It's the hope that kills you.

A season that began with cautious optimism on a rainy Fall evening in Waterville ends in disappointing heartbreak on a stormy night in Springfield.

But the reason it hurts so much is because the Black Bears made us believe again.

The 2023/24 season will forever be remembered as the year of Maine's renaissance.

While the season may be over, Maine's climb to greatness has only just begun.

The revival of the blue-blooded program that was left treading in mediocrity for far too long is now prominently back on the national radar.

The resurgence of Alfond Arena has reemerged as the greatest home-ice advantage in College Hockey and the most daunting cauldron for opposition teams to play in.

And the reinvigoration of a community, state, and wider fanbase overflowing with Black Bear pride has been sparked in the hearts of Mainers.

But Thursday night at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, was to be the end of the road for Maine's magical season.

The Black Bears could not douse the on-fire Cornell Big Red, whose defensive masterclass dazzled and dominated, unceremoniously tossing the Black Bears out of the National Tournament in the Regional Semifinals.

The Big Red and the Black Bears had to wait patiently for the puck to drop on their game, as the first contest of the Springfield Regional Semifinals between the #1 seed Denver Pioneers and #4 seed Massachusetts Minutemen ran well past the original start time for the Maine-Cornell nightcap. Denver ended up clinching their seventh Regional Finals appearance in ten years with a double-overtime thriller, setting the Pioneers up for a date with either Maine or Cornell on Saturday with a trip to the Frozen Four at stake.

On top of the five periods of hockey the MassMutual Center ice already endured during the matinee contest, the nearly fifty-degree afternoon, thick with humid air as a springtime downpour raged outside, made ice conditions even worse. The ice was noticeably soft and charred up during the Denver-UMass game, with pucks refusing to sit flat, often bouncing unexpectedly off the surface, not allowing either team to control the hot potato with much success. So after two extra frames of hockey, the Black Bears and Big Red finally took to an ice surface that had certainly seen better days.

While Maine and Cornell would both be affected by the poor ice conditions, the soft sheet perhaps played as a disadvantage to the Black Bears and an advantage to the Big Red. Cornell, the largest team in college hockey, plays a defensively stubborn style that looks to grind down the opponent with their ruthless and relentless physicality and abrasive game along the boards.

Because the Black Bears wouldn't be able to outmuscle the aptly named Big Red, Head Coach Ben Barr stressed the importance for Maine to play fast as a solution around Conrell's size advantage. Whether through moving their feet to carry the puck up the ice or quickly dishing it to a teammate, playing with speed and precision would be key attributes Barr wanted to see from his team in order to get around and cut through the defensive juggernaut that has been notorious under long-time Cornell Head Coach Mike Schafer.

However, a soft ice sheet would not only make it infinitely more difficult to move and control a puck that had a mind of its own but skating with speed would be made more difficult. The slushy ice could slow down the Black Bears' skates from gaining traction, neutralizing Maine's speed advantage and playing into the hands of the Big Red, who were happy enough to keep the game cagey without much control on either side and against the boards.

After the Black Bears could only manage one goal past Boston University's goaltender Matthieu Caron in a game, they largely dominated the offensive chances last Saturday; playing with greater speed and precision, especially in the offensive zone, would be critical in breaking down the best defense in the country. As close to water-tight as they come, Cornell's nation-leading 1.91 goals against average has carried the Big Red to only losing twice since December 2nd as they marched their way towards an ECAC Championship last weekend. Thanks largely to their junior goaltender Ian Shane's best-in-the-nation 1.73 goals against average, Cornell's defense is a Big Red wall.

With the daunting challenge of trying to unpick the most difficult lock in the county on less-than-ideal conditions ahead of them, the Black Bears would need to execute with lethal precision on the limited scoring chances they would be able to create against a suffocating Cornell defense and a goaltender who is seeing the game in slow-motion at the moment.

Against BU, Maine was often languid and hesitant with the puck on their sticks when on the cycle searching for an open shooting lane. Much of this had to do with the large number of shots being blocked by the forest of Terriers in front of the goal, shrinking Maine's confidence and decisiveness with every shot failing to get through the traffic.

