“What's a Friar? What's a Friar?” sang the packed student section overhanging the Alfond ice.

Here in Black Bear country, there's only one figure revered enough to earn such icon status. The holiest of holy figures, Bananas T. Bear, Maine's beloved mascot who celebrated his 110th birthday alongside five thousand of his closest friends Friday night at a raucous Alfond Arena.

While fool's spring left Central Maine a muddy mess, the Friday night forecast inside the old barn called for whiteout conditions as a blizzard of white t-shirts blanketed the stands, welcoming the Providence College Friars to Orono.

Sitting just two points above the Friars in the Hockey East standings, the Maine Black Bears knew that Providence would be gunning for the Black Bears' third-place position and likely be one of Maine's trickiest opponents remaining in the regular season. The surging Friars entered the weekend both polled and ranked pairwise as the #10 team in the nation, with Maine a couple of spots ahead, polled at #7 and ranked at #4.

Two top-ten teams going head-to-head, each looking to earn a statement win and pick up three valuable points, as well as being desperate to solidify their spots in the national conversation as teams ‘in the bubble’ for an at-large bid to the big dance.

A clash of epic proportions was on the table, with the difference between the two teams being slimmer than the width of a skateblade.

Providence, yet another hard, heavy, grind-you-down team that looks to utilize their strength and size to absorb the Black Bears' attack before hitting Maine on the transition, possessed all the qualities Maine has struggled with this season.

In recent weeks, when faced against some of the country's most robust teams, the Black Bears have struggled to break down the stalwart defenses. Likewise at the other end of the ice, they have had difficulty pushing back against the oppossing battering ram, leaving them overwhelmed and open.

Preparing all week for a solution to this nemesis of game styles, Head Coach Ben Barr emphasized before the game the necessity of not overcomplicating things. Almost wanting Maine to play a conventional road performance that focuses on making the simple play that the opponents give you, not messing around with overly moving the puck laterally, and instead gaining ice through a direct north-to-south game that looks to steadily move up ice safely yet quickly zone by zone.

Wary of the Friars' battering physical play that could force Black Bears' mistakes and quickly put Maine under a swarm of pressure, Barr challenged his team to play physically and mentally faster. Quicker puck movement, faster reads of the game, and swifter decision-making would be critical for Maine to avoid being put on their heels and forced to firefight for too much of the contest.

The birthday boy, Bananas, called on the Alfond Faithful to kick off his celebration with an intimidating atmosphere that would hope to minimize the Friars' red-hot game. Providence, who spent all week blasting crowd noise during their practice in preparation for the cacophony of noise and abuse they were to receive from those peering down from the balcony above, hoped that a fast Friars' start would quiet the rowdy crowd.

But Maine made sure to crank up the volume with a blistering start of their own. A start that sent Black Bear Nation into a boisterous frenzy.

The Black Bears shot out of the gates with a heavy-metal start that shook the timber rafters overhead.

Led by as aggressive a forecheck as seen this season, Maine swarmed and buzzed in the Friars' zone, roared on by the adoring Maniacs hanging over them. Utilizing a bold three-two forecheck that saw all three of Maine's forwards aggressively pursue the puck carrier and cut-off passing lanes, the Black Bear blitz time and again resulted in converging Black Bears banging into Friar bodies down-low, pouncing on the loose puck, and driving it goalwards with directness and dynamism.

The opening minutes saw all four of Maine's forward lines roll off each other, putting Providence under immense pressure right from the jump. Of course, sparkplugs like Thomas Freel, Donovan Houle, Nolan Renwick, and Ben Poisson had considerable success in these muck-it-up areas they consistently excel in. But impressively, so did Maine's skill line of the Nadeau brothers and fireball Harrison Scott. The trio embraced the challenge and got in on the all-action act, displaying some of the best vigor seen from the line of late.

Both Nadeaus didn't shy away from the fight, getting to the dirty areas and often out-working and out-battling their bigger Friar counterparts, coming away from the corners with the puck and setting each other up with Maine's best looks of the first period.

The tweak a few weeks back that broke up the New Brunswick line by taking the skilled playmaker Lynden Breen off the Nadeaus' line and moving Harrison Scott up between the two rookies is starting to really show its intended success.

Breen, who plays in a similar style to the wheel-and-deal Nadeaus doesn't give the line that added dimension to their game that a complimentary player like the powerhouse Scott does. Scott, a workhorse that forces mistakes and turnovers through his all-around, all-effort play, is an agent of chaos, opening the game up for the Nadeaus to exploit with their next-level skill.

When the Nadeau brothers are not given the time and open ice to creatively bob and weave, setting each other up for one-timers, the duo sometimes looks a bit one-dimensional. As long as the opposition structures themselves between the two brothers, they will have considerable difficulty in breaking down and generating grade-a scoring looks in which their cream-of-the-crop shooting skills can shine. But with Scott being the wrecking ball in front of them, all of a sudden the Nadeaus can find themselves with more time in threatening areas left by Scott's wake of destruction.

