And now, back to your regularly scheduled Black Bear win.

The world is back to being sunshine and daisies for Black Bear Nation, who watched their Maine Black Bears defeat the Northeastern Huskies 5-1 on Friday night at Alfond Arena. The win snapped Maine's three-game losing skid while cooling off the red–hot Huskies, who entered the evening victorious in seven of their last eight.

The pregame Alfond atmosphere was more tense and nervous than it has been all season.

Last weekend saw the Black Bears bullied by their bitter border rivals, the New Hampshire Wildcats, dropping both games to a combined score of 11-4. The weekend before the Alfond Faithful witnessed the Black Bears' first loss on home ice this season, dropping a heartbreaker in overtime to a late Providence comeback. And the week before that saw a Maine third-period capitulation at the hands of these very Northeastern Huskies down in Boston.

For the first time all season, Maine looked vulnerable and void of answers.

Leaking oil at the wrong time of the year.

On the other bench, Northeastern was having the complete opposite of February fortunes. After limping through the beginning of the season with an injury-ridden squad, Northeastern, now fully healthy, has surged of late. The upswing has clawed the Huskies up the Pairwise ladder, coming into the weekend sitting just outside the bubble at #20. Northeastern, in the last month, has swatted aside #2 Boston University twice, clinching the Beanpot title in the later victory, becoming the undisputed kings of Beantown. Freshman goaltender Cameron Whitehead's outstanding play has led the way for Northeastern's resurgence. The rookie netminder has quickly grown into one of the league's most formidable shot blockers.

The howlin' Huskies' sights were set on continuing Maine's misery.

Stumbling versus surging.

But still the same patch of ice.

The Black Bears were determined to steer their train back onto the tracks.

To accomplish this, Head Coach Ben Barr called on his team to return to the same identity and mindset that sparked Maine's early-season success. Before the season, nobody in the college hockey world had given the Black Bears a chance in this year's stacked Hockey East. The conference's preseason coaches poll predicted the Black Bears to finish the year ninth out of the eleven teams.

This nurtured an underdog mentality in the team, who looked determined to prove the world wrong. Thot out of a cannon with a blistering start that took the nation by surprise as Maine scorched their way to their best start in over a decade.

But as the Black Bears began to solidify themselves at the top of the national rankings, the rest of the country took notice. The cat was out of the bag. Soon Maine was the team to beat, having a target on their back and getting every opponent's best performance night in and night out.

This coincided with Maine's schedule growing increasingly more challenging with every passing weekend. The Hockey East gauntlet began to grind the Black Bears down. The first signs of chinks in their armor began to show, the pressure ramped up, and Maine’s immaturity and inexperience resulted in trouble and a challenge that was brand-new to all of them.

A recent lack of composure and poise with the puck far too often handed Maine's opponents golden opportunity after grade-a scoring chance. The Black Bears' inability to take care of the puck came back to haunt them repeatedly as the unforced errors mounted.

Meanwhile, Maine's inexperience took center stage as the Black Bears failed to keep their discipline, falling into a frustrating pattern of putting the opposition on the man advantage for significant portions of games and their offensive weapons on the PK.

Maine has taken four five-minute major penalties in the last three weeks alone.

Even the high-flying offense that catapulted Maine into the stratosphere had plummeted back down to earth. Looking devoid of ideas, one-dimensional, and gripping their sticks too tight, the Black Bears offense has struggled to find answers, unable to net more than three goals in a game since late January.

According to Barr, for the Black Bears to get back to winning ways, they had to rekindle this underdog mentality that had gotten them to this position.

Embracing and enjoying having to hungrily fight tooth and nail for every inch of ice.

Striving to get back to what made Maine effective, the Black Bears needed to return to focusing on excelling at the basics. Winning one-on-one puck battles, simplifying their game by moving their feet, making smart decisions with the puck, and staying positive and together on the bench would all be key to building a platform to work off of.

The Black Bears, being their own biggest critics, were only digging themselves a bigger hole as the frustrating losses started to compound and the morale nosedived. To counteract this, Barr also called on his team to play loose yet focused, not take things too seriously, and enjoy being on the ice, hoping that a refreshed perspective would be just the mental switch to get Maine out of their rut. It is only a game, after all; it's supposed to be fun.