Moving the puck with more speed and impetus while on the hunt around goal would be vital for Maine in creating more chaos amongst the Cornell ranks and open shooting lanes on Shane's net. But with the red-hot goaltender saving everything he can see at the moment, getting in Shane's eyes and overall making life as hectic as possible around his crease would be pivotal. The Black Bears would have to battle tooth-and-nail to muscle themselves past the big Cornell d-men to get in front of Shane in order to create screens, the possibility of deflections, and the positioning to pounce on rebounds which were likely going to be the only way home, for Maine to get on the scoresheet.

Playing fast would be crucial not only for Maine's offensive perspectives but also for their defensive plan. With the Big Red excelling at using their size advantage to great effect when controlling the puck and shielding off pursuing defenders, getting the puck off Cornell sticks would be just as difficult as getting it around them. Maine would need to use their speed to play keep away from the Big Red. If the Black Bears could not move the puck quick enough and allow Cornell's puck pursuers to get to the puck carrier, the play would become smothered against the walls, where the Big Red would be far more likely to come away from these scrums with possession.

Maine's game plan was thrown a curveball Thursday morning when starting goaltender Albin Boija woke up ill. Although he felt okay enough to dress and participate in team warmups, he was unable to play in the team's biggest game of the year and was forced to relinquish his starting job to Victor Ostman. The senior netminder was the Black Bears' main starting goaltender for the first half of the season. Ostman had a couple of shaky games in mid-January, which prompted him and Boija to share the minutes in net before Boija played his way to earning the starting job. But for the vast majority of the time Ostman has been in net this season, he's been more than reliable. But while his calming demeanor and veteran experience earned his teammates and coaches' trust, his lack of game time in recent weeks worried fans. Having not seen any action since February 17th, in which UNH scored five goals on him, Ostman would need to quickly shake off any rust that may have built up in order to lead Maine to their first NCAA Tournament win in twelve years.

For every single one of the Black Bears, Thursday night was to be the biggest game of their careers. But for Cornell, who defeated Denver last year in the Regional Semifinals before falling to BU in the Regional Final, the Big Red are experienced and know what it takes to win at this time of the season. They wouldn't be fazed by the big stage.

Since most of the tickets for double-header Thursday were snatched up by UMass fans, playing only twenty-five miles or so from their campus in Amherst, once the Minutemen fell in double-overtime to Denver, much of the crowd cleared out. The MassMutual Center was left half-empty, with Maine and Cornell supporters' cheers echoing around the arena for the opening puck drop. It was a pretty even split between the Lynah Faithful and the Alfond Faithful, but the red of the Big Red supporter's scarves and sweaters really popped out amongst the empty blue seats. While plenty of Black Bear Nation was present in Springfield, it was nowhere near the same number of masses that flooded Boston a week prior.

With a pocket of Maine blue filling one corner of the arena, the Screamin' Black Bears Pep Band and the Naked Five did their best to try and reproduce a home-ice advantage, but their roar often drifted away, absorbed by the many empty cushioned seats left by absent UMass fans. There were even a couple of Black Bear alumni in attendance, with former players Ryan Smith, Adam Dawe, and former captain Jack Quinllivan watching their alma mater take to the ice.

The sheer size and heaviness Cornell is known for became apparent right from the opening puck drop. As was expected, they rattled Black Bear after Black Bear into the glass, finishing every hit on the forecheck, establishing their abrasive, hard-nosed style onto the contest. Perhaps it was the bright red sweaters that the Big Red dawned that made them look even bigger. Still, every Cornell player seemed to tower over the Black Bears, who knew that they would be ferociously plastered into the boards with unrelenting regularity every time they would touch the puck. Maine would have to be brave on the puck, absorbing the relentless incoming hits to make a play with the puck.

The Big Red forecheck was a never-ending barrage of Cornell red crunching into Maine white. While their forecheck didn't cause too many turnovers early on, it did not allow the Black Bears to regularly get moving up-ice with speed, as Maine was forced to spend plenty of time and energy in the opening minutes having to reset their breakout behind the goal, regroup, and try again.

When the Black Bears could get themselves out of their zone cleanly and quickly, usually through finding the weak-side winger on the breakout, they were often swarmed by a suffocating Cornell defense standing stoutly on their blueline. Unable to usually skate the puck into the offensive zone through the great red wall, the Black Bears were forced to throw the puck in deep and try their hand at winning the puck back off of the Cornell defensemen. But the Big Red blueliners, incredibly strong on their sticks, were excellent in absorbing Maine's own forecheck and sending the play right back up the ice as a back-and-forth game played mainly against the boards opened up in the first few minutes.

