The Maine Black Bears and BU Terriers line up for the national anthem in front of a packed Alfond Arena. (Photo courtesy of Anna Chadwick — Portland Press Herald)

Back on track.

It wasn’t sensational. It wasn’t pretty. But it was precisely what the Black Bears needed in order to bounce back after a disappointing road trip to Boston College last weekend, snapping their six-game losing streak to BU in the process.

There was a feeling in the mid-November air that special teams were going to play a crucial role in Friday night’s contest at Alfond Arena between the #7 Maine Black Bears and the #11 Boston University Terriers.

Last season, in all three of Maine’s narrow defeats by BU, it was the Terriers’ power play that was the critical difference-maker, scoring six of their twelve goals against short-handed Black Bears.

This year, BU’s power play has scored 27% of the time, an extremely impressive rate.

So when Nolan Renwick was sent to the penalty box for a slash early in the game, a hush of held breaths and nervous mumbles settled on the previously reverberating Alfond.

But on that BU man-advantage, the Terriers handed the Alfond Faithful a gift-wrapped present, complete with a bow on top.

BU’s Cole Hutson made a drop pass to a teammate who wasn’t there, allowing Black Bear forward Owen Fowler to read the mistake and scoop up the puck, which was lying tantalizingly in BU’s defensive end by the blue line. Fowler, with four of the five Terriers on the ice entirely out of position, walked in on Max Lacroix’s net and ripped a shot off iron to send the Alfond Faithful into a surprised, short-handed celebration.

“Honestly, I didn’t see much [to shoot at]. The defenseman had a good shot-blocking lane, and I just tried to get it on net, heard the post, and luckily it went in,” Fowler said about his game-opening goal.

In recent meetings, it was often the Terriers who were jumping on Maine's mistakes with frighting execution. But now it was the Black Bears' turn to make BU pay for their cough-up.

Up until that point, five minutes into the contest, the Terriers had been getting the better of the Black Bears. BU was establishing themselves in Maine’s end with superior physicality, keeping the Black Bears on their heels and forcing Albin Boija to make a couple of tricky saves early on, including a full-stretch toe-save with traffic in front of him.

Owen Fowler wheels back in position after almost scoring another short-handed goal in the third period. (Photo courtesy of Patience Hanley — UMaine Athletics)

But Fowler’s shorty changed the tide of the game, tilting the ice in Maine’s favor.

“That was awesome of Owen to get us going in the first period with the short-handed goal. That creates a ton of momentum for us. Being on the other end of that, I know that just kills the confidence and the momentum going their way there,” Senior forward Harrison Scot said.

Maine’s front-footed, ultra-aggressive penalty kill has become a staple of Black Bear hockey under Head Coach Ben Barr. Over the past four years, the Black Bears seem to have a notable knack for scoring big shorthanded goals.

Black Bear Nation will never forget a particularly insane instance against UNH in 2022 when three of the four Maine penalty killers lost their sticks. Yet, still, Ben Poisson, the lone stick-possessing  Black Bear, managed not only to clear the defensive zone but skate the length of the ice and score. Another moment that lives long in the lore of the Alfond Faithful was in 2023 when Lynden Breen scored two short-handed goals a minute apart against Merrimack.

The PK, run by Assistant Coach Alfie Michaud, does not want to stray from Maine’s signature in-your-face style of game, even when short-handed. The Black Bears look to pressure the puck in order to shepherd the play into areas of the ice they can manage.

“[Michaud] wants us up pressuring, not sitting back, but bringing the game to them, and not them bringing it to us,” Fowler explained Maine’s PK tactics.

Barr pointed out that this proactive approach is especially important against a highly skilled offensive unit such as BU, which will punish teams who sit back on their heels.

“You’re asking for it, especially when playing teams like that if you’re standing still and giving them time and space. Alfie has done a fantastic job with it, finding places where you can pressure them, whether it’s on the entry or the faceoffs, wherever that might be,” Barr explained.

Fowler’s early tally halted the Terriers' momentum in its tracks, giving the Black Bears confidence that had been sorely missing in the last week.

It was an evenly played first period, in which BU’s best chances usually came from a dogged Terrier forecheck that swarmed Maine’s defenseman looking to break out of their zone. The Black Bears were not quick and efficient enough to break the puck out of their end cleanly, especially in the first period. While the breakout was better than it was last weekend, it still has its moments of mistakes and questionable decision-making that led to BU’s best goal-scoring opportunities.

“[The breakout] was better tonight. When you play good teams, it’s not easy to break the puck out all the time, and it’s not always pretty. But we had some poor turnovers. Obviously, it wasn’t as bad as it was at BC,” Barr said.

