Friday, October 27th, 2023 Maine 2 Quinnipiac 1 (OT)

Black Bears upset defending champs in nail-biting overtime road win.

That one was for all of Maine. For M-A-I-N-E, Maine!

High above Hamden, Connecticut, up on Mount Carmel where the Quinnipiac University campus and the state-of-the-art M&T Bank Arena sits, the Black Bears defeated the Bobcats 2-1 in overtime, finishing off a nail-biting defensive win over the defending national champions.

It was around 70 degrees when the puck dropped between Maine and #5 ranked Quinnipiac. Perhaps it was the unseasonably warm weather that kept local fans away, or maybe the Bobcat “faithful” were in the spirit of Halloween, dressing up as empty blue seats. Either way, the less-than-capacity crowd at “The Bobcat Den” witnessed a tight affair, highlighted by shutdown defense and solid goaltending from each team.

Before the matchup began, M&T Bank Arena held a moment of silence for the victims of the Lewiston shooting. Although it was the shortest moment of science I had ever witnessed — not even 5 full seconds — it is worth noting that it was impeccably observed by our Nutmeg neighbors.

Quinnipiac put the Black Bears on their heels right from the off. Maine netminder Victor Ostman was quickly called into duty as he was forced to make a couple excellent sprawling, post-to-post saves in the first five minutes as the speed and skill of Quinnipiac’s forwards scrambled the Maine defense.

It looked as if Maine found the sloshy ice conditions on this temperate evening very difficult to acclimate to. The Black Bears could not string many crisp passes together all night, as the puck repeatedly rolled on edge and bounced off the Maine sticks. Quinnipiac, playing on the same sheet of ice, also found controlling the crazed puck difficult. Both teams spent much of the first period focusing on controlling the play and sizing each other up, trying to avoid making the first mistake.

The first period had very little offense to show, only 6 from Maine and 5 from Quinnipiac in the opening period, quite a contrast from Maine’s previous games against Rensselaer, which saw them shoot the puck on the net over 100 times over the two-game set.

Perhaps the lack of clear scoring chances can be attributed to the less-than-ideal ice conditions, but it also looked as if Maine was very wary and timid of allowing the Bobcats to counterattack. This led to Maine players often cautiously yet smartly choosing to protect the puck and make the safe play rather than try to force a pass to set up a teammate for the shot and risk turning over the puck to Quinnipiac in dangerous areas of the ice. 

To break through the lock-down Bobcat defense, one of the best in the nation, and achieve just a single scoring opportunity took a ton of effort and tenacity from the Black Bear forwards. It was not the type of game that suited elaborate passing moves but rather a simple and gritty style. A quintessential underdog road performance was needed. 

This hard-nosed style of play with an emphasis on winning physical puck battles on the boards, staying above the puck, and supporting each other suited Maine’s second line. The big bodies of Ben Poisson, Nolan Renwick, and Donovan Houle were able to use their strength and speed on the forecheck to break the puck away from Quinnipiac and create a few valuable chances.

The tenacious effort it took to penetrate Quinnipiac’s defense was on full display in the opening goal of the game midway through the first period. Houle and Renwick were able to team up and break the puck free from a Bobcat defender on the forecheck before Houle slickly toe-dragged past a defender before the QU goaltender Houle’s shot. But the tenacious Black Bears swarmed the rebound, and it was Houle who jumped on not the first or second but third scoring opportunity in a matter of moments to put Maine in the lead.

The upset was on in Hamden.

The second period saw every inch of ice fiercely fought over, with neither side wanting to give an inch. Quinnipiac ratcheted up a gear, hammering the physical game onto the Black Bears. This increased presence of hard-hitting Bobcats could have been one reason why Maine seemed to lose focus and take their eye off the puck during the second period.

Multiple times in what seemed to be just a few minutes of the second period, Maine skaters continued to make sloppy passes or fumble the puck in dangerous areas of the ice, leading to grade-a scoring chances for the Bobcats. If it wasn’t for a stellar game with lots of big saves from Victor Ostman or Quinnipiac shooters perpetually missing the net on what looked to be sure-thing goals, Maine would not have fared better on the scoresheet in this contest. 

Quinnipiac eventually took advantage of another unsuccessful Maine breakout, which led to a pass from down low into the slot being rifled past Ostman, as Maine’s defense was not quite fast and tight enough to recover after the error. 1-1 after the second frame.

While Maine’s defensive lapses were improved upon in the third period, Quinnipiac continued to ramp up the pressure. The Bobcats swarmed the Maine net for large stretches of the third. They created a lot of traffic in front of Ostman, cutting out his line of sight as Maine’s defenders had to work hard to clear the crease of Bobcat forwards. 

Although Quinnipiac only had 5 shots that were actually on goal in the third period, this stat is somewhat misleading as the Bobcats continued to move through the gears, intensifying their pressure on the attack and threatening the Maine goal for large stretches in the third. However, the Maine team defense stood tall. More important saves from Ostman and a couple huge blocks from Maine skaters, highlighted by a genuinely game-saving and heroic last-ditch block from Josh Nadeau on what looked to be a sure-fire goal, kept Maine level in the game.

