The Alfond was packed to the rafters in late November against BU, the last time Maine hosted a Hockey East contest. (Photo: Anthony DelMonaco)

As winter churns along, the Maine Black Bears are getting better and better.

It’s not just the results that have been promising – a road sweep over top-ten Lowell last weekend, the program’s first series sweep away from home over a ranked opponent since January 2020. It's the team’s escalating performance level that should have Black Bear Nation increasingly optimistic about Maine’s playoff chances come the winter thaw.

“I think every week you’re seeing our team growing as a collective unit. It’s exciting to go in and face these challenges in Hockey East, but we’re also very optimistic in the group we have,” Assistant Coach Jason Fortier said on Wednesday’s Black Bear Coaches Show.

Over the past two seasons, Maine has always shown that they are a great hockey team. But over the past two weeks, they’ve demonstrated that they have what it takes to be even more than that.

A championship-caliber hockey team.

It’s a very limited sample size. Nonetheless, the Black Bears’ near-perfect performance to outlast the reigning-champ Denver, coupled with two gritty road victories in which Maine had to fight UMass-Lowell tooth-and-nail for every inch of ice, showed that the Black Bears possess the ‘it’ factor.

Whatever it takes, however tricky the opponent, however challenging the circumstances, they’re starting to come out of it on the other side, firmly in the win column.

“It felt good this weekend; it’s not always going to be the prettiest games. But winning those kinds of grittier games is a good experience going down the road,” Harrison Scott said after Tuesday’s practice.

Against Lowell, Maine showed maturity, mental toughness, character, and resoluteness. UMass-Lowell, on their home ice, made the Black Bears suffer. But Maine didn't roll over. They held their footing, weathered the storm, punched right back, and simply refused to lose.

“It’s almost like kicking rocks barefoot, whoever says uncle first [loses],” Fortier described last weekend’s games.

Having successfully closed out three tight games in a row, something they struggled to do against the likes of BC and BU in the first half of the season, and even a few weeks ago against Denver, Maine has figured out how to drag themselves over the finish line no matter what the opposition throws at them.

“I thought the guys did a great job of not backing down,” Nolan Renwick said. “To be able to hold on to those one-goal leads late in games, I thought that was a good step forward for us.”

According to Head Coach Ben Barr, a huge reason for Maine looking more mature than ever is due simply to learning and growing in experience from past shortcomings and failures.

“I think we’ve just learned. We’ve had some experiences over the past few years where we’ve got to find a way to win those games, and experience is one of those things you can’t fake, and you just have to go through it. Losing that game to Bentley was a learning experience for us, we didn’t play poorly. And we didn’t play poorly the first night against Denver and we lost those games, so the last three have obviously been better,” Barr said.

Even with the overall higher quality of their game, Barr still sees plenty of areas for improvement necessary if his Black Bears are going to take another leap forward and solidify themselves as a consistent championship-contending team. The most obvious of these is being much more ruthless in putting away their chances in front of goal.

“I’m not so sure those games need to be one-goal games all the time. We probably should have had three or four in the first period on Saturday, and we didn’t, so we have to be a little more hungry around the net; we have to be a little bit more ruthless when we have scoring chances because we had a ton. It was grade-A after grade-A, and we come away with two and give their [goaltender] credit or whatever, but championship teams are probably coming away with three or four in that first period, and then it’s not a 2-1 game the rest of the game. So it’s good that we’ve found a way to win those games, but it’s also important that we find a way when it’s there on our tape to put the puck in the net when you have a chance,” Barr stressed.

Never satisfied

Even though Maine is currently sitting atop the Hockey East standings, ranked #5 in the USCHO poll and #3 in the Pairwise, none of the Black Bears’ competitive appetite is even close to being fulfilled.

This is especially true for senior forward Harrison Scott.

For Scott, whose 15 goals rank third-highest in all of college hockey, it's about putting in the hard work behind the scenes, day-by-day, rep-by-rep. This rigorous self-discipline has transformed the senior from an unknown when he transferred to Maine two summers ago into one of the most impactful players in the nation and a potential Hobey Baker candidate.

Scott doesn’t know the definition of being satisfied.

“It’s just a grind every single day, trying to get better. I think that’s just the biggest thing. Never being satisfied and always working on the physical and mental skills,” Scott explained. “I want to keep elevating my game, keep getting better. The season’s not over yet, and we’re pushing to be playing our best come March and April, and we want to put ourselves in the best opportunity that we can.”

