Tegelvägg is Swedish for brick wall, but Boija might as well be a synonym.

The holy goalie stood tall for the Maine Black Bears, leading his team to a nail-biting 1-0 victory over the Massachusetts Minutemen Saturday night at the Mullins Center in Amherst.

The quick turnaround from Maine's capitulation at the hands of a five-goal Northeastern third period the night before would test the Black Bears' mental fortitude, resolve, and bounce-back ability. UMass, ranked at #11 in USCHO's poll and coming off the back of a galvanizing road win against Merrimack, would look to keep their momentum going and exploit the defensive fragilities the Black Bears showed on Friday.

The Black Bears would need a vastly improved all-around defensive effort to avoid their first losing streak since falling in back-to-back games at Boston University in November. Against Northeastern, Maine kept shooting themselves in the foot with unforced errors. Too often loose and sloppy with the puck, the Black Bears' mistakes meant that they couldn't build a sound defensive platform on which to work off of, instead allowing a chaotic back-and-forth contest to open up and get out of their control.

Maine's habits and details with and without the puck would need to be significantly improved in order to create a more controlled defensive base from which to work.

Assistant Coach Jason Fortier mentioned on the pregame Keys to the Game that to suffocate UMass' high-flying offense, which has scored six goals on three occasions this season and eleven goals in a single game earlier in the year, defensive details such as staying on the right side of the puck and finishing hits would be vital.

After Ben Poisson was given a five-minute major penalty against Northeastern for Contact To the Head, which subsequently led to Maine giving up three goals on the penalty kill, Fortier stressed that the penalty couldn't get in the Black Bears' heads and deter them from playing the hard-nosed and physical style that is crucial to their identity and success.

On top of this, Fortier wanted to see Maine play with more speed. Whether it be moving their feet faster, passing the puck more quickly, or simply speeding up their decision-making process. The Black Bears would need to play with greater speed in order to get the better of a skilled Minutemen team.

In net, Albin Boija was rotated in for the recently struggling Victor Ostman, while forward Félix Trudeau was replaced by Reid Pabich on Nolan Renwick and Anthony Calafiore's line. The only change at Maine's blueline came with Ryan Hopkins being replaced by newcomer Jack Dalton as the seventh d-man.

Joining the team midseason from juniors a few weeks ago, it was only Dalton's second game for the Black Bears and his first on the road. Most likely playing in front of the largest crowd of his career, Dalton did not look phased one bit in front of the close-to-sold-out crowd, just under eight thousand. While Dalton did hesitant with the puck at times, clearly still learning the intricacies of the system, the Illinois native always stayed calm and composed, making the right play, especially when at the point, staying poised and making sure his shots or passes got through to their intended targets.

For the Black Bears to successfully dictate the game in a control the game, they would need to quiet the raucous Saturday night crowd that was sure to give the Minutemen momentum. Maine defenseman Brandon Chabrier kept the 'Mullins Maniacs' silent before many had even arrived at their seats.

Just over a minute after the puck dropped in Western Massachusetts, Chabrier impersonated his inner Bobby Orr. After poking the puck past a pinching Minuteman out of Maine's zone, the strong-skating defenseman was first to jump on the loose puck, taking it North-to-South with teammate Thomas Freel alongside on a fast developing two-on-one. UMass's lone defender chose to take away Chabrier's passing option to Freel, thinking that Maine's defenseman wouldn't have the skill to get the puck past the Minuteman netminder.

But Chabrier's teammates call him the third Nadeau brother for a reason.

The skilled defenseman from Long Island utilized his soft mitts, making a little backhand move to send UMass' goaltender down to the ice before flipping the puck on his forehand over the netminder's shoulder and into the roof of the goal.

The game's first shot of the night would see its only goal in a defensive grudge match that saw both sides suffocate each other's offensive production.

Neither team could create much prolonged offensive zone time, limiting each other's breathing space and not allowing the opposition to gain much rhythm.