The lineup Barr entrusted on Friday evening to start afresh was missing one noticeable component. Donovan Houle was forced out, serving a one-game suspension for his major penalty last Saturday for contact-to-the-head of a UNH skater. This meant Sully Scholle, after missing both games last weekend, took over as the right-winger alongside Thomas Freel and Harrison Scott. For the second straight game, the New Brunswick line of the Nadeau brothers and Lynden Breen was reinstated to the delight of many Black Bear fans, hoping that the change would reverse the line's goal slump of late. Coming into Friday evening, Bradly Nadeau had not netted in the last nine games, while Breen had not found a twine in the past twelve games. Cole Hanson once again centered Ben Poisson and Anthony Calafiore, a bright speck from the UNH weekend. Meanwhile, Nicholas Niemo was handed his first ice time since early January alongside a line with Nolan Renwick and Parker Lindauer.

On the backend, the usual cast of characters included David Breazeale paired with Grayson Arnott, Brandon Holt alongside Brandon Chabrier, Liam Lesakowski with Luke Antonacci, with Ryan Hopkins playing the role of extra d-man.

Albin Boija was given the reins in net. Neither Boija nor Ostman was particularly impressive last weekend in Durham, but Boija's hot play beforehand and perhaps the stronger week in practice earned the freshman the start.

Boija was called into action early on. After a breathless back-and-forth opening few minutes that saw each team aggressively pushing the envelope, Northeastern's blistering speed through the neutral zone and danger in transition soon caused the Black Bears problems. The Huskies, lightning quick on the rush, caught Maine exposed with Northeastern in on a partial breakaway, bearing down on Boija's net. Scampering d-man Brandon Holt was forced to haul down the Husky at the last second, sending him tumbling into Boija and giving Northeastern a rare penalty shot.

The penalty shot taker was high-scoring Husky forward Alex Campbell, who had a golden opportunity to soar Northeastern into an early lead and sound the alarm around the Alfond.

Coming in on his forehand side, Campbell pulled out a couple of little dekes, hoping that Boija would react, overcommit, and pull himself out of position.

But Boija didn't take the bait, holding his position, refusing to bite, and calmly closing the door on Campbell's shot attempt.

A critical moment so early on in the game not only set the tone for a brilliant Boija showing over the evening but sparked the Alfond crowd and the Black Bear skaters.

A few minutes later, the Alfond Faithful were given even more to cheer about when the Black Bears got their feet moving up ice, charging down on Northeastern's net.

Josh Nadeau, taking the puck with speed behind Whitehead's goal and out the other side to the bottom of the faceoff circle, found his brother Bradly arriving in the slot. Brad caught the Huskies puck-watching, timing his entrance into the open spot of ice, slotting the centering pass forcefully into the back of the net to send a euphoric eruption around the Alfond, soaring Maine into the early lead.

The goal not only snapped Bradly's nine-game goalless drought but was his fifteenth of the campaign, tying Josh's total on the year. It marked the first time since the 1992-93 season that two Maine freshmen tallied fifteen goals.

What happened that year again?

Just over a minute later, the Naked Five were back to the races around the Alfond's concourse when the Black Bears doubled their lead.

With the play in Maine's zone, Thomas Freel's tenacity and sheer will at the point scratched and clawed the puck out of the Black Bears' end. It found Harrison Scott bursting through the neutral zone with speed and numerous Huskies on his coattails. But Scott kept his feet moving and was able to utilize his strength to shield off the Northeastern puck-pursuers, muscling his way into the Huskies' zone, shrugging off his man before zipping a centering pass over to Sully Scholle in the slot. Scholle one-timed the pass out from under his feet, lasering the puck past Whitehead's glove and shaking the Alfond's rafters.

While the Black Bears soared out to the early two-goal lead, Northeastern displayed impressive mental strength to immediately respond, creating numerous high-quality chances at the other end. But Boija was up for the challenge, shutting down everything thrown his way, including a Husky breakaway. Like the penalty-shot attempt, Boija once again stood his ground, didn't bite, and forced the shooter to make the first move, which he could coolly absorb and gobble up without much fuss.

The Black Bears would take their two-goal advantage into the second frame, which started with the ice tilted against Maine. Northeastern, as skilled as they are speedy, gave the Black Bears significant problems through their threatening transition play. Whenever the Huskies regained control of the puck in their own end, in an instant, they were out of the gates, breaking out with speed in numbers, flying towards Maine's net like a swarm of red arrows.

