The Maine Black Bears weathered a third-period push from the Union College Garnet Chargers Wednesday night, holding on to win 3-1.

It may not have been pretty, but the gritty, grind-it-out performance was just enough for the Black Bears to squeak out a road victory on a snowy Wednesday night in Schenectady, New York.

Messa Rink at the Achilles Center welcomed the usual large contingent of traveling Black Bears fans. It provided them a personable, homely environment as the classic old barn played home to a classic muck-‘em-up, old-school hockey game.

The light snowstorm that hovered over the New York Capital Region and the weeknight game while Union's students were on winter break left the rink at less than half-capacity.

The dulled atmosphere allowed the Maine bench's shouts and hollers to loudly reverberate off the wooden domed roof and bleachers alike. The Black Bears bench has been noisy all season, with a constant banging of sticks and positive shouts to their teammates on the ice with every big hit or blocked shot. But Wednesday night emphasized this vocal bench and all-around spirit of support as the clamor was audibly on display for all in attendance.

This supportive spirit is not just for show but parallels with the team's identity of a fast, hard-working, energetic style of hockey that is imperative to the Black Bears' success. Without the off-ice enthusiasm, the team's on-ice spark would be missing as the two work hand-in-hand, feeding off of each other.

This vibrant energy would be much needed Wednesday night against a Union side that is big and physical. Head Coach Ben Barr stressed in the pregame Keys to the Game that the Black Bears would need to match the Garnett Chargers' constant physical play if they would have a chance at the road win. According to Barr, if the team could win the physical 1-on-1 puck battles, they would be able to create space and utilize their speed to outskate and overmatch Union.

Speed is Maine's strength, but they would first need to break free from Union's heavy game if they were going to have the chance to utilize it.

Maine's lineup was unchanged from their Sunday night victory over UConn. Victor Ostman was healthy enough to be back in net for the Black Bears, while Cole Hanson's and Grayson Arnott's injuries still leave them on the mend. Arnott, whose arm was in a sling, has been an important player on Maine's backline. It looked like he may have re-injured his shoulder against UNH, an injury that had him miss a few games earlier in the season.

Along with Messa Rink's unique circular wooden rafter structure, the most unique aspect of the rink was the sheer amount of space behind the nets. It looked three or four feet deeper than the usual distance behind the goal lines, creating vast space behind the net and in the corners, Maine would have to quickly get used to.

Union, used to their home rink's dimensions, knew how to utilize the deep space. Their game plan was clear: getting the puck deep and establishing their physical style to knock the puck from Maine. As Barr predicted, the Garnett Chargers came out in the first, playing extremely hard and smashing into Black Bear bodies. The crunches into the boards rattled the glass and echoed loudly around the rink.

But Maine, up for the physical fight, was able to hold their own and break free from the Union pressure through really good, clean breakouts during the first period. Maine's wingers at the half-boards in their own end excelled at taking hits to make plays. They would set up little bump passes, allowing their fellow Black Bears to get their feet moving up ice and rapidly take the puck out of their zone and through center ice.

But once into Union's end, the Black Bears sputtered. You would think the extra couple of feet in the corners and behind the net would benefit Maine's skilled speedsters. Still, the Black Bears seemed to always be a stride or two late getting to their dump and chases, unable to make up the extra space.

Because of this, Maine could not set up any prolonged zone time with the puck during the first period. They excelled at streaking up the ice and entering the zone but not establishing themselves with flurries of chances around Union's net as the dump-ins that the team relies so heavily upon were just not quite clicking yet.

While Union had the better zone time in the first period, Maine was better at capitalizing on their few chances during a tight and defensive first period from both teams.

The Union netminder spilled a Ryan Hopkins slapshot from the point before Félix Trudeau pounced on the loose puck to put the Black Bears up early in the first.