With both teams closing down any time or space on the puck immediately, it quickly became apparent that puck possession and grade-a scoring chances on both sides would be few and far between. But a little over five minutes into the opening period, with neither team still able to record a shot on goal, Thomas Freel poked the puck past a Cornell defenseman at the blue line, sending the puck into open ice in the neutral zone. Donovan Houle was Donny on the spot, first to the loose puck, and racing into the Cornell end with speed. Houle, gaining the blueline but without any passing options, drove wide, stopping at the right faceoff circle by the half boards to allow his linemates time to jump up into the play. Thomas Freel barreled towards the net front, taking the attention of two scrambling Cornell defensemen with him. With the Big Red defense out of sorts, Houle spun around on his forehand to roll off a Cornell hit, all while feeding the puck onto the tape of Harrison Scott in the high slot in one-fluid motion.

Surprisingly left uncontested by the normally stick-to-you-like-glue Big Red defense, Scott riffled the shot from the slot into the back of the net, cleanly beating Shane glove-side and sending the pack of Black Bear Nation present into early delirium.

While the open-scoring opportunity gifted to Scott was Maine's first shot on goal of the game, it was also the last time the Big Red would afford the Black Bears such a free look on their net. Cornell's defense laid down the hammer from that point on, keeping themselves in the pocket of Maine's playmakers for the rest of the game.

With the usually unbeatable Cornell netminder already beaten so early on, the Black Bears were given the mouth-watering prospect of adding to their lead so early into the game. On the following shift, Bradly Nadeau was targeted with a high and dirty hit that sent the guilty Big Red party to the sin bin for a five-minute contact to the head penalty.

Everything was going swimmingly for Maine, but from that point on, the Big Red and Ian Shane made sure to turn the tide in their direction.

Maine's red-hot powerplay, which scored five goals in their last seven games, created plenty of chances on the five-minute advantage. They found significant success digging the puck out of the corners, quickly finding a Black Bear defenseman at the point to pester Shane with seething shots before crashing the net, searching for juicy rebounds. But the Big Red goaltender wasn't going to be beaten so easily twice, showcasing why he is one of the best netminders in the country.

Maine was humming on the cycle, moving the puck well, creating open shooting lanes, and, therefore, getting considerably more shots through the net than last time out against BU. Brandon Holt had three or four shots creep through the tangle of bodies onto the net in one shift alone. But Shane's robust rebound control was game-changing and halted the Black Bear surge from doubling their lead on the extended power play.

With plenty of Black Bears hungrily crashing the net, hunting for rebounds to bury, the puck seemed to stick to Shane like velcro. Time and again, shots that looked destined to ricochet kindly to the pack of lurking Black Bears waiting in front of the net were miraculously held on to by Shane, freezing the puck and stopping the play. And if Shane wasn't able to hold on to a puck, he intelligently escorted them out of danger with controlled ease, guiding the puck into the corner before popping right back up into position, never allowing Maine to catch him out of position or down on the ice.

The Black Bears, unable to execute on the five-minute man advantage, suddenly relinquished the game's momentum to Cornell so soon after obtaining it themselves. Sparked monumentally by their successful penalty kill, the Big Red skated with renewed energy and impetus in their legs, soon firing their first shot on Ostman, who flashed his leather to make a glove save.

Down by a goal, but with the game's momentum, the Big Red smelled their opportunity, only picking up their physicality to new bone-rattling heights. This relentless grinding style on the forecheck not only wore down the Black Bears' legs but also their minds as mistakes began to creep into Maine's game.

With a little over five minutes left in the opening frame, Maine's fourth line of Cole Hanson, Parker Lindauer, and Anthony Calafiore were caught out on a long shift, unable to breakout past the pummeling Connell forecheck, who took the air out of Maine's lungs with every body-blow they received. With the puck on Lindauer's tape, fresh Black Bear reinforcements looked to be on their way, as it seemed Lindauer would have no problem clearing the zone with a chip off the glass. But trying to do too much with the puck, an exhausted Lindauer, still not over his own blueline, spun back, allowing a Cornell forward to hold him up against the boards, stealing the puck from the Black Bear sophomore. With Lindauer's teammates either on a line change or up-ice to receive the chip-out off the glass they expected, the turnover caught Maine completely out of position. A quick pass was fed into the slot where Cornell captain Kyle Penny walked uncontested through the slot, ripping a laser over Ostman's blocker to knot the game at one.