Maine's penalty kill, which was picked apart by Northeastern, was determined to make amends when UMass was given two power plays early in the first period. After struggling to disrupt the passing lanes, which led to a couple of backdoor goals on Friday, the Black Bears were positionally much better on the penalty kill, clogging the lanes and not letting the Minutemen create anything of much substance on their man-advantages.

At the other end of the ice, the Black Bears created most of the first period's scoring chances through a strong forechecking game that condensed UMass's break out space out.

Thomas Freel, Lynden Breen, and Donovan Houle were again excellent at penning UMass back in their own zone through a tireless, bruising effort. As always, the in-your-face forecheck of the energetic line set the tone for the rest of the team to follow. Putting the puck in deep, banging bodies, and staying above the puck to support and recover gave Maine the edge in terms of offensive zone time.

The Minutemen struggled to release the pressure from the Maine forecheck as the Black Bears' defensemen were excellent at reading the play and aggressively pinching from the point, not allowing UMass to break out.

All of the d-men, but most noticeably Brandon Chabrier and Brandon Holt, excelled at timing these pinches to the half-boards and staying strong on the puck to not let it squeeze past them. Both Chabrier and Holt's quick first steps enabled them to jump in on the play, beating the Minutemen to the puck. Meanwhile, Maine's forwards were positioned well to keep the structure, covering the vacated point in case the puck slipped past the defensemen. This meant that the aggressive play was not detrimental to Maine's defensive-minded approach.

The Black Bears' greatly improved game on the defensive side of the puck from Friday night kept the Minutemen's offensive weapons at stick length in the first period. Even with UMass on the power play on two separate occasions in the opening frame, they could only muster three shots on Boija's net, while the Black Bears could grind out thirteen of their own.

But as the teams switched sides for the second period, so did the run of play.

Early into the second frame, the Mullins Center erupted as UMass thought they had tied the game when a wrap-around Boija's net skirted off a Black Bear skate in front of the crease and into the Black Bears' net.

However, Maine's observant eyes up top came up huge. The Black Bears' team behind the scenes called down to the Maine bench to challenge the play, which was eventually overturned due to it being offside, giving the Black Bears the big break they were missing against Northeastern.

While the goal was called off, it did give the Minutemen the impetus and confidence that they could hurt Maine.

The second period would see a much less cagey affair with Boija tested much. Perhaps it was the soft ice that these big buildings can create which opened the game up. The ice looked charred up, keeping the puck constantly bouncing unexpectedly and sending players on both sides tumbling to the ice.

On one occasion in the second, a Black Bear blueliner blew a tire in the neutral zone, allowing a Minuteman to scoop up the loose puck and bear down on Boija's net on a breakaway. But the freshman netminder hardly looked phased at suddenly being exposed, swatting away the breakaway shot with a sweeping glove save.

The Black Bear breakout, which was so strong in the opening frame, lost some of its crispness in period number two. It was the Minutemen's turn to utilize their own aggressive forecheck to keep Maine under pressure and scrambling on the backfoot.

With the ice tilted against them and struggling to get out of their zone, all Maine could do to momentarily release the barrage was to chip pucks off the glass or loft them to center ice where UMass' defensemen would control the puck and send it right back into the Black Bears' zone to keep the relentless attack going.

Once in the zone, UMass was very good at winning the puck behind the Black Bear net and finding a free Minuteman in the slot with a pass from behind the goal line. Fortunately for Maine however, UMass couldn't hit a barn if their life depended on it Saturday night. They constantly wasted their grade-a chances by lashing shots wildly past the net.

With an impending Minuteman goal looking increasingly likely, the Black Bears were able to change the game's tide, utilizing their speed through the neutral zone. Donovan Houle beat a UMass defenseman to a bouncing puck at center ice before showcasing his blistering pace to breeze past the UMass defense and charge toward the net. Equally strong as he is quick, the Minutemen's only option to stop the Québécois cannon was to haul Houle down to the ice, where he subsequently plowed into the UMass goaltender. This earned Maine's first power play of the evening and halted Massachusetts' ever-increasing momentum that looked more likely to score with every passing moment of UMass dominance.