Hopkins, a freshman from Nova Scotia, played last year alongside the Nadeau brothers in Penticton, BC, for the Vees of the BCHL. The defensemen has yet to get a consistent run in the lineup but is in good stead after Wednesday night's gutsy performance. Throughout the game, Hopkins courageously sacrificed his body to come up with a handful of important blocked shots, desperately sprawling out to help his team see off spades of Union pressure.

Every time the black piece of vulcanized rubber thudded off the defenseman, his teammates on the bench roared their approval at his sacrifice, banging their sticks on the boards. Spurred on by Hopkins' performance, the rest of the Black Bears got in on the act, as countless times, grade-a Union chances were negated by Black Bear bodies. This resulted in Maine's season-high seventeen blocked shots, showing that the Black Bears were willing to do whatever it took to grind out a result on the road.

Another Black Bear rookie who played perhaps his best game of the season was forward Harrison Scott. Transferring from Bentley over the summer, Scott has quickly established himself as a vital member of the Black Bears forward group, finding himself a home as the center on the second line.

Over halfway through the first period, with the Bears already up 1-0, Scott took advantage of a Union mistake in their attacking zone. The senior outskated and outmuscled the scrambling Union defenders before establishing his body position to keep himself between the puck and the defender as he raced down the ice on the breakaway. Still maintaining space from the pressure biting at his heels, Scott was able to calmly fake a backhand shot before slotting a forehand blocker side into the back of the net to put the Black Bears up by two goals in the tightly contested first period.

The first period may have seen the Black Bears still getting used to the different dimensions of the ice down-low, but by the second period, Maine's forecheck and offensive creation in the vast amount of space below the goalline excelled. The Black Bears moved the puck on the cycle well, putting it into good areas of the ice where their speed and size could take advantage.

While his first-period goal was the senior's highlight of the night, it was during the second period that Scott really marked his authority on the game. Along with linemates Thomas Freel and Donovan Houle, Scott led the Black Bears to perhaps their best forechecking display of the season.

The Maine pressure was relentless. Maine swarmed in packs, suffocating the Garnet Chargers. Union was not given a second on the puck before Black Bear after Black Bear came flying into them, freeing up the puck and creating their best offensive chances of the night. Union could not break out past the pressing Bears, as wave after wave left the Garnet Chargers struggling to maintain much puck control. The constant, in-your-face pestering from Maine rushed Union passes and kept Maine in control with all the momentum throughout the second period.

With the puck down-low, Maine fought for every inch of ice, working incredibly hard to create a split-second of space and commotion in front of the Union net with centering passes in tight.

Scott excelled in these gritty areas of the ice. Garnet Chargers routinely bounced off the California native, unable to outpower the solid forward who was so strong with the puck on his stick. His hard-work hard-nosed game truly shined during the second period and inspired his team.

But although the full-hearted, relentless persistence dominated, the Black Bears could not capitalize on their hard work and tenacious play, lacking the poise to finish on the chaotic scrambles they created in front of the net.

Union looks at the other end of the ice, were few and far between in the second. The Black Bears kept Union at arm's length, with most of the play being as far away from Victor Ostman as possible. The goal-scoring opportunities they did have in the second period were mainly potshots that Ostman could deal with easily. Union only had four shots during the second period, compared to Maine's twelve.

The third period, however, was a totally different ballgame.

With Maine up by two goals and looking much more likely to score the next goal, perhaps the Black Bears came out complacent in the third as the team looked flat compared to their sizzling second-period performance.

Union also looked really good, especially in the first half of the third frame. They created many more threatening scoring opportunities and used their size to bully themselves to the front of the net, screening Ostman.

Ostman, who looked solid all net long, was finally broken through a little over five minutes into the final period. Union scored when Black Bear defenders could not clear a rebound from the high slot, allowing a Union shot to sneak past the completely screened Swede, who had no chance on the play. He couldn't save what he couldn't see.

The goal early in the frame sparked Union, who was now full of belief that they could get another and tie up the game. They excelled at getting pucks in deep and wearing down the Maine defense, which was looking stretched and scrambled. The Black Bears were running around in their zone, struggling to fight the fires around them as Union looked destined to score the next goal and tie up the game. The screw was getting turned, and it only seemed like a matter of time before Union would break through again.

