Amidst the dreary dog days of February, when the long Maine winters feel especially endless and cumbersome, there’s nothing much better at pumping life and energy back into the bloodstream than taking in the two Northern New England hockey adversaries battling it out for bragging rights.

This weekend, the New Hampshire Wildcats and the Maine Black Bears renew their Border Battle rivalry with a Valentine’s Day weekend date at Alfond Arena.

While love may be in the air this weekend, there won’t be an ounce of it present at the Alfond.

“When we go down there or when they come up here, it almost feels personal. It’s different than just a hockey game,” Maine co-captain and senior defenseman David Breazeale said. “It means a lot to everybody when you’re playing UNH, and it’s the same thing for them down there, which is why it’s so special. It’s something we always look forward to, so we’re pumped about it.”

Border War

A battle for the border in the most literal sense, the rivalry between the two states dates back long before their creation. In 1622, the Province of Maine was split at the Piscataqua River, forming the Province of New Hampshire to the south and the Province of New Somersetshire (a precursor to the modern-day State of Maine) north of the river.

Since then, border disputes over who controls the Isles of Shoals and, in particular, Seavey’s Island, which is considered part of Maine and houses a U.S. Navy shipyard right smack in the middle of the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine, have raged on with little compromise.

The State of New Hampshire has sued the State of Maine twice over the exact details of the border, first in 1977 over lobster fishing rights in the river and again in 2000, disputing Maine’s ownership of Seavey’s Island. The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in favor of Maine. Most recently, in January 2025, the New Hampshire General Court introduced a revision to the border, which, if passed, would ask the U.S. Congress to find the Piscataqua River and Portsmouth Harbor as lying within New Hampshire, not Maine.

Paralleling these disputes over legislation, between lawyers, and in courts, the two state’s flagship universities have flamed their own competitive tradition, with their hockey teams sparring in plenty of high-profile contests, sparking one of the most iconic and fierce rivalries in College Hockey.

“Proximity, history, league championships, great players, the ‘99 National Championship game, there’s a lot of reasons [the rivalry is special]. It’s a lot of fun for both sides whether we are here at home or up at the Alfond. It’s a hostile environment in both places, and I think both programs enjoy playing in it,” UNH Head Coach and Wildcat alumnus Mike Souza explained.

Since first facing off in 1979 in Orono (a 5-3 Maine victory), the Black Bears and Wildcats have slugged it out 146 times since, with Maine leading the all-time series over the noisy neighbors by a record of 74-59-14.

The Black Bears dominated the early days of the rivalry through the ‘80s and ‘90s, at one point beating the Wildcats 22 out of 24 times between 1986 and 1993.

The rivalry reached a boiling point in 1999, when the two teams met in the 1999 National Championship Game in Anaheim, California. This was just a month after UNH swept Maine in Durham to end the regular season and earn the Wildcats the Hockey East regular-season championship. But the Black Bears got the last laugh when it meant the most after Marcus Gustafsson scored in overtime to clinch Maine’s second National Championship. In that famous game, current Black Bears’ Assistant Coach Alfie Michaud stopped 46 of 48 shots, while current Wildcats’ Head Coach Mike Souza assisted and scored in the third period to rally UNH and force overtime.

“The Goal” by Marcus Gustafsson seals Maine’s NCAA title over UNH and the program’s second National Championship in 1999. (Photo: Lewiston Sun Journal)

Maine and UNH have met in the Hockey East playoffs on seven different occasions, with the Black Bears besting the Wildcats in either a single-game or playoff series five of those times. New Hampshire’s first-ever trip to the Hockey East Championship Game at the old Boston Garden was a 1-4 loss to Maine in 1992, with Jim Montgomery scoring the game-winning goal.

The two teams would meet in the Hockey East Championship Game again in 2002, where UNH, this time, got the better of the Black Bears 3-1 to win their first of back-to-back Hockey East championships. But less than a month later, Maine would foil New Hampshire’s national ambitions once again, overpowering UNH 7-2 in the Frozen Four Semifinals thanks to two goals each by Peter Metcalf, Róbert Liščák, and Paul Falco.

Aside from New Hampshire’s 2002 victory, the only other time the Wildcats have beat the Black Bears in the playoffs was in 2021, a 7-2 Wildcat victory in front of an empty Alfond Arena during Maine’s only home game of the season due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Most recently, Maine thumped UNH 5-0 last year in the Hockey East Quarterfinals thanks to two goals from Bradly Nadeau, two from Josh Josh Nadeau, and a power play tally by Ben Poisson.