While Scott’s 15 goals, 12 assists, and 27 points this season already matched his totals from last year, Barr credits the mental side of his game, which is reaping the benefits.

“He’s found a new level mentally where he just keeps pushing himself. He never stops; he’s got a mental edge where he’s just never satisfied; that’s why he keeps getting better,” Barr said.

“There’s a player that has willed himself into being a great player, does everything right off the ice, uses a lot of the mental training techniques, and has belief in himself,” Fortier added.

For Scott, it’s all about attacking the game, taking the bull by the horns instead of waiting for the game and scoring opportunities to come to him.

“I think it’s just from the relentless work ethic of myself and my linemates that’s how you generate those types of opportunities. And going and attacking the game. I think waiting for it to come, I’ve tried that, and it doesn’t work for me; you just have got to go out there and make it happen and generate those chances, and then when you get those opportunities, execute,” Scott explained.

Scott is by no means the only Black Bear who has used their unquenchable thirst for self-improvement to become a stand-out player in his position across all of college hockey. Goaltender Albin Boija’s performances have also gained him national plaudits. With only two goals allowed on 53 Lowell shots last weekend, the Swede earned the Hockey East Goaltender of the Week award. Likewise, his second-best in the country, 1.55 Goals-Against-Average and tied-for-8th best .931 Save Percentage, has put Boija’s name on the 2025 Mike Richter Award watch list for top goaltender in college hockey.

“We’ve done a pretty good job of not allowing tons of grade-A chances for the most part this season. But then when we make [a mistake] a lot of the times, its a breakaway now, or it’s a 2-on-1, and he’s got to make a great save. That’s really staying mentally engaged when you don’t have a period where you’re seeing a ton of shots and then the shots he does see, a lot of the time, they’re very quality. He’s earning everything he’s getting right now,” Barr said.

Barr views Boija’s mental makeup as being in a mold similar to Scott’s.

“He’s kind of got a little bit of Harrison Scott [in him]. If he gives up a goal in practice, he wants to kill everybody. It’s not always great, but that kind of competitive edge that he has is what drives him. He wants to stop every puck in practice and that leads to him being a good goalie in the games,” Barr said. “He’s going to practice just as well as in the game. So he’s gone through that muscle memory, the imagery, all of the things that he sees in the game, he’s been through in practice.”

It's remarkable how far Boija has come since this time last year, when he hadn’t yet become the full-time starting goaltender. Boija, like the rest of his team, is focused on staying in the present, taking it day by day. Not ruminating on past success nor looking too far into potential future glories.

“[I] just keep working on trying to get better each day. Not get caught up on how we’ve been successful so far, now we’ve got to keep building,” Albin Boija said. “I just feel like each small part of the game, growing and getting more experience. Just keep getting better at all the details — reading the play, being ahead of the play — just comes from more experience.”

Red-hot Huskies

Maine will certainly have no time to bask in their sweep of Lowell, with the Connecticut Huskies coming to town red-hot and hungry, knocking on the door to their first-ever National Tournament berth.

UConn, after narrowly missing out on their first NCAA Tournament appearance over the past few years, has had a surging season this year, surprising many. Ranked as the #17 team in the USCHO Poll and #11 in the Pairwise, the Huskies didn’t allow outgoing transfers to three of their best players, Matthew Wood (Minnesota), Samu Salminen (Denver), Arseni Sergeev (Penn State) to slow them down this season.

If anything, Connecticut looks stronger than ever.

One of the hottest teams in the county since the holiday pause, UConn has won four of their last five games since returning from break, including a home-and-home statement sweep over New Hampshire last weekend.

“They’ve been playing really well, they played great against UNH, watching those games last weekend. It’s going to be a really good series,” Barr said.

The Huskies have been a thorn in Barr’s side more often than not, with UConn holding a 5-2 record over the Black Bears during Barr’s tenure. Having always been a well-structured, physically punishing, stingy defensive unit, Connecticut has added another dimension to their game under 12th-year Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh: speed and skill.

“They are definitely a hard-working team, kind of similar to us. Definitely a physical team. I think this year they are a little more fast than prior years, maybe a little more skilled,” Owen Fowler said.

UConn plays an ultra-aggressive style that looks to pressure puck handlers into forced mistakes, an area Maine has been emphasizing limiting during practice this week.