But for the most part, Maine was able to keep the streaking Huskies from piercing the Black Bear net as Maine's back end was able to absorb the pressure by standing strong on their blueline, not allowing the Huskies to carry this speed into the zone easily or cleanly. Once slowed down in the zone, Northeastern was mostly kept to the perimeter, not overly straining Boija in net, who was tracking pucks masterfully and controlling rebounds.

However, as the second wore on and the Huskies continued to control the play, the Black Bears began to run around in their zone, not able to get the puck off Northeastern sticks, which was sticking like glue to the Huskies. Methodically and patiently, Northeastern cycled the puck and opened up cracks in Maine's defense. Eventually, with around eight minutes left in the second period, Northeastern exploited a hole in the Black Bears' structure when a reverse pass from behind the net caught Maine off-guard, too late to react to the pass in the slot. The quick shot snuck past Boija, cutting Maine's lead to just one.

The goal came from Maine's failure to clear the zone and break the puck out of their end, a repeat of many of the mistakes from past weeks. But the Black Bears layed down the hammer. For the most part, they were significantly better at taking care of the puck and making sensible decisions with it, not handing it over to Northeastern.

This was largely due to the captain's composure, which helped lead Maine out of this murky portion of play.

Defenseman David Breazeale, time and again, excellently chose not to throw a hopeful pass up-ice when under pressure from the Northeastern forecheck. Instead, if the pass wasn't there, Breazeale got the burners going, getting his feet moving under him, and routinely carried the puck out through the neutral zone, sometimes even deep into Husky territory.

Poised with the puck under his control, the junior co-captain's tremendous vision and stick-handling solidity allowed him to excel in slaloming his way through the zones and around defenders, always keeping his head up, ready to dart a pass at a moment's notice. This puck-carrying ability from the big defenseman has always been a strong suit of his game, but it really shone Friday night. It allowed Maine to release Northeastern pressure through commanding puck-carrying instead of relying on stretch passes that are more likely to be picked off.

Keeping the puck away from Northeastern's control was vital.

As the pressure lessened and Maine regained more control of the puck, the Black Bear battering forecheck was the next element key to finding substantial success in wrestling control of the game. Top-to-bottom, all across the lineup, every Maine skater was dogged and tireless on the forecheck, which began to fire on all cylinders midway through the second period.

While all Black Bears were excellent, specifically impressive in forcing Northeastern turnovers was the newly constructed line of Nicholas Niemo, Parker Lindauer, and Nolan Renwick. Both Niemo and Lindauer have been in and out of the lineup this year and were playing with as much gumption and determination as seen from each other this season. Both gave a good showing to fans and coaching staff alike that they belong in the lineup on a nightly basis, desperate to not return to the stands as a healthy scratch.

Desperation hockey can breed the best hockey.

Along with the always reliable wrecking-ball Nolan Renwick, the trio excelled at sending the first forechecker onto the puck carrier hard, finishing the hit by plastering the Husky into the glass, who, under pressure, usually threw a panicked pass up the boards to a winger. From here, the trap was set, and depending on which side the puck was moved to, the next Maine forechecker would instantly be all over the Northeastern puck-receiver, often coughing up the puck and creating a Black Bear grade-a scoring chance against the out-of-positioned Huskies.

While all of the Black Bears played this forechecking system to a tee, Lindauer, Renwick, and Niemo's sheer explosiveness was a sight to behold. This was notable especially considering all three haven't seen much ice time lately, with Renwick still newly returned from his lengthy foot injury.

This team is blessed with depth. The best type of headache for a coach to have.

Crucially, Maine was able to extend their lead, something they've struggled with at times this season — the last game at the Alfond, for example.

Breazeale kept the play alive and under Black Bear control by jumping up in the play on a pinch-in. Bradly Nadeau dug it out of the corner, freeing the puck up for Lynden Breen to take it on his forehand behind Whitehead's cage. Breen quickly wrapped it around, throwing the puck on net. The netminder's pads stopped the first attempt but ricocheted the puck right back to Breen, who whacked it back from where it came from. The puck disappeared under Whitehead for a moment before reemerging behind him, having just enough legs to trickle over the goalline, putting the Black Bears up by two.

It wasn't pretty; in fact, it was as greasy and grimy a goal as they come, but one that counts just the same. It may have mattered even more for Breen as it was his fortieth career Black Bear goal, snapping his twelve-game goalless stretch.