Last weekend at BC, Maine’s most significant shortcoming was their defensemen’s inability to make plays and get up the ice. On Friday night, the Black Bear blueliners, while still far from perfect, were much better at carrying the puck through center ice on the attack instead of trying to thread the needle to a teammate. The ability of Maine’s D-men to manage the puck and get it through the neutral zone and deep into BU territory without too much fuss helped Maine make plays in the offensive zone.

“It’s huge when we’re getting our D rushing the puck up, getting involved in the play because that just makes them dangerous and makes the other team respect us a little bit more, that we’re not afraid to rush the puck up the ice and we are going to hold on to it and make plays,” Harrison Scott said. “I thought that our biggest step [from last week] was our backend doing that, playing their game. A lot of the defensemen on our team are offensive defensemen. That’s when they’re playing well; that gives us jam.”

Djurasevic is adjoined by adoring fans before returning to the ice. (Photo courtesy of Patience Hanley — UMaine Athletics)

Maine’s sophomore defenseman Frank Djurasevic highlighted this vital piece of the Black Bears' play. Early in the second period, he carved through the neutral zone with speed and an eye for goal. Djurasevic gained the blue line, split two BU defensemen, and walked down Main Street, fighting off back pressure. The transfer from Merrimack, with solid body positioning, held off his defender and poked the puck one-handed into the crease, which trickled over the goal line for his first career Black Bear goal.

“He just got the puck and, being confident with it,  shoved it down their throat,” Scott, who was on the ice for Djurasevic’s goal, said.

The New Rochelle, New York, native has had a rough last couple of games, not looking assertive with the puck on his stick. That was not the case Friday evening. On top of his goal, Djurasevic had four shots on net and four blocked shots.

“He really struggled for two weeks in a row, and that was a good bounce-back game for him. It was good to see him get one. Proud of the way he responded; the last week was tough for him,” Barr said.

Although up by two goals in the second period, the game stayed fairly even. It wasn’t until the Terriers shot themselves in the foot over and over again with undisciplined play.

It was Maine’s power play success in the second period that was the key difference maker Friday night.

This year, there appeared to be a rare chink of vulnerability in Boston University’s armor. BU’s penalty kill has struggled mightily heading into the weekend, only killing twenty of their thirty PK opportunities for a shoddy 66% success rate, far below what is considered a good rate of around 80-85%.

Meanwhile, the Black Bears’ power play, although being held in all three PP attempts last weekend, has been firing at an impressive clip of 24.3%.

Late in the second, in Maine’s offensive zone, Charlie Russell shielded the puck for an extended period of time in the corner and up the half-wall, being whacked and thwacked in the process. The Terriers were not able to get the puck off Russell’s stick, who kept his feet moving and his control of the puck. Growing frustrated, BU eventually committed two penalties on the play, handing Maine a 5-on-3 power play.

Second later, BU’s Brehdan Engum slashed Ross Mitton, further extending Maine’s 5-on-3, which incensed Terriers Head Coach Jay Pandolfo.

“I didn’t like that they put us down five on three and then called another penalty off the faceoff that was not a penalty. That’s very disappointing. It’s tough, really hard to overcome that,” Pandolfo said.

In the wake of last weekend, the message from Maine’s dressing room was a much-needed improvement in managing the puck, not throwing it away, and doing something productive with it. That’s exactly what Russell did to draw the 5-on-3.

Barr also harped on his player’s need to play with more poise with the puck, making the big plays when they needed to be made, an aspect that was sorely missing at BC.

It was Russell who once again took his coach’s words to heart. On the power play at the right faceoff dot, Russell patiently waited for a passing lane to open up. When he saw the inch of open ice he was looking for appear, he snapped a postage-stamp perfect cross-crease pass onto the tape of Thomas Freel’s stick at the back post for the most straightforward goal the junior forward may ever score.

“That was awesome — great poise there from Russell. Freel just going to his spot and putting it in,” Scott said.

The tally to put Maine up by three goals marked Freel’s nation-leading seventh power-play goal of the season.

Freel roars in celebration after his goal made it 3-0. (Photo courtesy of Frankie Fina — UMaine Athletics)

Thirty seconds later, Maine would make it 4-0, still on the 5-on-3 advantage. Harrison Scott beat the buzzer to end the period by a nanosecond, striding down the right faceoff circle from the point, sniping Lacroix blocker side just as the horn sounded.

“I knew we were getting tight on time, but [I was] just kind of waiting for that short side to open up, and when I saw it, I just ripped it and heard the buzzer go off right after,” Scott said.

