward Jim Leger scored Maine’s second goal, while junior goaltender and current Black Bears’ assistant coach Alfie Michaud saved 22 Huskies’ shots.

Maine would finish the season with a 27-8-5 record, securing its second National Championship in Anaheim. They defeated Boston College in overtime in the Frozen Four semifinal before Marcus Gustafsson’s famous National Championship-winning overtime tally broke New Hampshire hearts.

Friday, October 26th & Saturday, October 27th, 2007

The last time the Black Bears swept a series at Matthews Arena was all the way back in 2007, 17 years ago. Led by 6th-year Head Coach Tim Whitehead, Friday’s 3-2 victory came via freshman Tanner House’s only tally of the campaign, while Saturday saw senior Vince Laise secure the game-winning goal in Maine’s 4-3 sweep of the Huskies. Future NHL All-Star senior goaltender Ben Bishop recorded 63 saves over the weekend for the Black Bears.

Maine would go on to have a 13-18-3 record, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven seasons and ending a run of appearing at the Frozen Four in six of the previous eight seasons, a goal Maine hasn’t reached since.

Northeastern Weekend Preview

Although the Black Bears shot out of the gates this season, securing three impressive wins, all of these have taken placet in the friendly confines of Fortress Alfond, where Maine holds an outstanding 16-2-2 record dating back to the beginning of last season. With an 8-8-0 record on the road last year, the Black Bears know that their performances away from home still have plenty of room for improvement.

“We do have an advantage in our rink. Going on the road will be a different test for us. This will be a whole different kind of ballgame,” Barr said.

Maine understands that it will be exponentially more difficult to play their high-octane, high-energy game without the fanatical support of Black Bear Nation roaring them on. It will be solely up to the team to spark the endless energy that is critical to their style of game and its success.

“Obviously, we have to bring the jam. We’re not going to have the Alfond to bring that energy,” Scott said. “That’s the biggest thing, we’re going to have to create our own energy, our own momentum. Again, we are focused on our game and our game is playing fast, playing heavy, being relentless.”

The Huskies’ aptly named ‘Dog House’ produces Northeastern’s own home-ice advantage, which will be on full display this weekend, with both games expected to be sellouts. Winless in 16 straight trips to Matthews Arena, the Black Bears are all too aware of the danger Northeastern poses in their own building. 

Last season the Huskies made sure to pounce all over Black Bear mistakes, defeating Maine in two of the three games the sides played last season. Although Maine outplayed Northeastern in the lone game at Matthews Arena last season, the Huskies made the Black Bears pay for taking a third-period five-minute major, ruthlessly scoring three power play goals during the penalty.

“They always have a really high skill level, and every mistake seems to go as a Grade-A chance or into the back of your net,” Barr said on Wednesday’s Black Bear Coaches Show. “You can be playing great and losing, you can be playing terribly and losing. Their power play is always really good.”

In order to quiet the Huskies’ super-skilled offense that can expose a defense in the blink of an eye, Maine will be focused on limiting mistakes by taking good care of the puck, playing a simplified game that keeps the play out of dangerous areas of the ice and in front of them at all times.

“We have to play our game, we’ve got to take care of the puck and be on the right side of the puck, whether it’s in our zone or the offensive zone because they’re a quick strike team that can really hurt you,” Barr said.

Puck possession, according to Barr, will also be critical if Maine is to stay out of the penalty box. After taking twelve penalties last weekend against Quinnipiac, Maine’s discipline will need to be greatly improved if they are to avoid falling prey to the Huskies’ howling power play that chewed up and spit out the Black Bears in last year's contest at Matthews.

“Puck possession is always really important with them [Northeastern]. When they have the puck, they are very skilled, they make plays, and they’re going to expose you,” Barr warned. “[We have to ] be able to hold on to the puck when we get in on the forecheck or when we have possession in the neutral zone. We have to find ways to have it on our tape because when you do that, you take less penalties, and their power play is always really good.”

The Huskies are blessed with a rich pack of highly skilled attackers led by #13 Dylan Hrycowian (7g-27a-34pts), Biddeford native #15 Jack Williams (17g-19a-36pts), and Quinnipiac transfer #29 Christophe Tellier (7g-19a-26pts).

“They’re just a team that scores fast. They’re very skilled, and they get behind you a lot so we’ve just got to keep it simple, be really aware because they’re a fast team,” Breazeale said.

However, according to Barr, the most important aspect for Maine will come down to execution in front of each net, which has been lacking in the Black Bears' recent trips to Matthews Arena.

“It hasn’t been good enough, whether it’s been penalty kill, power play, goaltending, it’s something and that’s the game of hockey,” Barr explained. “On the road in Hockey East, none of those aspects of the game can be terrible. The execution piece is going to be important.”

College hockey without Matthews Arena will never be the same. And while it’s sad to see such a storied building fall victim to Father Time, it should also be a stark reminder to Black Bear Nation of how important ongoing renovations to their own rink are in maintaining the heart and soul of Maine hockey.

“When you have a place that’s kind of a shrine to college hockey, and now it’s being renovated, and there’s a lot of energy around it again, it’s such a huge advantage,” Barr said.

Much credit should be given to Maine Director of Athletics Jude Killy, Senior Associate Athletic Director Seth Woodcock, Chancellor Daniel. P Malloy, and University President Joan Ferrini-Mundy for their dedication and support to maintaining and enhancing the hockey programs’ most important asset.

Part of a larger $170 million donation from the Harold Alfond Foundation, the renovations to Alfond Arena and the adjoining Shawn Walsh Hockey Center represent a commitment to enhancing the future of the men’s and women’s hockey programs by preserving the history and culture they were built upon.

So, while the Black Bears bid farewell to the hockey heritage-steeped Matthews Arena this weekend, the Alfond Faithful can sleep reassured, knowing that the fabric of their own hockey culture is being well and truly taken care of.