Everything in Orono fell apart Saturday night.

Before the game, the heavens opened when a thunderstorm rolled over Central Maine, flooding parts of the Alfond's concourse.

Meanwhile, on the ice, the Maine Black Bears were also in disarray, repeatedly swamping their sin bin with undisciplined penalties. Maine allowed the wheels to fall off their undefeated record on home ice when they let a third-period lead slip away to the Providence College Friars, falling in overtime 4-3.

Maine was outplayed by the Friars for the second half of Friday's grind-out victory that saw the Black Bears fortunate to narrowly scrape out a 2-1 win in which Providence rung iron three times. That would need to be considerably improved on Saturday night.

It was not.

On Friday night, Providence wore Maine down through a bruising game that penned the Black Bears in their own zone. Maine struggled to spark the type of pushback needed to dig themselves out from under Providence's momentum, failing to execute on details of getting the puck out of their zone and into the Friars' end.

The Friars were undoubtedly going to carry their third-period dominance from Friday into a quick Saturday start, hoping to once again overwhelm the Black Bears through their hard-nosed play.

The key to avoiding being worn into the ground by Providence on back-to-back occasions was to execute a much-improved pushback by literally pushing back. Head Coach Ben Barr called on his team to step up their physicality, keeping the team's intensity constant by focusing on details such as finishing hits and skating through the puck carrier in order to punch back at the Friars, who with little resistance, grew increasingly comfortable pushing the Black Bears around.

The only lineup change from the series' first game was the insertion of Jack Dalton as Maine's extra defenseman, swapping in for Ryan Hopkins.

Barr rode his hot-goaltender Albin Boija, who stood on his head by bailing out the Black Bear ship time and again Friday night in a commanding performance, earning the freshman his third-consecutive start.

The contest opened as expected. A furiously breathless scramble where every inch of the ice was fiercely contested. The Friars jumped all over Maine with a battering forecheck that squeezed the time and space for Maine to breakout through.

When the Black Bears could work their way through Providence's first line of defense, they had trouble gaining the red line and firing the puck into the Friars' end as Providence stubbornly congested neutral ice. With much of the Black Bears' energy going towards fighting tooth and nail to get the puck out of their zone, there wasn't much gas left in the tank for Maine to work up a head-of-steam at the other end and generate any attacking impetus. They did not record a shot on net until around halfway through the opening frame.

The contest's first of sixteen penalties went against the Black Bears early in the first, setting up what was to become a game won and lost through special teams' success and failures. Maine held the Friars' shotless on the early PK, standing firm on the blue line, forcing Providence to cough up the puck and routinely clear down-ice.

Maine was given their chance on the man advantage a few minutes later when Brandon Chabrier, on the Black Bears' first real attacking move of the game, tip-toed away from a pursuing Friar on the blue line, spinning like a ballerina, causing a Providence stick to become tangled between his legs and earning the Black Bear man-advantage on the tripping call.

Although unsuccessful on the scoreboard, the powerplay allowed Maine to get their offensive feet into the game, slowly gaining more traction under their skates. But this tiny sliver of momentum was quickly squashed as the Black Bears continuously took undisciplined penalties, shooting themselves in the foot each time they could get the ball moving down the ice in their favor.

Considering that both teams had been some of the least penalized sides in the country before Saturday night, the game's refereeing certainly appeared over-eager to send players on both sides to the penalty box with a handful of incredibly soft calls. But while the Friars seemed to have no problem adjusting to the low margin of officiating, Maine never learned this lesson, putting themselves in the position to allow the refs to make a decision.

Since the majority of Maine's penalties came from stick infractions such as tripping or slashing as well as grappling calls for holding or interference, it showed that the Black Bears were constantly a step behind the Friars, forced to commit these infringements in desperate hopes of keeping up with Providence who was head and shoulders above Maine.

With the see-saw battle now tilting the ice in favor of the Friars, Providence continued to hem the Black Bears back. They utilized an aggressive forecheck that called on risky pinches from the defenseman to keep Maine's wingers on the boards from being given a split-second to look up and make a pass to clear the zone.

The big and burly Friars had considerable success in Maine's zone cycling the puck. Working it behind Boija's net, outmuscling the Black Bears, and utilizing the open space left in front of the net, the Friars generated quality opportunities that Boija had to scramble to keep at bay.

At the other end of the ice, the Black Bears had significant trouble setting up sustained pressure around Providence's net. When the Black Bears tried to carry the puck into the opposition zone, they often looked too predictable. Providence's claustrophobic neutral zone structure and brick wall on the blueline didn't allow the Black Bears to build up a head of steam to carry into the Friars' zone. Unable to gain the zone with speed and beat a man with pace, Maine was significantly limited in their ability to set up a quality cycle game to move the Friars out of position.

Maine's only real chance of establishing themselves for sustained periods of pressure was to put pucks in deep behind the Friars' defenseman and go win the dog fights down-low, creating quick bursts of offense by exploiting the space left from the remains of this chaotic forechecking nature. But with Providence's defenseman rapidly retrieving the dump-ins and quickly finding open forwards through which to break , the Maine forecheck, which was so successful in Friday's first period, was not having the same effect on Saturday.

