Ain’t no rest for the weary.

It doesn’t get any easier for Maine after their split with the defending National Champion #7 ranked Denver Pioneers last weekend, as the Black Bears are set to resume their Hockey East schedule with another top-ten series against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks at the Tsongas Center this weekend.

Lowell is ranked as the #8 team in both the USCHO Poll and the Pairwise, while Maine is now #7 and #6, respectively.

While Saturday's 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Denver was a statement win backed up by a championship-caliber performance, Head Coach Ben Barr sees this weekend’s test as being even trickier than the last.

“I think it’s going to be tougher this week because we’re on the road. It’s always tougher on the road against a really good team. They are going to have that extra ten percent that we get here [at the Alfond]. We’re going to have to be even better than we were last week,” Barr said after Tuesday’s practice.

Denver deliberation

Maine’s split with Denver showed the Black Bears first-hand what it’s going to take for them to challenge for college hockey’s biggest prizes come springtime.

In both 2-1 contests, Maine out-performed the Pioneers 76-45 in terms of shots on goal over the course of the weekend, yet lit the lamp the same number of times as Denver did. The weekend before, in Maine’s loss to Bentley, the Black Bears outshot the Falcons 45-19, but lost 4-2.

In three games since returning from Christmas break, Maine has scored just five goals in 121 attempts on net, with only two being scored at even-strength. Barr and his staff know that if the Black Bears hope to continue their winning ways in Hockey East play, Maine’s execution in front of the net will have to match the immense effort they exert in creating this abundance of scoring opportunities in the first place. 

“It’s not a lack of chances, it’s not a lack of effort, it’s a lack of finish, and it’s a lack of finding that little extra around the net,” Barr said. “We were tenacious around the net on Friday night; we needed to because their kid was stopping everything. But we can’t be that team that puts up forty-plus shots and gets one or two goals. We talked about that out there [at practice], that can't be a theme for us down the second half.”

This was the theme in Maine’s two biggest games last season. The Black Bears outshot Boston University 33-18 at TD Garden in the Hockey East Tournament semifinal but lost 4-1. One week later, in the NCAA Tournament, they outshot Cornell 32-18 but fell by a score of 3-1. 

Composure, poise, execution, bearing down in front of the net, and honing a killer instinct will be decisive for Maine heading down the stretch.

“I think it’s just trying to find another level of intensity, of execution,” Barr said on the Black Bear Coaches Show. “We don’t want to be the team that works hard and has forty shots on net and scores one goal. That’s maybe being a little bit harder around the net and having a little more composure when we have a chance to score. As simple as that sounds, that's part of the game, and we have to take pride in that.”

In order to score these big-time goals, big-time players need to step up when the moment matters the most. For Maine, who doesn’t necessarily have the elite-scoring, game-winning star power that delivers night-in and night like Boston College’s Ryan Leonard or Minnesota's Jimmy Snuggerud, it’s essential for their strength in depth to consistently come through in the game’s biggest moments. Maine has gotten that from Harrison Scott, Thomas Freel, Lynden Breen, and David Breazeale this season but realistically, it cannot rely on these same individuals to do all the heavy lifting every single game.

“Championship level teams find a way to score that goal in big moments, find a way to grind out a win when their goalie is standing on their head, and we didn’t do that against Bentley, we didn't do that on Friday night, we did do that on Saturday night,” Barr said.

Who’s going to make that one play, who’s going to be the player to do that? For us, it’s not going to be the same player every night; it has to be a different player because that’s what our team is. We’re deep, we have a lot of capable players, but we’re not going to go, hey this one person or these two guys are going to go [win us the game]... We need everybody on board.”

Stepping up in the key moments isn’t just about being the hero to put the biscuit in the basket. In all areas of the ice, getting elevated performances from everyone in the lineup is key to the Black Bears’ championship prospects. 

Too often this season, Maine has been marred by one or two players having an off night, one or two panicked plays, or one or two defensive breakdowns that have cost a steep price. With the season continuing into Hockey East play from here on out and every opponent fighting for their lives, the games will only get tighter, the margins for error smaller, and every misstep magnified.

All hands on deck.

“If we can take that next step and get every player going every night, I'll take our chances every single night. The opposite of that is true as well, that’s the journey we’re on as a team. Every team is a little bit different; we like the character and the grit that we have in the locker room. It’s just trying to find everybody and trying to find their consistent game night in and night out is the challenge,” Barr said.

In Saturday’s victory against Denver, the Black Bears got a complete performance from every player that touched the ice, possibly for the first time all season. Nobody shied away from the moment, and every one of the Black Bears carried their weight and then some. Sustaining this top-tier level of performance through the rest of the season will not only be crucial but the ultimate test for Maine.