But Boija was up for whatever UMass threw at him. Calm and composed, the Swedish goaltender excelled at tracking pucks through the forest of bodies in front of him, making difficult saves look easy, and never looking rattled. He dug his team out when they needed him the most. Boija showcased his athleticism, always able to stay square to the puck and recover to his feet quickly after making saves.

While Maine's power play could not put the biscuit in the basket, the man-advantage was able to impede UMass' control. The Black Bears looked more robust as the second period wore to a close, allowing Maine to get to the dressing room for the intermission to regroup.

If the first two periods were tightly contested, the third was suffocating. Both teams gave their everything, battling tooth and nail for every inch of the ice. The Black Bears were much better in their own end with the puck, more poised and patient on the breakout. The Maine defenseman waited a split second longer, letting the play develop and allowing their teammates to get open for the pass.

Massachusetts was given a massive chance to finally put the puck in behind Boija when Liam Lesakowski was sent to the sin-bin early in the third for a holding call. But Boija stood on his head, making the saves he needed to before his fellow Black Bears could routinely clear the puck out of the zone. This frustrated the Minutemen, who began to look discouraged, slamming their sticks on the boards when returning to the bench.

While UMass could only muster five shots on net during the third period, their offense generated a lot more grade-a chances than what is shown on the statsheet. But once again, UMass kept missing the net, clearly trying to fabricate the pinpoint shot to beat a goaltender on the top of his game. To the relief of the Black Bears the Minutemen continued to routinely miss the net.

UMass' lack of shooting accuracy haunted the Minutemen, but equally important was the bravery and sacrifice of the Black Bears, who threw themselves in front of every UMass shot, desperate to earn their first shutout of the season and the first of their heroic goaltender's career.

Leading the blocked shot brigade was defenseman Luke Antonacci. Although one of Maine's smallest player on the ice, he stood up the tallest when his team needed him the most. On the monumentally successful penalty kill, Antoancci capped-off one of his strongest performances of the year with a couple gutsy blocked shots that had the Black Bears on the bench and in the crowd cheering as if he had scored a goal.

As the period wore on and UMass's desperation ramped up, the Black Bears' defense stepped up to match, routinely not allowing the Minutemen to cross into the zone and set up, giving UMass no time and space on the puck.

The minutes ticked down and palms became sweatier, but Boija looked less and less likely to be scored on, growing in confidence with every save and seemingly growing in size between the pipes as well. The puck must have looked like a beachball to the Maine netminder, who barely looked flustered with the chaos in front of him.

The final seconds ticked down, and the horn sounded, sending a mass of disappointed Minutemen fans to the exits while relieved Black Bears poured out onto the ice to celebrate with their goaltender, notching Maine's first shutout of the season.

It was a significantly mature performance from the Black Bears, who had to fight to the bitter end for everything in their hard-earned, well-deserved win.

Massachusetts made everything extremely difficult for Maine, but the Black Bears made everything more challenging for the Minutemen, who were shut out on their home ice for the first time since the fall of 2021.

While it wasn't pretty, it didn't need to be. The Black Bears did everything they needed to do to escape Amherst with huge three-league points against a top-fifteen team in an intimidating atmosphere after getting the wind taken out of them the night before.

One of Maine's most satisfying wins was made even sweeter because it came off the back of a painful loss just twenty-four hours before.

The Black Bears, who have been greatly praised for their offensive production this season, showed that they can also win the grueling, defensive war of attrition when needed.

This team, still so young, demonstrated that they can win pretty, and now they can also win the dirty, gutsy games too.

As the season progresses and the games become tighter and more important. Knowing what it takes to come out victorious in games like this could be monumental come playoff time.

Getting the lived experience of grittily squeezing out a win under their belt could prove invaluable when the season is on the line.

These Bears show us they have the heart and the guts to get the job done, no matter what it takes.

Boo-yuh.