Maine’s special teams' success once again gave the Black Bears all the momentum heading into the second intermission. The top PP unit of Freel in front of the net, Scott and Taylor Makar on the wings, Russell roaming in the bumper position and out to the point, and Brandon Holt quarterbacking the play up top has looked like one of the most dangerous special teams units in all of college hockey. The well-oiled machine has now scored eleven times this year.

“That was a huge momentum turn, that was Scotty and Freeler and Holter; those guys are just executing, and that’s kind of been the case all year,” Barr said.

As much as Maine’s special teams won the game for the Black Bears, the Terriers' lack of discipline lost the game for BU. Committing eight penalties on the evening, a couple of which came after the whistle, the Terriers struggled to keep their cool in the Alfond’s red-hot pressure cooker atmosphere, which vibrated the rafters when the Black Bears went on the 5-on-3 hunt.

“Special teams hurt us, no question. I thought we had a good first period, but you just can’t give up a short-handed goal there. That hurts, for sure. Penalty trouble in the second, and we were down 5-on-3 for a long amount of time; it’s thought. I didn't love some of the calls, but you got to deal with it. I thought we pushed back in the third,” Pandolfo said.

The Alfond Faithful erupts in celebration of Scott’s buzzer-beating goal at the end of the second period. (Photo courtesy of Patience Hanley — UMaine Athletics).

The Terriers did indeed bark back with a solid third period showing. But much of that had to do with the Black Bears taking their foot off the gas and straying from their game and not doing the little things that make them successful.

“A minute or two into the third period, we start reaching for pucks and tackling guys. We fought through it, but we got to be better,” Barr said. “We have to be smarter than that; we have to move our feet and not reach for pucks, play through your man, those kinds of things,” Barr said.

Maine took four penalties in the third period, including a 5-on-3 early in the frame, during which the Terriers took advantage of their man advantage when Ryan Greene blasted a backdoor one-timer past Boija.

Boston University would then cut their deficit midway through the third with Doug Grimes burying a rush chance into Maine’s net from a nifty backhanded saucer pass by Matt Copponi.

The Alfond Faithful felt uneasy watching their team’s lead drop from four to two, with painful memories of last weekend when a two-goal lead collapsed with ten minutes remaining still freshly scarred on the minds of Black Bear Nation.

But Maine, who played poorly to open up the third period, laid down the hammer in the frame’s second half. The Black Bears managed the game's remaining minutes maturely. They didn’t give the Terriers much of a sniff around their net, controlled pucks well, gained the red line, put the puck in deep, and compressed their defensive structure, suffocating BU’s offense.

“The start of the third, we were loose a little bit, then we kind of regained our game on the back half. Just kind of keeping the line tight and a full sixty is definitely what we want,” Fowler said.

Russell once again perfectly encapsulated getting the job Maine needed to get done, successfully without much turbulence, when he dove forward at center ice, full effort, to poke the puck into the BU end, which allowed his teammates to change and get fresh reinforcements on the ice.

Fowler, who opened up the scoring, would also end it, throwing the puck down ice from long-range, accurately sliding into the back of an empty BU net, securing Maine’s 5-2 victory.

The best part of Maine’s Friday night victory over bitter rival BU was the fact that the Black Bears got the job done without playing their best hockey.

Maine simply took advantage of what BU gave them without too much fuss.

They managed to get the monkey of last weekend off their back and were able to beat an extremely talented Boston University team, one with which they have struggled mightily in recent years. And there are still loads of areas on which they know they can improve.

We’ve got to be better,” Barr said. “They are a really good team; I’m sure that it will be an even tougher game tomorrow night. But it was a good response after last weekend.”

BU will be better on Saturday. Friday nights have been a foe for the Terriers all season, now falling in their four weekend-opening games by an aggregate score of 22-8 in their opponent’s favor.

“I don’t have a great answer,” Pandolfo said about his team’s Friday night struggles. “I’m a little bit lost [as to] why.”

In BU’s Saturday night responses this season, the Terriers have always looked much better in the second game, with a goal aggregate of 13-10 in their favor.

“We want to finish it up tomorrow and get the sweep on the weekend and get all six points,” Scott concluded.

Don’t expect the Terriers to roll over and play dead Saturday night. They will come out barking in Round Two, and it will take a big Black Bears performance to send them back to the dog house with their tail between their legs.

Barr heads off the ice happy with the victory, but knowing his team will need to play better on Saturday night. (Photo courtesy of Patience Hanley — UMaine Athletics)