“We’re just a team that’s built on our depth, we have a lot of depth, we have a lot of capable guys, so if we play to our capability every night, we are going to be in every game. It comes down to the mental toughness piece, I know it's a cliche, but having veterans have games where they are just way off really puts us behind the eight ball. That’s no different for a lot of teams, but I think for us, it just gets magnified a little more; that’s just how we’re built,” Barr said.

Maine relies on the ability to capitalize on a surge of momentum created by keeping their opponent penned in their own end for minutes, stacking strong shifts one after another, and not allowing their opponents the opportunity to breathe. One mistake from one player or a quiet shift from any single line can instantly squash Maine’s momentum and surrender it to the opposition.

“It’s just about building shift after shift, when you start to string together a couple of really good shifts in the offensive zone, that’s when momentum starts to come. Obviously, it’s tough when you’re not putting them in the back of the net when you get a bunch of those chances or when pucks are laying there, but hopefully, that’s going to be the difference for us in the second half, being able to string more and more offensive shifts together, holding teams in the O-zone, rotating on pucks, and putting those pucks in the back of the net,” David Breazeale said.

On Saturday, every single Black Bear rolled up their sleeves and kept the Maine machine firing seamlessly,  doing their part to sustain the game’s momentum for just about the entire sixty minutes.

Defensive depth

This includes Maine’s defensemen, who, at times this season, have been lacking in the depth department. Luke Antonacci and Grayson Arnott struggled on Friday night as the gap between the rest of the team’s performance and theirs hurt Maine significantly. On Saturday, Liam Lesakowski and Jack Dalton stepped in and, alongside Bodie Nobes, delivered inspirational performances, showcasing how difficult it can be to play against the Black Bears when everyone is firing at full pelt.

“It was definitely better than it has been. But it’s one game, so to think we have it figured out now is probably a big mistake. But everyone that was out there felt like they could be productive, and that’s what it takes to be a team that has a chance to do something,” Barr said.

An elevated performance from these three young Black Bear blueliners, alongside improved production from veteran defensemen, had Maine’s backend looking as sturdy as we’ve seen it all season while at the same time being an offensive force to be reckoned with.

David Breazeale and Frank Djurasevic have both stepped up since having a few shaky weeks in the Fall. Brandon Holt, who was missed during December with a knee injury, was the same reliable performer on both sides of the puck that he always seems to be. But it was the play of Brandon Chabrier that really stood out on Saturday.

Chabrier’s two assists and eight blocked shots over the course of last weekend earned him the Hockey East Defenseman of the Week. Through the first half of last season, Chabrier had five goals and 14 points. But this season, he only had five points and no goals through the same amount of games played. While his +12 was tied for the team lead at the Christmas break, his offensive production was missed, and its return was warmly welcomed last weekend.

“Everyone knows that I’ve had my struggles in the first part of the year, and it was tough mentally to get through some of those weekends when you’re not producing as much as you want to and playing as good as you want to so I think it’s nice [to win the award] hopefully it's like a domino effect,” Chabrier said.

It was the Black Bear blueliners' bravery in blocking shot after shot in the final minutes of Saturday's win, however, that truly showed what this Maine team is made of. Their 22 blocked shots over the weekend were by far the most Maine has had in any series this season.

“I think you can go back and watch that last five minutes of the game and see a championship level of hockey that we need to do every single night. That can’t just be a one-time thing. Now that we’ve done it, we have to continue to build on it,” Breazeale said. “That was awesome to see guys selling out. We have a whole team of guys willing to do that and the more we can continue to do that, get that into our DNA, the better we’re all going to be.”

Hockey East gauntlet

With Maine’s non-conference schedule now in the rearview mirror, all attention turns to Hockey East play. While Maine is currently sitting pretty atop the conference standings, the Black Bears are only one point above second-place Boston College and two points above the likes of Providence, BU, and UMass-Lowell. A single off week can quickly change the standings.

“One good weekend, one bad weekend, swings things in the standings,” Barr warned.

The league looks to be, top-to-bottom, as strong as it has always been, perhaps even stronger, as aside from Merrimack, every Hockey East team is currently ranked in the Pairwise as #26 or better.

“As you go into the second half of the season, every game is a toss-up in Hockey East. Regardless if you’re playing the first place team or the tenth place team, it doesn’t matter,” Barr said.

Of Maine’s 15 remaining regular season games, nine will come against a team currently in the top 15 of the Pairwise. Maine’s remaining games include two games against #8 UMass-Lowell, three against #15 Connecticut, four against UMass and Northeastern, who are tied at #22, two on the road to #3 Providence, and home sets set against #10 UNH and #26 Vermont.

“Hockey East this year, last year, really every year, but the last few years, it seems to be really, really deep across the board. A big part of that is our team being relevant again. You have the normal cast of characters that are relevant every year, BC, BU, Providence, Northeastern, those types of teams, then you add Lowell, always good, UNH is good, UConn is good,” Barr said.