Breen went back to basics to scrap his way out of the rut.

Good things happen when you throw the puck on net.

Maine would carry their front-footed play with them into the third period.

Friday evening's highlight reel play of the game came courtesy of the Nadeau brothers. They once again showcased their otherworldly telepathy and ridiculous skill for all those lucky enough to witness.

Josh pounced on a loose puck at Maine's blueline and was quickly motoring through center ice alongside Bradly on a quick developing two-on-two. Josh fed Brad at the redline, who strode into Northeastern's zone before scooping the puck over and past a committing Husky defender. The chip pass saucered its way into the slot, perfectly onto the tape of Josh's stick. But just when the entire building thought Josh would bury the shot from the slot, he settled the puck, spun around on his forehand, and made a miraculous no-look pass to Bradly, charging in behind him. Bradley, of course, found twine capping off the almost supernatural goal.

The Nadeau show is back in Orono, and it's better than ever.

In a season that has seen countless jaw-dropping goals from Nadeau to Nadeau, this one might just take the cake.

The barn was buzzing, and so were the Bears.

Maine would tack on one more courtesy of the Black Bears' fourth line. Nicholas Niemo took a breakout pass at his blueline before wheeling north-to-south through center ice. Niemo tried a little flip in that was batted down by a Husky glove before Nolan Renwick settled down the bouncing puck while bearing down in the high slot, turning the broken play into a two-on-one. Renwick tucked a nifty backhand pass between a Northeastern defender's legs onto the tape of Parker Lindauer, who was all alone at the back post. The Wisconsin native didn't mess around with the puck, slotting the centering pass into the back of the net with vigor, lighting the lamp for his first collegiate goal, and sending the Alfond into more euphoric rapture.

Needing a complete team performance, Maine's fourth line stepped up big time. Niemo's and Lindauer's best performance of the season wholly deserved to be capped off by scoring in such an emphatic fashion. Led by stalwart Renwick, the line hounded Northeastern all night, causing chaos every time they touched the ice, grinding down the Huskies to no end, and eventually reaping their reward. The goal highlighted the all-around terrific team effort from every Black Bear in Friday's victory.

Scoring depth. Team depth.

While the 5-1 scoreline would hold, the rest of the third period began to get the sense of becoming Saturday's prelude. Northeastern fought gallantly for any positives to carry with them into the next game. Things started to get feisty and spirited, with plenty of after-whistle extracurriculars threatening to spiral the contest out of control. But the referees demanded calm, sending players from both teams to the sin bin for questionable and soft calls as the game completely lost its rhythm and flow.

The final horn would sound, signaling the end of Maine's losing skid and the potential start of a brand-new winning streak.

While the scoreboard would show Maine domination, the shot totals, which ended 35-32 in favor of Maine, told a different story. Although the Black Bears didn't hand Northeastern numerous grade-a chances like they have in recent weeks, the Huskies still pestered Boija's net all night long with considerable success.

The Huskies' tremendous transition play will need to be wrangled if Maine is to have a chance for the sweep. It led to far too many dangerous Husky scoring opportunities and will give Northeastern plenty of belief that sticking to their game can prove successful against Maine.

Boija was forced to stand on his head, making breakaway save after breakaway save, miraculously only keeping Northeastern to one goal.

The puck must have looked like a beachball floating towards him, as Boija made every save look effortless. Meanwhile, at the other end, the usual reliable Whitehead struggled, wanting more than a few of Maine's goals back. One goaltender simply outplayed the other, which had a tremendous impact on the contest's final result.

The Black Bears popped the Huskies' whitehead.

Even while playing with a 5-1 lead, it was reassuring to see Maine refuse to let their foot off the gas. They know there is important business to take care of on Saturday and did not want their fabulous Friday showing undermined by a lackluster finish.

When was the last time Maine played so well for this close to sixty minutes?

Until the final buzzer sounded, the Black Bears stuck to their guns, moving their feet and driving toward the net with the same purpose and explosiveness as they did against BC.

It was Black Bear hockey back at its best.

Relentless, eager, always moving, and oh so hungry.

Northeastern is going to come flying out of the traps on Saturday. Maine will need an equal, if not improved, performance to muzzle the Huskies and send them back to Boston with their tail between their legs.

Maine cannot let this standard drop; they set their baseline.

Consistency is key.

It's Albin Boija's world, and we're just living in it.