Bend but not break.

Josh Nadeau’s goal-saving blocked shot was indeed the defensive highlight for either team on the night and was made more impressive by the fact that Quinnipiac, time and again, were immense at sacrificing the body and blocking Maine shots. 16 blocked shots for the Bobcats over the night further emphasized Quinnipiac’s stellar defense as the Bobcats made it extremely difficult for the Black Bears to not only test the Quinnipiac net-minder but enter the zone at all.

Maine had to rely on dumping the puck in deep and forechecking hard to have a chance at gaining much time and pressure in the offensive zone. However, this was made extremely difficult by the Bobcat’s goaltender Matej Marinov, who excelled at being quick behind the net to break up Maine’s dump-ins. Perhaps Marinov’s skill at halting Maine’s dump and chases was perhaps the reasoning behind him getting the call to start in goal over the stellar Vinny Duplessis.

The Bobcats had the Black Bears running around their zone for much of the third period as Quinnipiac swarmed the Maine net, deflecting shots and setting cute little passing plays that resulted in shots whizzing narrowly close to Ostman’s net.

A strategic timeout called by Ben Barr late in the third brought some much-needed composure to the Maine bench that seemed to do the trick in shifting the momentum back in Maine’s favor. The last 5 minutes of the third period saw the Black Bears with the majority of chances, unlucky that the puck kept squirting just wide of the Bobcat goal.

The final 5 minutes or so of the third period saw the Maine attack’s best goal-scoring opportunities. Creative passing from Maine’s top line of all-New Brunswick natives saw the Black Bears knocking at the QU doorstep as regulation came to a close.

This intensifying Maine attack and momentum carried into the 3-on-3 overtime period, where Maine dominated possession and control of the puck, not allowing Quinnipiac a single shot or good goal-scoring opportunity in the sudden death frame. The Black Bears, with the 3 man unit of Houle, Breen, and Chabrier, were able to force the Bobcats to turn over the puck in their own end before patiently cycling the puck around the zone and setting up their offense. It was one of Maine’s least dangerous scoring opportunities of the entire night, a low-hard shot from near the faceoff circle from unlikely hero defenseman Brandon Chabrier that ended the game and sent an elated Black Bear bench onto the ice to celebrate with their teammates.

The overtime goal that saw Maine upset the national champions in their own building came just minutes after the news that the ongoing manhunt in the Lewiston area was over, which spread like wildfire around M&T Bank Arena from Quinnipiac and Maine fans alike. In a game that saw the Black Bears not buckle under the offensive pressure from Quinnipiac and during a week of unfathomable tragedy and stress for all Mainers.

A big sigh of relief was felt all across Maine.

The eyes of the nation had been on the State of Maine all week. And now the college hockey world’s eyes will have to be on the state’s beloved hockey team as well. Stamping their mark on the hockey landscape by starting the season with an undefeated record and knocking off one of the most persistently successful teams for the second year in a row, this time during a really hard-fought road victory.

While the nail-biting victory Friday night sent the Black Bear players and a strong contingent of traveling Maine supporters into an ecstatic frenzy, Barr and his team know they will face an even more formidable Bobcat opponent Saturday night for game two. Rand Pecknold’s defending champions will have a chip on their shoulder to take vengeance for not only their loss at the hands of the Black Bears Friday night but, in their eyes, a poor start to their trophy-defending campaign with a .500 record after 6 games.

Barr, while I am sure he is happy with the result, did not look pleased with many aspects of his team’s performance Friday night. He and his team will know they were very fortunate that the Bobcats didn’t capitalize on their mistakes. The fact that Maine turned the puck over far too many times, which gifted Quinnipiac dangerous scoring opportunities, will be drilled into the team by Barr and his staff before Saturday’s rematch. Sloppy breakouts and a bundle of shots being blocked at the point puts Maine’s defense in danger of allowing Quinnipiac too many fast breaks and odd-man rushes. The Black Bears were lucky that the Bobcats didn’t capitalize on these chances. They will know they will come out with a more potent goal-scoring edge on Saturday night.

Sometimes, you need luck to beat the nation’s best teams, and that is precisely what Maine got. But the Black Bears will know that they won’t be able to rely on luck for a second consecutive night if they are to be successful. Saturday night’s game will be as tricky a battle as ever, but Maine showed that they are battle-tested, can hang around in games, and get the job done by whatever means.

The frustrated mumble from the Bobcat fans quietly shuffling to the parking garage post-game was that tomorrow is a must-win game for them. But they sounded confident that, like last year’s Quinnipiac-Maine series up in Orono, which saw Maine shock QU in game one only to be dominated in game two, will repeat itself this year.

Friday night’s victory is a monumental step for Ben Barr’s program. Still, if Maine can repeat their victory Saturday night, it will shock the nation and show that the sky’s the limit for this year’s Black Bears.

This team is strong.

Maine strong.