The Friars were winning the cat-and-mouse game. Unable to catch up, Maine relinquished control over the contest's proceedings to Providence. But a late first-period Black Bear powerplay did allow Maine the rare opportunity to put the Friars on their heels.

With the ice tilted considerably uphill for the Black Bears, even on the powerplay, an outstanding combination of grit, determination, and skill was the formula needed to hurt the Friars entirely against the run of play.

The second period would quickly answer that question with a resounding no, as once again, Providence recaptured the game's momentum by killing off two early second-period Maine power plays, frustrating the Black Bears and giving the Friars refound energy to go forward.

Providence used this spark to recapture control of the game, again pushing Maine back. The Friars finally got what they deserved, tying up the game just over five minutes into the second.

Three Black Bear defenders were caught out of position, defending only two Friars behind the net. The Maine miscoverage allowed a Providence defenseman the space to work with when the puck squirted up to the point. A rocket of a slap shot was scorched Boija's way. He had no time to react to the shot being deftly redirected by an uncovered Friar in front of his net, silencing the Alfond crowd.

The goal was wholly deserved as the Friars were completely in the driver's seat. Their overmatching physical presence ran the Black Bears ragged, opening up holes in Maine's defense that were exploited with Providence's significantly superior intensity. The Black Bear pushback that Barr so desperately called for before the game was just not there. Maine, unable to physically push the needle their way, could not ignite their own checking game to match the Friars.

Not helping the Black Bears' cause were sloppy puck-handling mistakes and mental errors that allowed Providence to keep the pressure on, further wearing down Maine, who were beginning to look like they were tumbling around in a dryer, scrambling in front of Boija.

The Black Bears were in the pressure cooker.

Too often being left out to dry by the untidy mess in front of him, Boija kept his team in the game with big save after big save during mad scrambles in front of his net that were not being cleared by his teammates. The at-the-time biggest save of the game came when the Friars, per usual on the powerplay, worked a one-timer from down-low in the slot where Boija was somehow miraculously able to stretch from one post to the other, closing off the angle and shutting the door on a shot that looked destined to go-in.

Chants of “Boy-yuh, Boy-yuh, Boy-yuh” rang out around the Alfond.

The incredible save gave a sliver of life into the legs of Boija's thankful teammates, who finally successfully implemented their forecheck at the other end of the ice.

Nolan Renwick, who has been out injured with an ankle problem since early December, has been a welcome return to the lineup. Now in his second weekend back, Renwick is finding his stride, pairing nicely between Sully Scholle and Ben Poisson on Maine's third line. This trio's strong forechecking ability was the kindling to get Maine's fire going.

Scholle, utilizing his blisteringly quick skating, was able to be the first forechecker in on the puck-carrier, bending his path to the puck to shepherd the Friar defense man's pass to be thrown wide, up to the half-boards. Here, the big bodies of either Renwick or Poisson were waiting to jam and tie up the winger, forcing the turnover and allowing either Scholle or the weak side forward to pounce on the loose puck and quickly turn defense into a Black Bear attack.

This line, one of the few bright spots over the weekend, has really started to click together. Renwick and Poisson are consistently able to get the Black Bears out of dodge, finding space in the neutral zone to become reliable outlet passes. Both are strong on their stick, able to take these passes before dependably, not dilly-dallying on the puck, keeping it moving often by making the smart play of getting it in deep. Both Renwick and Poisson read the game well, utilized their vision to set each other up or find Scholle, who has the skill and flair to create something extra and push the envelope.

This line was crucially able to steady the Black Bear ship through their sensible play, slowly but surely calming down the chaos at the backend and allowing Maine to gain traction and begin to push for the go-ahead goal.

Maine, now newly sparked, was given another opportunity on their powerplay. The top powerplay unit, which has consisted of the Nadeau brothers, Scott and Chabrier, quarterbacking for much of the season, had added Poisson to its midsts. Like at even-strength, in recent weeks the man advantage has struggled to carry the puck into the offensive end and set up a controlled and threatening cycle. But the addition of Poisson on the PP has sparked new life in the unit.

Utilizing his strength on the puck, Poisson can be masterful at gaining the zone and holding up the play at the half-boards, allowing his teammates to take up their positions around the opponent’s net. The power forward's ability to use his frame to shield the puck and roll off defender's checks is the first line of defense to be broken through, which then opens up space for Poisson to find his fellow Black Bears. After dealing with an injury during the Columbus Blue Jackets' development camp over the summer, the graduate student has had a tough time fighting through the injury and refinding his best game this season. But in recent weeks, the British Columbia native finally looks fully healthy and is back to playing at his top ability on both sides of the puck.

After setting up the man advantage in Providence's end, Poisson got his big body in front of the net, where Friar's a defenseman struggled to outmuscle him for net-front superiority. Late in the second, it was Poisson's net-front presence that capitalized on the power play, putting the Black Bears on top when Poisson loomed in front of the Friars' crease, jamming home a bouncing puck spilled by Providence's goaltender.