The history of this bitter rivalry is not lost on the current crop of Black Bears and is, in part, what makes these games so special for them.

“We go back, we’ve watched the ‘99 game with Alfie in net. How cool is that, to beat them in the National Championship? I think that’s where this rivalry is so special, where you can compete at the highest level in the National Championship. So the history goes back so far, obviously, it’s a border battle, and it’s so unique. I think it’s one of the best rivalries in college hockey and almost all of college athletics,” Breazeale said.

While the ill-will may have cooled down during the mid-2000s, the resurgence of both programs in recent years has certainly reignited the rivalry.

“It is decades old, and maybe in the last couple of years, it has heated up a little bit with both programs doing a little bit better than we have in past years, but it’s got a different feel when you get onto the ice, whether that’s here or there, it’s got a different feel no question,” Head Coach Ben Barr said.

These clashes between UNH and Maine are not only circled in bright red ink on both sets of fans’ calendars but are also seen as extra special for the players. For seniors like Breazeale, the opportunity to come out on top in potentially their final Border Battle experience is of paramount concern.

“This is one you have circled on your calendar, of course. UNH, in the Alfond, is special. Every year that we’ve played these guys has been an absolute battle down at their place or here,” Breazeale said. “[I’m] just trying to think about it like it’s another weekend, but every weekend down to the wire, it’s your senior year; I’ve got nine games left in the regular season, and two of them are fortunately against UNH which is pretty special, so I’m pumped about it. Maybe at the end of the second game, if we get a win, I’ll be able to soak it in a little bit and say, wow, that was pretty special. But until then, I’m just focused on that first shift, that first period, and making sure we’re coming out there flying for both games.”

Meanwhile, it is equally exciting for Black Bears who are new to the rivalry, such as is the case for Taylor Makar, who transferred to Maine from UMass in the summer and is looking forward to his first Border Battle at the Alfond.

“If I haven’t seen [the Alfond] at its craziest yet, then I don’t even know what to expect,” Makar said. “I’m really excited for this weekend because even when I was at Hannaford's, people were talking about how amazing it is, so I’m pumped.”

With the rivalry's resurgence, the national spotlight will be on Orono this weekend, giving this weekend’s Border Battle even more flavor and hype. Everything College Hockey will be in attendance for Saturday’s Whiteout game, which will include a three-hour Pregame Fan Festival outside the Alfond.

Everything College Hockey is a digital media group that showcases the unique fan culture and gameday experience of college hockey to promote the collegiate game.

“It’s really neat that Everything College Hockey is coming here; they’ve kind of established themselves as almost a College Game Day deal with college hockey,” Barr said. “In the middle of February in the Maine winter, I think it might be a neat thing for the whole community.”

Black Bear Nation will get the chance to showcase its unparalleled Alfond atmosphere to a national audience, with Everything College Hockey documenting Saturday’s game.

“We’re super excited to have them come up to Orono and do something for the community up here before such a big rivalry game on Saturday, so we’re pumped to have them and excited to have them in the building, and it kind of adds to the whole weekend,” Breazeale said.

Trending in different directions

In recent weeks, Maine and New Hampshire have been two teams trending in entirely opposite directions.

Last time out, Maine was able to take 4 of 6 Hockey East points on the road against Providence during a weekend in which Maine never led in either game. But the Black Bears were opportunistic on Friday night, making the most of their chances even while being outplayed by the Friars for large portions of the contest. The next night, Maine played better but had to kill off two five-minute major penalties in their 1-0 overtime win to overcome that significant adversity.

“It was good to see us find a way to tie and get an OT win. They are a good team, and I think we had to take away some lessons about how tight-checking that game was. They took us to it for long periods of the weekend, but we showed some resiliency, which was good,” Barr said.

Maine’s successful weekend in Rhode Island was in large part due to Taylor Makar’s heroics. He scored three goals against Providence, tied the game twice on Friday in the third period, one of which was while shorthanded, and netted Saturday’s lone goal, the game-winner in overtime.

Makar’s scorching hot streak has propelled the Black Bears of late, scoring seven times in Maine’s last six games, three of which have been the game-winning goal. 

“It’s remarkable what he is doing right now. The hottest stick in college hockey, honestly. He’s going out there and just competing, so confident with the puck on his stick right now, he’s using his feet, which is his biggest asset, he’s an absolutely unbelievable skater, and he’s playing so confident right now, and he’s been a great piece in the locker room for us as well,” Breazeale said about Makar.