“They’re a dynamic team, they work really hard, so I think it’s going to be an up and down game, they’re pretty fast. They definitely like to get after the puck and make sure they’re playing at a high pace. So for us, we’ve really got to make sure we’re smart with the puck, not exposing it or making high-risk plays. I would think with their aggression and how they’re going to play: force turnovers and make our life tough in the o-zone, we’re also going to try and do the same. We’re going to dial in the d-zone a little bit more, we’ve talked and focused a little bit more on that, making sure we’re making the smart plays defensively,” Fortier said.

The Huskies don’t rely on any one player to generate most of their scoring but rather have plenty of attacking depth at their disposal, including #22 Hudson Schandor (6g-12a-18pts), #8 Joey Muldowney (8g-10a-18pts), #9 Ryan Tattle (9g-6a-15pts), #19 Jake Richard (6g-9a-15pts), #23 Tabor Heaslip (5g-7a-12pts), and #17 Jake Percival (8g-4a-12pts).

Connecticut, as a result of their aggression, leads the nation in short-handed goals this year with seven. They will test Maine’s defensive work rate when on the power play, as Maine’s PK had yet to allow a short-handed goal this season.

“That’s part of their game; they are going to take chances through aggression, but we also have to, when the moment comes — defend hard and then attack right away if they want to get a little offensive on us; we need to make them pay,” Fortier said.

A key aspect in slowing down a high-octane, quick puck-moving team like UConn is through physicality. If Maine can lay the body on UConn in the neutral zone or at their blueline and slow down the Huskies’ attack before it can get up a head of steam and enter Maine’s defensive zone and towards their net with pace, the Black Bears have a chance to suffocate UConn’s offensive dynamism.

“We’ve got to be physical to slow down their speed, and these are going to be games this weekend where if we don’t come prepared and we’re not ready to go for the drop of the puck, they’re going to take advantage of that, and they’ll get the upper hand so we can’t allow that to happen,” Renwick explained.

 If the Black Bears aren’t at the races mentally or physically from the opening puck drop, they could find themselves in an early hole, given UConn’s overwhelming, in-your-face style of play.

“If you're slow and a little mentally slow with picking up what’s coming and not knowing what the next play is, you’re going to turn a lot of pucks over, and they’re going to get a lot of scoring chances,” Barr warned. “They are really aggressive and fast, physical, they play really hard. So if you’re not ready to match that, if it surprises you, then that’s where it can be a problem.”

But in playing a highly aggressive, opportunistic, attacking game, as UConn does, they risk leaving open ice at the back, which  Maine can exploit. For Barr, if his team is able to match Connecticut’s intensity and speed, there will certainly be a fair share of scoring chances.

“If you play fast, if you move the puck and move your feet, you can get chances against them because they are so aggressive,” Barr said.

Once the Black Bears create their chances, it all comes down to execution in front of the net. This is a point on which Maine certainly still needs to improve after being held to no more than two non-empty net goals in each game since returning from break.

“The netfront is something we’ve talked about, rebounds coming out there and making sure we fight for each inch of space on that ice. We’re excited, we think we’re up for the task, and I really think it's going to be dependent on how hard we work and how smart we are with the puck,” Fortier said.

This weekend, it will be critical for the Black Bear to cash in by crashing the net and figuring out a way to put the biscuit in the basket by any means necessary.

“That was a big focus this last little bit, when pucks are getting delivered to the net front, not just swinging by or anything like that but just staying around there and putting it in if you get the chance,” Fowler said.

Connecticut, however, is as structured and sturdy in front of their goal as they come, was only one of two teams to keep Maine scoreless in any game last season, Northeastern being the other. UConn’s goaltending duo of #30 Tyler Muszelik (2.46 GAA .904 SV %) and #31 Callum Tung (1.67 GAA .942 SV %) have shared the time between the pipes this season, providing the Huskies with a reliable one-two goaltending punch.

Another weekend, another top-tier opponent, another test.

Another big six-points up for grabs.

These are certainly winnable games for Maine, especially since they are at the Alfond where the Black Bears have only fallen once this season — a fortnight ago on Friday against Denver.

But if Maine takes their eye off the ball, even for a second, or comes out of the gates slow and sluggish, the Huskies can certainly make the Black Bears pay dearly.

Expect two back-and-forth, edge-of-your-seat, barn-burning hockey games.

It’s sure to be a lot of fun.