There won’t be a single easy game, let alone a straightforward weekend, left on Maine’s schedule. This could be seen as a daunting undertaking for many, but for the Black Bears, testing themselves against the very best college hockey has to offer every single weekend is why they came to play for a program like Maine in the first place.

“It’s awesome, we love this,” Breazeale said. “For us to be able to play back-to-back against top-ten teams with us being a top-ten team as well is a dream come true, it’s what college hockey is all about. Hockey East is a really awesome conference to be a part of, and we’re playing really good teams every night, [which] is what you want. You want to play great teams so that when the championships come around you’re prepared, you know what you’re going up against. We love the challenge; we’re looking forward to it.”

Retooled, rejuvenated River Hawks

UMass-Lowell’s 8-24-4 record last season was by far the outlier under 14th-year Head Coach Norm Bazin, who, since taking over the River Hawks's head coaching duties, has turned Lowell into one of the most consistently dangerous teams in Hockey East. Bazin has led the River Hawks to six National Tournaments and three Hockey East Tournament championships in his thirteen full seasons at the helm.

This season, the River Hawks have returned to their norm with a blistering bounce-back start to their season, heading into the weekend with a 12-4-2 record. Sniffing a return to the National Tournament, they are currently ranked #8 in both the Pairwise and USCHO Poll. Last weekend, Lowell picked up their second piece of hardware this season, the Cactus Cup in Thousand Palms, California, with wins over Michigan Tech and Nebraska-Omaha.

“They’ve added some really good pieces. I’m sure they have a chip on their shoulder, last year was an anomaly for them. They’ve consistently been one of the best programs in our league, probably going on fifteen years that Norm has been there. I’m sure they’ll have a little extra to prove in that regard too, but they’ve added some really good players, some freshmen and transfers, and they are playing as well as anyone right now,” Barr said.

Last season, Lowell’s struggles were the result of a batch of injuries, an inexperienced defensive core, and an offense that sputtered. This season, freshmen forwards #10 Chris Delaney (6g-3a-9pts), #17 Mirko Buttazzoni (5g-10a-15pts), and #20 Libor Nemec (4g-5a-9pts) have added significant speed and quality to Lowell’s attack, aiding reliable veteran forwards #24 Scout Truman (8g-6a-14pts), #5 Owen Cole (8g-6a-14pts), #25 Matt Crasa (4g-7a-11pts), and #19 Dillan Bentley (5g-5a-10pts). The River Hawks are skating much better than they did last year and have the 7th best power play percentage in the nation (25.9%). Built in a similar mold to Maine, Lowell plays with tremendous energy, speed in open ice, and physicality against the boards.

“I think they are one of the harder working teams in Hockey East,” Chabrier said. “I think it’s going to be similar to that Bentley style of play. They play fast; they get pucks in behind your defensemen, try and hit, try and be physical.”

But it is on the defensive side of the puck that Lowell really excels. As structured and as detailed as they come, the River Hawks keep bodies behind the puck, smother teams at their defensive blueline, make their opponents skate through them, don’t give any free space or time on the puck, and box out brilliantly in front of the net. Led by a defensive core of #14 Ben Meehan (2g-9a-11pts), #4 TJ Schweighardt (0g-7a-7pts), and #6 Isac Jonsson (2g-5a-7pts), the River Hawks have the 6th lowest shots-against average in the country this season with opponents only able to manage on average 24.8 shots on goal.

In the pipes for the River Hawks has been an excellent two-headed goaltending tandem of #30 Béni Halász (8GP-2.15GAA-0.922SV%) and #33 Henry Welsch (12GP-2.50GAA-0.892SV%).

In playing a team that is similarly structured, Maine faces an opponent who plays fast, also excels in one-on-one battles against the boards, and will fight tooth and nail for every inch of ice.  This weekend's contest will very likely come down to who can do all the little things better, be more detailed, limit their mistakes, and, of course, it all will ride on who can execute better in front of each net.

“It will be kind of a fight for every inch of ice you can get, and I imagine that’s what it’s going to be for both nights. So it might come down to that one extra battle at the net front or that one puck you get out of the zone that leads to a three-on-two or a two-on-one. Those are the types of plays that they really thrive at; they don't give you anything free,” Barr said.

For the Black Bears, this weekend will be their first opportunity to match the unbelievably high-performance level they delivered last Saturday — a championship-caliber performance.

“I think you can go back and watch that last five minutes of the game and see a championship level of hockey that we need to do every single night. That can’t just be a one-time thing. Now that we’ve done it, we have to continue to build on it,” Breazeale said.

They’ve set their standard; now they must show they can replicate it in enemy territory against a Hockey East foe.

There’s no such thing as an easy game from here on out.

Maine’s road to a return to the Garden starts now.

Strap yourselves in; it’s going to be quite the ride.