Weekend Preview @ UNH

Black Bears and Wildcats set for Border Battle weekend in front of a wild Whittemore whiteout.

Into the belly of the beast, we go.

The Maine Black Bears hop across the Piscataqua River this weekend for the always testy affair with noisy neighbors, the New Hampshire Wildcats.

In what will undoubtedly be the most intimidating road atmosphere Maine will face this season, the Black Bears will need to scrounge every ounce of maturity they can muster to get themselves through these games, mostly unscathed.

Maturity was an attribute they sorely lacked last weekend in their split to Providence.

After starting the past weekend's series with Providence well — coming out of the gates with an explosive first period on Friday — the Friars tested the Black Bears like they haven't been tested on home ice all year, outplaying Maine for much of the remaining weekend and earning the series split.

While Providence, a top-ten-ranked program, was outstanding in hemming the Black Bears in their own zone far better than any other side that had ventured north to the Alfond this year, Maine was their own worst enemy. The Black Bears routinely slipped themselves up by failing to execute on details such as cleanly getting the puck out of their end and making sure it got down into their opponent's.

Frustrated at seeing less puck possession than they are used to, things spiraled quickly out of control as Maine lost their cool as their composure snowballed downhill. This lack of maturity came back to bite the Bears, especially on Saturday, where Maine took nine penalties, including five in the third period alone. Poor discipline tripped them up, killing any Maine momentum and allowing Providence to roar back and complete the comeback in overtime.

It was disappointing to lose in that manner, especially in a game that never saw Maine fall behind on the scoreboard until things were all said and done. But it would be a much harder pill to swallow if the Black Bears cannot learn from their costly mistakes.

A complete improvement in these shortcomings must be put firmly put in place when the Black Bears head into the whirlwind of a Whittemore Center whiteout. The Wildcats will chew Maine apart and spit them back out if the Black Bears cannot play a mature, composed, and disciplined game in the emotional cauldron that is the Border Battle.

After seemingly always playing the surging, in-form team in the conference at the peak of their powers in recent weeks — UConn, Northeastern, and Providence — the Black Bears travel to Durham, New Hampshire, to face off with the bumbling, stumbling Wildcats.

UNH got off to a blistering start this season under sixth-year Head Coach Mike Souza. Much like Maine, they jumped out of the gates, surprising the College Hockey community with their best season since 2013/14. Early upsets over heavyweights BU, Quinnipiac, and Northeastern gave the Wildcats confidence, raising them as high as #12 in USCHO's national poll by late November.

But the Wildcats have veered off-course ever since being walloped by the Black Bears 5-2 at the Alfond in early December. Before the Wildcats' loss to Maine, they won seven of the eleven games they had played; since then, UNH has only come out victorious six times in fourteen games.

The Black Bears knocked the Wildcats' season off-course.

UNH will be out for revenge, hoping to derail Maine's own special season.

In that 5-2 Maine victory over UNH earlier this season, the Black Bears proved too much for the Wildcats to handle. It was a scrappy and choppy game, with both sides skating full-pelt at each other. In his first collegiate start, an early New Hampshire goal against Albin Boija gave UNH the lead. But a Josh Nadeau hat trick, with all three goals being set up by his brother, led Maine comfortably to victory. Maine jumped on UNH with plenty of physicality in their grinding game down low before it wore down and opened up the Wildcats to then be outskated in open-ice footraces.

Repeating this combination of strength and speed will be crucial for Maine, who needs to match the Wildcats in intensity. Inspired by the two sold-out crowds, UNH won't lack any motivation or energy for the most important weekend of their season. Not only are the Wildcats battling with their bitter rivals, but UNH's season is in desperation mode. New Hampshire is running out of time to pick up conference points and climb back into a spot in the National Tournament discussion.

Ranked in the Pairwise at #16, the Wildcats are currently on the outside looking into the sixteen-team tournament. Sides ranked behind twelve or so in danger of missing out on the tournament due to lower-ranked conference champions getting an automatic bid to the big dance.

UNH has very little room for error as their remaining regular season schedule sees them face off against the likes of UMass, BC, and Lowell. From a Wildcat perspective, some of their most winnable remaining games are this weekend as they hope their energetic atmosphere, combined with Maine's stumbles from last week, can lead their charge safely back into the National Tournament bubble.