Scott, who has been a revelation in his first year at Maine, has quickly become one of the Black Bears' most important pieces. Perhaps Maine's best all-around player, the Bentley transfer works his tail-off every night and is the epitome of Black Bear hockey under Barr. Hard-working, detail-oriented, defensively sound, and ever so tenacious, Friday night saw Scott everywhere and anywhere on the ice, never seeming to lose a battle or make a mistake; the San Jose native has quickly become one of the nation's most underrated players.

The glue that holds the system together. A vital cog in the Maine machine. Scott has the Bear in him.

It wasn't just this line that kept the ball rolling downhill for the Black Bears. All of Maine's forward lines bought into this steamrolling approach, opening up net drive chances through winning puck battles down-low.

But the Black Bears were not able to cash in on their momentum, just not quite working the right angle for shots, having enough of a net-front presence to overly tax the goaltender, or find the extra pass to practically walk the puck into the net.

Providence defended well in front of their goal, absorbed the pressure, and showed their quality through impressive transition skill by breaking out of the Black Bear zone with increased regularity, creating several good looks of their own as the first period roared to a close.

With Maine in the driver's seat yet still even on the scoreboard, the game's momentum was quickly up for grabs as the second period descended into a special teams battle. After Maine killed off a Friars' powerplay early in the second, the Black Bears were given their first man-advantage of the evening.

A Friars' clearing pass was batted down by the alert stick of Bradly Nadeau gatekeeping the blueline. Brad controlled the bouncing puck before releasing Josh to charge down from the circle toward the Providence net. Practically at the bottom of the circle and with an acutely tight angle to shoot at, Josh sniped a blistering wrist shot high-blocker side into the roof of the net.

The sea of white exploded, sending the Naked Five sprinting around their racetrack and the Alfond Faithful to a full-throated roar.

Moments after play resumed, goaltender Albin Boija was called upon to make his first of more than a few key saves on the night. After earning his first career shutout and Maine's first clean sheet of the season last weekend against UMass, Boija was entrusted between the pipes over Victor Ostman. The goaltender tandem has seen the two Swedes share the time in net since the New Year, with Ostman usually starting on Fridays and Boija rotating in on Saturdays. But the starting job door has been left ajar for Boija, whose reliable play, compounded with Ostman's struggles of late, has allowed the freshman to put one skate in, solidifying the starting job.

Just seconds after Josh Nadeau's go-ahead goal, at the other end of the ice, the puck squirted out dangerously from behind Boija's net onto the stick of a Friar all alone in the slot. The Friar, swiveling laterally across the goal crease, couldn't outwit Boija and elevate the puck. Boija didn't overcommit and was able to go post-to-post, sprawling out his leg to make a big toe save to stuff the Providence would-be game-tying goal and earning the 'bowing-down in reverence' gesture from his admiring fans above him.

Maine wouldn't allow their lead and momentum to be squashed when Grayson Arnott took his second holding penalty of the period. Another Providence power play was resolutely squashed by Maine's penalty kill, which has responded so well since allowing three goals in a third-period loss to Northeastern last Friday. The power play hoped to get the Friars back into the game and hush the Alfond crowd, but another decisive penalty kill only further amped the Maniaks into a frenzy, pushing the Black Bears on for more.

With the wind in Maine's sails after successfully navigating another PK, the Black Bears soared down the ice with a pep in their step. On the rush, Cole Hanson gained the Providence zone and at the half-boards slung an inch-perfect tape-to-tape seam-pass across the ice to Arnott jumping up in the play. The Friars, scampering to cover the bearing down Black Bear now in the slot, left Anthony Calafiore all alone at the back-post. With the entire rink expecting a shot, Arnott dished the biscuit over to Calafiore, who guided the puck past the out-of-position netminder, lighting the lamp for the first time in his collegiate career and putting Maine up by two.

Calafiore, who didn't play in Maine's first seventeen games this season, has now played in the Black Bears' eight since, growing in confidence and composure with every game under his belt. While not the biggest player on the ice, the Staten Island native is always brave on the puck, willing to take a hit to make a play. A bubbly player full of energy and gumption, Calafiore always puts himself into the thick of the action, never afraid to scrap it up with even the biggest of adversaries. Clearly, in the lineup for his everlasting motor and willingness to play to Maine's systems, Calafiore buzzes around the ice like a hornet looking to sting, constantly pestering the opposition on and off the puck. Playing with an edge, Calafiore always seems to find himself in the middle of any after-whistle extracurricular activities, standing up for his teammates and making sure to chirp and jaw with the opposition.