In a game already littered with penalties, the third period threw the contest's flow out of the window as the game quickly turned into special teams madness that saw six penalties, five of which went against Maine.

A Bandon Chabrier interference penalty midway through a breathless third frame yet again put Maine on the penalty kill. The Friars were picking apart the Black Bears, who retreated further towards their net with every passing minute of ramped-up Providence pressure. Eventually, this came back to bite the Black Bears, who collapsed so deep in front of their net were not able to clear a bouncing puck, batting away at it before it eventually deflected off something in the scramble of bodies to beat Boija and tie up the contest.

Two minutes later, the Black Bears would be on a man advantage of their own, where Chabrier was immediately able to make up for his penalty by tallying his sixth goal of the season. The Black Bear skilled defenseman used his great skating ability to pull a Friar to the middle of the ice before quickly shifting himself back outside, finding a shooting lane to throw a wrist shot on net. The twine-seeking-missile had eyes for the back of the net, beating the Friar goaltender, who was entirely screened by Poisson, never seeing the puck before it was already past him.

With a one-goal lead with just under half a period left to play, the Alfond Faithful called on their Black Bears to play smart, keep things simple, and close out the sweep.

But the Black Bears completely capitulated.

Being pushed around and worn down by Providence for close to one hundred and twenty minutes, the Black Bears' energy levels dropped at the worst possible time. Physical tiredness and mental fatigue undermined the Black Bears as Maine took undisciplined penalties one after another, handing Providence a blueprint back into the game.

Another save-of-the-game candidate saw Boija stonewall a certain goal on a cross-crease one-timer, keeping the Black Bears hanging on to their lead by a thread. But while Boija stepped up to save his team time and again over the weekend, his teammates in front of him couldn't repay the favor. Back at even-strength, Maine repeatedly failed to clear their zone, further amplifying up the pressure they were under and turning the screw ever closer to a Friars' tying goal.

The Black Bears allowed these mistakes to compound, leaving their goaltender out to dry. After running around like headless chickens in their zone and still not able to get the puck out, Boija made a scrambling save. But the numerous Black Bears around the puck were not able to clear it, before Providence could poke it past Boija on the second or third attempt, knotting the game at three apiece.

Boija was called in to stand on his head once more after Lynden Breen took his second boneheaded penalty of the period when he hauled down a Friar during a scrum after the whistle. The Alfond Faithful, who saw things a bit differently than the officials, agitatedly chanted, "Zebras suck" at the referees, who were dressed in the same white and black as the Friars. A Friar shot deflected off the base of the post and into the crease, trickling off Boija and heading towards the goal line. But before the puck could dribble into the net, defenseman David Breazeale whacked it off the goalline and underneath Boija, who sprawled on his back to freeze the play dead.

The Black Bears were given a golden opportunity to snatch the lead back in their favor while still on the penalty kill. Donovan Houle forced a turnover at Maine's blueline before blistering up ice with Ben Poisson to create a two-on-zero with just under two minutes left to play and the game on his stick. Houle waited until the last second to find his teammate, but Poisson was already running out of racetrack. He couldn't bury the tough-angle shot, missing the net as the Friar netminder cut down the space for Poisson to shoot at.

With just over a minute left in regulation, Maine took their ninth and final penalty of the night, a Liam Lesakowski holding call that further enraged Barr on the bench, who looked like a kettle boiling on a stove watching his team's undisciplined play.

The penalty would carry over to overtime, which would see Providence skate with a four-on-three-man advantage to start the five-minute sudden-death frame. The Friars would only need about twenty seconds before Ben's brother Nick Poisson set up Guillaume Richard, who definitively ended Maine's unbeaten streak on home ice with a rocket of a shot past Boija. Richard was a former Maine commit who decommitted before going to Providence, adding insult to injury to the Black Bears.

While Maine had its moments this weekend, for the most part, they were completely dominated by Providence. Maine really struggled with the Friars' size and strength, unable to get the puck off of them and allowing themselves to be pushed around, exposing chinks in their defensive armor not seen so dramatically on home ice this season. But the Black Bears were also architects of their own downfall, allowing mistakes to compound one after another, snowballing downhill. Plenty of Black Bear fans will be furious with Saturday evening's officiating, but Maine didn't adjust to the margin set, killing themselves with undisciplined play. They are solely at fault for dropping two points Saturday evening.

Although Maine did let the lead slip, they were still fortunate to pick up four out of six possible points from the weekend after only outplaying Providence in one period all weekend, Friday's first frame.

It's a disappointing defeat, highlighting noticeable holes in Maine's defensive armor that must be filled if the Black Bears are to get back to their winning ways.

But at the same time, Providence has done Maine a favor. The Black Bears can now clearly see which aspects of their game need fixing and how to proceed.

The Black Bears still came away with a split against an excellent Providence team, likely the fourth-best team in the stacked Hockey East conference. As long as Maine can tie up their own loose ends, they have shown that they are good enough to beat any team in the country.

It's all down to them.

Trust in Barr, we'll be alright.

Onto UNH.