Halfway through the third and with all of the momentum in Union's favor, Barr turned to his fourth line of Parker Lindauer, Félix Trudeau, and Reid Pabich to change the tide of the game. The line relieved the pressure on Ostman by cleanly moving the puck out of their zone and up the ice.

There, they started to go to work.

For the first time all period, Maine was able to re-establish themselves on the forecheck and keep the puck at Union's end. Lindauer, Trudeau, and Pabich supported each other, working the puck around in the corner well as well as squeezing off Union's defenders, not allowing them to get the puck over the blue line, battering them at the half-boards and keeping the puck deep. Not only did this line's shift relieve the pressure on Ostman and the Black Bear defense, but it galvanized their team, who all looked more controlled and composed as the third period wore on.

Maine's top line of the Nadeau brothers and Lynden Breen had been kept unusually quiet for their high standards up until this point. Union clearly had a game plan to combat the New Brunswick line's offensive potency. The Garnet Chargers, being the home team, were able to match their top defenders against them whenever the New Brunswick boys were on the ice. They didn't allow Maine's top line any time or space on the puck. They physically tried everything to bruise Maine's top goalscorers into submission. The tight, gritty affair left very little open ice for the Nadeau brothers and Breen to exploit as the final pass to set each other up was just narrowly missing.

Late in the third, the first line had their best scoring opportunity. Josh Nadeau forced a turnover in Union's zone at the half-boards before finding Bradly alone in front of the net with a centering pass. With just the goalie to beat the entirety of Messa Rink held its breath with what looked to be a certain Maine goal that would surely secure the win. But the Union goaltender was patient, reacting brilliantly by not biting on any of Bradly's dekes, outlasting the forward who couldn't pull the trigger.

The patience of their goaltender kept Union in the game. Union, who was so dangerous on the cycle created from dump-ins, did not have this same success when on the rush. Countless times during the third period, a Union fast-break would get absorbed by Maine's defenders, who were able to stay perfectly positioned to squeeze Union's forwards off the puck or break up the play with active defensive sticks.

However, successful when getting pucks deep, Union was able to maintain established zone time and create real danger for Maine. Their chances came in flurries, which Osmtan was able to deal with. He came up with big save after big save to bail his team out of danger during the chaos created in front of his net. With just a few minutes to play and Union with the empty net and the extra attacker, the Garnet Chargers threw the kitchen sink at the Maine net. The Maine supporters in attendance had their hearts in their throats as Union had plenty of really good looks at the net but could not execute on any of them, bailed out by big saves and desperately blocked shots from the Black Bears.

Bending, but not breaking.

The Black Bears' heart rate was finally able to be returned to a normal pace when a Union rush was broken up, and a stretch pass was able to find Josh Nadeau with open ice and an empty net. Josh was able to skate the puck over the goalline as a sigh of relief from Black Bear fans at Messa Rink could be felt, securing the Maine victory.

It certainly was not the Black Bears' best performance of the season, but they got the result they wanted, and that's all that matters.

Remember when Maine played so well during that second BU game but fell short? Maybe this is the hockey gods evening out the karma.

Unable to put together a full sixty minutes of solid hockey, they still came away with the win, even when they were playing far from their best. The trip down to Schenectady is their longest of the season and perhaps played a role in their struggles, especially after a quick turnaround from playing Sunday.

But Maine showed that they had all the ingredients of a winning team.

Capitalize on their opponents' mistakes. Check.

Bend, but don't break when put under tremendous pressure. Check.

Figure out how to grind out a win when not playing at your best. Check.

By scrapping, fighting, and clawing their way to victory Wednesday night, the Black Bears showed that winning is in this team's DNA.

It's another quick turnaround to Bentley Saturday night in Portland for what is sure to be a fun game in front of a big crowd. It's going to take another fight to out-battle Bentley. But this team has what it takes to get themselves over the line.

This is what winning hockey teams do.