He brought that New York swagger with him to Orono.

After asking for big games from his depth pieces, Barr will be pleased by the quality of performances from top-to-bottom in his lineup Friday night. To a man, every Black Bear did themselves justice, with every line and defensive pairing clicking on all cylinders for the first half of the game.

The second half, however, is an entirely different story.

Up to this point, everything went the Black Bears way. Fully in the driver's seat after both of Maine's goals came off the back of momentum-building penalty kills, one would think that the second Black Bear goal would only further increase Maine's impetus to convert while they are on top and put the game to bed.

But from then on, the Friars were jolted awake and took the game to the Black Bears. While the first half of the game saw Maine dominate, the remainder of the contest was a whirlwind of black sweaters hounding Boija in net.

The Maine forecheck eased off, and soon, the Friars were zipping the puck through neutral ice with more accuracy and crispness. Maine, likely playing more conservatively on the forecheck so as to not get caught out on the ice during the period of the long change, began to get carved apart by the blistering Providence puck movement. But there was Boija, the calmest person in the building, who looked unfazed by the sudden siege on his net. Boija's rebound control was once again terrific, rarely kicking out a rebound kindly to a Friar stick, instead steering shots away from danger or successfully holding on to the puck, refusing to spill it.

But Boija's only mistake of the night was pounced upon by a lurking Friar, who jumped on a spilled save in the slot, jamming home the juicy rebound to put Providence on the scoresheet and with the momentum suddenly in their hands.

The third period would follow the last half of the second's pattern of play. It was all Providence as the Alfond Faithful peered through their fingers, anxiously watching the Friar bombardment in front of them.

With Maine on their heels, they only made things harder for themselves, often too fancy on the puck, trying to intricately break it out of the zone. Compounding puck-handling mistakes, the Black Bears were, at times, their own worst enemy. As Providence's pace and impetus picked up, Maine struggled to wrangle any sense of control back into their game.

Watching the onslaught of Friar chances peppering Boija, the previously rocking Alfond now watched on with a nervous hush. The loudest noises came from the eerie ping of a couple of Friar shots ringing off iron and the ensuing groan of anxiety and relief that mumbled around the stands.

As the minutes ticked down and the Friars turned the screw ever closer to a tying goal, Boija was tasked with his biggest duty of the evening and very likely his Black Bear career so far.

A Maine defenseman blew a tire on the defensive blueline, coughing up the puck to a Friar stick, which was suddenly in all alone, face-to-face with Boija and the game on his stick. Faking a forehand shot, the right-handed shooter deked onto his backhand. But the full-stretch Swede came up with the save of the game, extending out his pad to somehow keep the biscuit out of his basket. The Black Bears held on to the lead by a hangnail.

The previously silent sold-out Alfond crowd erupted with relief, belting out a monumental ovation thanks to their heroic goaltender, which compared to the sound of a Maine goal being scored.

The big breakaway stop was just the spark the Black Bears needed to dig deep and find every last ounce of energy to close out the win. The following three or so minutes after the game-changing save saw Maine refocus themselves and punch back at Providence.

The last remaining seconds trickled down criminally slowly, with a last hope Providence prayer rattling the outside of Boija's cave as the horn sounded. The Black Bears on the ice were left gasping for air as their teammates poured out to celebrate with their netminder. Meanwhile, the significantly less in-shape Black Bears in the crowd worked on trying to regain control of their heart rate and blood pressure after a blistering, back-and-forth, full-throttle hockey game.

Bend but don't break; Boija made sure to cover any cracks in his second Herculean effort in a row.

The Black Bears couldn't put the game out of reach when they had all the momentum midway through the second. They opened the door and let the Friars back into the game and grow with confidence, something they will undoubtedly take into Saturday's rematch.

But in the end, the result is all that matters. It's three points. Three massive points further increase Maine's breathing room from the rest of the Hockey East pack, hunting down their third place in the standings and first-round playoff bye.

Friday's third period is certain to carry over into Saturday's first. The Friars, who know they missed their fair share of big chances, will come out guns-a-blazin'. The Black Bears will need an improved and more controlled defensive game if they are to absorb Providence's early pressure.

The Friars, so solid on the backend, will be even tougher to break down if they can jump out to an early lead Saturday evening. The first goal is going to be critical.

If Boija had a shaky game Friday, the rested Ostman would certainly be in net Saturday evening. But with Boija at the top of his game, surely Barr will have to ride the goalie with the hot hand, right?

Providence is the real deal. They are the best team to come to the Alfond this season after BC. The Friars grew into the game, looking increasingly comfortable in front of the raucous atmosphere they had prepared all week for.

The greatest test is yet to come. It's going to be an all-out war Saturday night.

Keep the Alfond's record untarnished and stay unbeaten on home ice.

Deep breaths, everyone; this is what we live for.