With nothing to lose, UNH will shoot out like a rocket, with their fans providing the wind in their sails. The Wildcats, led by their young core and top-scorers #36 Ryan Conmy, #29 Cy LeClerc, and #26 Morgan Winters, utilize blistering, open-ice speed to outskate their opponents as a blueprint for their success.

The Black Bears must match this intensity and energy to keep the Wildcats, eager to please in front of their fans, at bay. Last year, both teams skated to tight ties at the Whittemore Center, with UNH winning both shootouts and keeping the Black Bears to only two goals over the series.

A solid and structured defensive performance is vital for Maine to escape enemy territory with anything to their credit.

Against Providence, Maine's failure to execute details such as clearing the puck out of their zone and doing whatever it took to gain the red line and dump it into the opposition's end enabled the Friars to keep the pressure cooker on the Black Bears. This left Maine tired and exposed, scrambling to re-solidify themselves defensively and muster up a pushback.

Taking care of the puck will be of top priority for Maine, who must lull the game through simple and clean puck management in order to not let the Wildcats stir their Whittemore crowd into an overwhelming frenzy.

A solid defensive platform will hemp to absorb UNH's pressure and quiet the crowd, as well as be the basis from which to generate their offense. Much of Maine's efforts will focus on holding UNH at bay, but when going up-ice, the Black Bears must keep their game smart and simple.

While the size of the Whittemore Center ice has been reduced down from the Olympic-sized sheet in recent years, it is still five feet wider than the Alfond. Although this allows for more space to create chances off the rush and wheel-and-deal with the puck, Maine won't want to risk trying to outskate the amped-up Wildcats in a track meet in their own building. Instead, Maine will likely choose to get pucks deep and grind away down low, similar to what they accomplished in beating UNH at the Alfond. They must win the battles in the corners to open up space around the net.

Maine is not expected to have many quality scoring opportunities over the weekend as this late-season edition of the Border Battle will be as tight as ever. When Maine can generate grade-a chances, they must execute on them. In goal for the Wildcats is North Dakota transfer Jakob Hellsten. Another Swedish netminder, Hellsten, will be a tough cookie to crack, leading Hockey East with a 2.17 Goals-Against-Average.

Execution will be key.

Executing details, execution in puck management, execution defensively, and execution in front of UNH's net.

While Maine will have to be full of energy to combat the raucous atmosphere, it is equally imperative that they keep their composure. They cannot let the highs and the lows of the game influence their emotions, which must stay even-keeled throughout the weekend. After allowing their emotions and lack of maturity to get the better of them last weekend, the Black Bears are given the chance to right these wrongs as there's no more important place to keep your composure than at the intimidating Whittemore Center.

Maine's goaltending conversation has seen the red-hot Albin Boija put an impressive weekend against Providence on his reumé which very may earn him the starting job this weekend. But veteran Victor Ostman, who has struggled of late, has the invaluable experience of having played in front of the hostile White out the Whitt atmosphere before. Last season, Ostman only allowed two goals over the Whittemore weekend.

However, Boija is the epitome of calm, cool, and collected. His very first start for the Black Bears came against the Wildcats, and ever since, he has not looked phased by the spotlight one bit, including earning the team's first shutout of the year in front of a big and noisy crowd in Amherst just a few weeks ago.

Surely, it will be Boija leading the Black Bears, right?

While Maine has the better team on paper, rivalry games like this throw everything out the window. If you count the preseason exhibition, Maine has beaten UNH twice this year. But getting the better of a team three times in a row is one of the most challenging feats in hockey when each side knows each other as well as these two do.

It will all come down to who can execute better when they are on top and stay more composed when put under pressure.

When headed to a hostile building like the Whittemore Center, there shouldn't be massive expectations. The Black Bears must match the barn's intensity and energy to keep UNH at bay. Any points picked up will feel like a bonus.

But if the Black Bears can find their feet and escape New Hampshire unscathed, Maine will be flying into the end of the season, cresting high on a wave of momentum.

Perhaps the toughest test yet.

And possibly the most momentous springboard for a season as well.