We've got two (Nadeaus), how 'bout you?

Alfond Arena was packed to the rafters for the fourth game in a row as the capacity crowd saw the Maine Black Bears defeat the New Hampshire Wildcats 5-2 on Friday night.

The Border Battle was a black-and-blue affair.

The Alfond faithful created a 'blue out,' joining the Black Bears in donning their classic navy and light-blue sweaters to combat UNH's annual 'White out the Whitt.'

While on the ice, a physical and chippy contest broke out as the two long-time rivals were determined to knock the other back over the Piscataqua River.

The meeting between the two neighbors is always highly anticipated, but this rendition had a special buzz. It was the first time since February 2011 that Maine and UNH faced off as nationally ranked teams. Maine, off an excellent start to their season with big wins over top opponents, came into the weekend ranked #11 in the nation. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have also surprised the college hockey world. A stellar start to their own season highlighted by massive upsets of their own ranked UNH at #15.

Students began to line up at the Alfond's doors around six hours before the puck dropped. Nobody wanted to miss what was sure to be a barn burner of a hockey game.

The contest, though, began slow and choppy; both teams looked cautious of each other and used the first few minutes of the opening period to size each other up and try to establish themselves.

At the same time, the Alfond faithful also took their time to find their full voice.

The Alfond air felt full of nerves early on. After all, the Black Bears were without their star goaltender Victor Ostman. The fan-favorite was battling an injury that listed him as 'day-to-day.' While he was too beat up to get the starting nod, he was healthy enough to dress and cheer on his fellow Swedish netminder from the bench.

It was Albin Boija's first collegiate start and talk about a high-pressure game to be thrown into. The freshman was a last-minute addition to the team, joining just weeks before the season opened up as a late roster move had Maine scrambling to find another goaltender.

The baptism by fire for the young netminder didn't really get going until midway through the first period. UNH's first meaningful attack was a partial breakaway that saw Boija stand up to the call and make a big save. However, a few minutes later, a Wildcat exiting the penalty box stole the puck at Maine's blueline, creating a 2-on-1 against Boija, who was left exposed and couldn't stop the puck from squeezing by him. 1-0 UNH.

But the rookie goaltender shook off the nervy start and looked locked in throughout the remainder of the game. His most impressive quality was his rebound control. All night, Boija continuously steered rebound after rebound away from danger, not allowing the Wildcats to create scoring chances in flurries, limiting UNH to pot shots that Boija and his defense could handle.

It was a really impressive debut for Boija, who showed that he can not only be a reliable back-up to Ostman but that he can push Victor for the starting spot. The healthy competition between the two Swedes will only push each other to improve, elevating both games.

During Head Coach Ben Barr's pregame Keys to the Game segment, Barr stressed the importance of not letting the emotion of this rivalry game overwhelm the Black Bears. While it would be natural for Maine to come out over-amped on adrenaline and play with all-out abandonment, this would stray drastically from the team's identity that has made them successful this year. Instead, Barr emphasized the necessity of not letting the emotion of playing UNH overwhelm the Black Bears and making smart and simple plays with the puck that would allow Maine to find their feet and create traction.

It was a fragmented start for Maine. The Black Bears sticking to formulaically dumping the puck in deep and slowly grinding down the Wildcat defense didn't give the Alfond crowd much to cheer about, and the UNH goal that put the Wildcats up midway through the first period stunned the capacity crowd into silence.

But Black Bear junior David Breazeale quickly dialed the Alfond's volume back up to eleven. The big defenseman took the puck north to south from one goal line to the other. He used his size and speed to break through the UNH forecheck before slaloming through the neutral zone and deep into Wildcat territory. The Black Bear captain then walloped one of the night's biggest hits on UNH's own captain, sending the Wildcat sprawled on the ice and Alfond Arena again roaring at full voice.

The hit sparked the crowd, who a few minutes later had even more to cheer about. With just seconds remaining in the opening period and a power play faceoff in front of UNH's net, Maine set up a play off the dot, which worked to perfection. Lynden Breen won the draw, sweeping the puck back onto the dangerous stick of Bradly Nadeau. Bradly baited the Wildcat defenders towards him before finding his older brother Josh, who was able to beat the buzzer and slot the puck into the UNH net. Sending an explosion of joy and relief bouncing off the Alfond's rafters into the first intermission.

A momentum changer.

As quickly as the first period ended with a Maine goal, the second opened with more of the same. The always energetic second line of Thomas Freel, Harrison Scott, and Donovan Houle were rewarded for their tireless effort just seconds into the second frame. A perfectly timed pinch from defenseman Brandon Holt allowed Thomas Freel to center the puck for Harrison Scott, who banged away in the crease before Freel drove to the net and outmuscled the UNH defenders to poke home the bouncing puck.

It was a grimy goal that shook the old barn, putting the Black Bears in the lead where they did not look back.

The onslaught of Black Bear scoring chances that followed, combined with increased physical play that sent Black Bear and Wildcat bodies flying all over the ice, only further ratcheted up the noise from the Mainiaks up in the balcony overhanging the ice.