Although Makar’s best collegiate goal-scoring streak of his career has been driving the bus for the Black Bears, scoring seven of Maine’s last 12 goals,  his heroics have overshadowed some of Maine’s frailties, especially in the offensive production department. Since the team returned from Christmas break, Maine has only scored 2.18 goals per game, compared to their 4.0 goals per game average in the first half of the season.

“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster ride these last few weekends, but the resilience factor has gotten better, so I think we need to grow from that and learn from that, but we’re still probably not playing anywhere near where we need to play if we want to be the team we want to be at the time of the year,” Barr said on the Black Bear Coaches Show.

The Black Bears are doing what good teams do, however. They’re finding a way to win even when not playing their best hockey.

“I like the way their team’s constructed; they’ve been finding ways to win even when they haven’t been scoring; that’s obviously the sign of a great team,” Souza said about Maine.

Meanwhile, it has been quite the opposite for New Hampshire, with the Wildcats finding ways to lose while not playing poorly at all, having only won once in their last nine games.

Do I think we should have won every game in this last stretch? No, of course not. Do I think we could have won a few? Absolutely,” Souza said. “I thought last weekend was kind of the tale of our year. We play two games where it could have gone in our favor, and it didn’t.”

Last weekend, the Wildcats fell at home to Boston College 2-4 and to Merrimack 4-5. According to Barr, UNH outplayed the best team in the country for large portions of the game. Since the New Year, Maine has won five of six one-goal games, tying two more, while UNH has lost four straight one-goal games in Hockey East since the New Year.

“They are a top-20 team; it is just that our league has been really difficult this year, so they lost a lot of one-goal games. Watching them play BC last weekend, and they were the better team for long periods of those games,” Barr said. “Our record could easily just be exactly the same.”

But when it comes to rivalry games, recent records and form go completely out the window. Their sheer emotion and importance put these games in a class all their own. 

“It’s like that with any rivalry games, in any sport. There’s an emotional level to it where if it goes one way or the other,” Barr explained. “So you’re going to have two evenly matched teams in a rivalry game, you can’t read anything into any stat when it comes to this series.”

Maine knows this all too well, as when these two teams met for a two-game set this time last season in Durham. On paper, Maine entered that weekend the superior team while UNH limped into the series, having won just six times in 14 games. But the Wildcats walloped the Black Bears all over the ice, sweeping the series by an aggregate score of 11-4.

“That was probably our most disappointing weekend all year, so they are going to want to do the same thing to us this year, coming up here and doing it in our building, which is even more difficult. It’ll be a really tough, tight-checking, intense weekend,” Barr said.

With UNH currently on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble looking in, entering the weekend #18 in the PairWise, it’s now or never for the Wildcats if they want to turn their season around, with all of their remaining games against teams ranked in the top-16.

“I know I have a physically tough team; it’s all about how mentally tough we can be down the stretch here with some huge opportunities,” Souza said. “We’re certainly going to have our work cut out for us, we know that and it doesn’t get any harder than up at the Alfond on Friday. I think it’s a great test for our team; I’m excited to get on the road and see where this takes us.”

The Black Bears weathered the Whittemore Center whiteout earlier this season to earn a rare Border Battle road victory, their first in Durham since 2019. (Photo: UMaine Athletics)

Previewing the weekend

The Border Battle has been largely dominated by the home team in recent years, with each team’s hostile environments proving an enormous hurdle for the visitors  to overcome. Since the 20201/22 season, the home crowd has lifted their team to a regulation victory or shootout win seven out of nine times.

One of these road victories came earlier in the season when the Black Bears took care of business down in Durham, outlasting UNH 3-1 in late November.

For the Black Bears playing in front of their home crowd, it will be crucial to utilize the energy of the Alfond Faithful while also staying focused inside the cauldron of noise, not allowing it to be a distraction.

“It’s easy to find the juice, you know, but you’ve also got to settle into the game a little bit where it’s the excitement, the buzz, the crowd, you’ve got to channel it so it’s good effort, it’s good focus, we’re not getting distracted with it all,” Breazeale said. “I think we’re going to let it fuel us, get it fired up for us to go out there, especially that first shift, but once you get that first shift in, you kind of have to settle in and just play hockey from there. Feed off the crowd when they get loud because obviously that’s one of the best parts of college hockey in general, it’s the coolest thing.”

From the perspective of Souza, who played as a visitor at the Alfond on six occasions, winning three times, it’s all about embracing the role of villain in a hostile environment.

“I think that the one takeaway for me is that it’s nice to be at home, but it’s fun to be in that environment. I think as an athlete, you want to measure yourself in hostile environments,” Souza said.

During Maine’s victory down in Durham in November, the Wildcats utilized a conservative neutral zone trap to slow down the Black Bears' speed through center ice, limiting Maine’s offensive zone time for much of the game. Last weekend, Providence did much of the same, efficiently bottling the Black Bears from getting up ice, which limited Maine to just 20 shots on goal on Saturday, their lowest total of the year. On the other side of the puck, UNH’s quick transition game and blistering speed between the bluelines are in large-part what swept the Black Bears out of Durham last season.

“They’re fast, they are skilled, they forecheck really well, they clog the neutral zone really well. It will be more of the same [as Providence]. Not exactly the same in terms of x’s and o’s, but when we played down there, there’s not a lot of grade-a chances one way or the other, when you get them you have to make the most out of them,” Barr said.

Meanwhile, both UNH and Maine are two of the heaviest-hitting teams in all of college hockey, both playing an abrasive checking game that leaves their opponent black and blue. Because of this similar style and with both sides being two of the oldest and most experienced teams, especially on the backend with veteran defensemen, neither team allows many grade-A scoring chances. Maine’s current 23.3 shots-against average is the best in the country, while New Hampshire’s 24.8 SA/G is 6th best. Much of UNH’s defensive success has to do with senior defenseman and New Hampshire native #28 Alex Gagne (4g-10a-14pts), who is one of the most effective defensive-defensemen in Hockey East.

Bearing down in front of the net and executing on the few chances they each will create will be equally key for these two teams, both of which have struggled immensely in this department in recent weeks.

“When we do get chances, and there are not a lot of chances out there either way, that’s Hockey East right now, and it’s going to be like that the rest of the year. When we do get a chance to make a play, we’ve got to make it, on the power play, we’ve got to execute, that’s going to be the game basically every week the rest of the way,” Barr explained.

Speaking of the power play, Maine’s man-advantage unit has been struggling significantly since the New Year, going a dismal 2 for 30 in 2025, not scoring since January 11th in Lowell. For Barr, making the simple plays and not overthinking and overhandling the puck is key to getting the power play back on track and ensuring that it isn’t a momentum killer for Maine every time it takes to the ice.

“The power play has obviously really struggled in the last three, four weekends. It gets in your head a little bit, so you just try and go back to basics: work hard, win your battles, get pucks to the net, get some rebounds, try to not overthink it too much,” Barr explained.

On the other side of the puck, the most dangerous Wildcats that Maine will have to watch out for include #24 Robert Cronin (11g-10a-21pts), #12 Liam Devlin (7g-14a-21pts), #29 Cy LeClerc (7g-13a-20pts), and most notably #36 Ryan Conmy (13g-12a-25pts), who is averaging almost a point per game through his two-seasons at UNH.

“He’s dynamic, he can really shoot it, so you’ve got to limit his time and space, he always finds a way to get chances. Albin made two or three really good saves on him late in the game down at UNH. He always figures in the offense; he’s maybe their most creative game,” Barr warned about Conmy.

In net for UNH will most likely be #41 Jared Whale (2.66 GAA-0.890 SV%), a junior netminder who transferred from Alaska-Anchorage in the summer after Tyler Muszelik transferred to UConn and Jakob Hellsten signed pro in Sweden.

“They were lucky to get a goalie as good as him, I think, he’s delivered and been really solid for them,” Barr said about Whale.

All in all, according to Barr, during this grind of the season, finding a spark night in and night out is not only the biggest challenge but critical to Maine’s success this weekend and in the season’s remaining weeks.

“You’re in the dog days of the season, in the middle of February, it’s cold out, we’re just trying to keep it fresh and trying to find that spark every night, and at this time of the year, it’s not a lot about the x’s and o’s as it is about how much jump you have and what kind of a passion you’re bringing to that game every night, because it is easy to let your mind wander,” Barr explained.

But if you can’t get up for this weekend, you might not have a pulse.

The eyes of the nation will be glued on Orono.

The Alfond will be rocking.

And hopefully, the Black Bears will be buzzing.

Tie down the sweaters and tighten the chin straps; it’s Border Battle time.