The get 'em deep and grind 'em down game that Maine opened the contest with started to really show its benefits in the second period. The Wildcats, worn down by Maine's constant in-your-face style of play, left UNH more open and exposed for the Black Bears to exploit. Maine showed that not only could they out-battle UNH by the boards, but they could also out-skate and out-pass the Wildcats. Maine's breakout passes and quickness through the neutral zone really started to shine.

But per usual, the Nadeau brothers shined the brightest. Late in the second, Bradly Nadeau used his wheels to dash up the ice and into the UNH zone. He then pulled out a silky-smooth toe-drag from his array of magic tricks to get past the defender before backhanding an inch-perfect pass, once again, to his brother Josh, who finished the move in style with a blistering one-timer. Erupting the Alfond crowd, which must have sent earthquake tremors throughout Central Maine.

Hang that goal in the Louvre.

The Black Bear faithful, overjoyed at the poetry in motion they were seeing on the ice, began poking fun at their New Hampshire neighbors. Chants of "Still no hardware" rang out from the student section, poking fun at the fact that UNH has zero National Championships while Maine has two, including in 1999, which saw Maine outlast UNH in overtime to win the final.

Homemade banners reminding the Wildcats of their inferiority were also hung around the Alfond, displayed proudly alongside Maine's two National Championship banners that hang lovingly from the rafters.

The third period saw the chippy game between rivals turn even scrappier as big hits from both sides led to flare-ups and cheapshots after whistles. Freshman defenseman Liam Lesakowski was right in the middle of these confrontations all night long, as he should be with his 6'5", 220 lbs frame. Lesakowski took a couple big knocks early in the game, but this did not stop him from being afraid to muck it up with any Wildcat he could find during and after the play. Like the rest of his Black Bear defensemen, the New York native had an excellent game. He was composed and poised with the puck, as well as physically dominant in his play. It seemed like the scrapiness of the rivalry game really suited Lesakowski.

Overall, New Hampshire looked outmatched by Maine. Desperate to keep pace with the Black Bears, they were forced into taking penalty after penalty, severely hampering their chances of a comeback. With every call against them, the Wildcat players and coaches grew visibly more frustrated, which only furthered their discomposed play, leading to more penalties against them. It was a beautiful cycle to witness.

"Cheater, cheater, cheater, cheater! Hey buddy, you’re outta here!" The Black Bear fans taunted repeatedly as Wildcat after Wildcat was banished to the sin bin.

But the Black Bears took plenty of penalties themselves, except when they did, Maine looked as likely to score on the penalty kill as UNH did with the man advantage. Maine's shot-blocking was excellent all night long, particularly Donovan Houle, who sacrificed his body on the PK to negate a UNH certain scoring chance. Houle was terrific on the penalty kill. While he doesn't necessarily first come to mind as a terrific defender, he showed the strength of his game on both sides of the puck, creating plenty of offense from his defensive plays.

But it was on the power play that saw Houle rewarded for his strong game. Defenseman Brandon Chabrier was able to sneak a low shot through traffic onto the pads of the UNH goaltender, who spilled the rebound to a circling Houle, who pounced on the puck to put Maine in the driver's seat up 4-1.

I was also impressed with Maine's third line of Ben Poisson and Sully Scholle, centered by Nolan Renwick, who is back from injury. Renwick's presence in the center of the ice was clearly missed, as his return allowed the line's forecheck to excel. But in particular, Sully Scholle stood out with perhaps the best game of his young college career. The freshman from Minnesota was able to spark the team's offense early on when it was still finding its feet and carried this energetic, driving play throughout the contest. He was so calm with the puck on the breakout and seemingly always was able to make a positive play when it was on his stick. He won his board battles and was solid at the point defensively in a game that he really stood out in.

A third-period extended 5-on-3 power play kept Black Bear fans on the edge of their seats, eager to humiliate the Wildcats further. Josh Nadeau once again found the puck on his stick, this time on his backhand while darting towards the net. The angle didn't give Josh much open net to shoot at, but whatever net there was, he found it brilliantly, lofting the backhander into the back of the net to send dozens of hats onto the ice. It was Josh's third goal and Bradly's third assist. Although they aren't twins, they have a twin-like telepathy with their passes created by years of playing together.

The Wildcats did cut the Maine lead down to 5-2, but with only minutes left in the game, the UNH bench could barely muster the heart to celebrate it.

The final horn sounded on a resounding Maine Border Battle victory, sending the thousands of Black Bear fans home happy.

Who was not happy was UNH Head Coach Mike Souza, who wouldn't shake Barr's hand after the game.

Pissy little pussy cat.

The penalties really made the difference Friday night. The Black Bears were not overly dominant for large stretches of the game during even strength play. Still, Maine's special teams' success proved pivotal. Maine was simply better at executing on the power play and penalty kill, both of which were excellent.

Live free or lose to Maine, the Wildcats were sent home with their tails between their legs.

The Black Bears, on the other hand, know that their business this weekend is not over.

They are working their way up the food chain; next up is the Huskies.

On to UConn.