Eerily similar to the game against BU, the Big Red capitalized on the few Maine mistakes with frightening execution.

Grinding down the Black Bears to force turnovers, the story of the game was set. The Big Red were not going to give the Black Bears an inch. But if Maine allowed Cornell an inch, they would take a mile.

The rest of the period remained goalless, with Maine showcasing an impressive pushback, not allowing their defensive setback to dismay their eagerness going forward. The Black Bears' two most dynamic players in recent weeks were once again the catalysts of Maine's response. Lynden Breen and Harrison Scott wheeled around the ice with blistering speed, seemingly shifting their legs up a gear to utilize their unmatched pace to break past Cornell's defense and test Shane in net, peppering the goal with chances off the rush. But Maine could not create enough sustained offensive pressure to make the Big Red netminder uncomfortable, who saved all eleven shots following the game's first goal, sending the contest into the first intermission all tied up.

The second period began just as the first ended, with both teams trading chances as the end-to-end game whirled on. For the most part, Cornell was able to keep up with the Black Bears just fine, creating plenty of their own off-rush chances that Ostman had to steer clear.

Just because they are big doesn't mean they are slow.

The mental fortitude of Maine's senior goaltender was impressive, to say the least. After a long absence from seeing game time, he suddenly was thrown into the net for Maine's most important contest of the season at late notice. It was to great credit to himself that he never looked fazed or overwhelmed. In fact, Ostman seemed to grow in confidence with every save he made, matching Shane's effort at the other end save for save.

The Black Bears and the Big Red continued to push the envelope with frantic play. Both sides kept the crowd on the edge of their seats with a back-and-forth game full of excitement. It was an all-out, life-or-death battle in Springfield, with both teams desperate not to allow their seasons to end that night.

For Maine, scoring chances off the rush couldn't be capitalized upon. With tremendous team speed going forward, Maine created plenty of danger, but still could not beat Shane, who was growing stronger with every miraculous save he made. Crashing the net in numbers, the Black Bears couldn't take their chances, unable to cleanly get a stick on the puck, which was rolling around on edge, bouncing over Maine stick blades on the charred-up ice. To make matters more difficult for the Black Bears, Shane was not only at the top of his game, but so was Cornell's defense.

The Big Red were stubborn in front of their net, showcasing extremely resolute interior defense by clearing out any Back Bear trying to fight himself for positioning in front of the crease, boxing out or tying up Maine sticks whenever a rebound was present, and frustratingly getting their stick or body to redirect the puck whenever a grade-a Maine shot opened up. Not only was their interior defense unwavering, but the Big Red continued to hound and harry the Black Bears with a relentless in-your-face physicality that never allowed Maine to set up sustained and controlled pressure in their zone. Seeming to play a hybrid of man-to-man and hybrid defensive structure, Cornell viciously finished every single hit in all areas of the ice, as the Big Red never allowed the Black Bears the time or space to breathe, nonetheless set up a sustained attack in the offensive zone. Maine's forecheck, which their entire game relies upon, could not muster enough juice to overwhelm the Big Red, who was terrific in absorbing the Maine pressure and moving the puck quicker than the Black Bears could hunt it down.

Every inch of open ice and second of time on the puck was being intensely fought over tooth and nail.

The Black Bears seemed to be getting the better of the Big Red during the first half of the second period, but a lapse of focus in the defensive end cost Maine dearly. A Black Bear chip off the glass didn't have the legs to clear Maine's zone. Cornell's Sulivan Mack scooped up the loose puck just inside the blue line with his back towards the pursuing Bradly Nadeau. Maine's freshman phenom looking to pick Mack's pocket was caught on the wrong side of the puck when Mack stopped on a dime, swiveling off Brad, who couldn't lay the body on him and take his man out of the play. With Bradly beaten and the Big Red bursting towards the net with a sudden jolt of speed, a moment of defensive hesitation from the Black Bears allowed Mack the space to fire a scorching wrist shot off the inside of the post to put Cornell into the lead.

It was one of the few times on Thursday night that Maine did not finish their hits. However, the slight lapses of attention to their details proved to be a monumental difference-maker on the scoreboard. These tiny differences make or break a season at this time of the year.

Although only down one goal, with Shane standing on his head in Cornell's net, the deficit for Black Bear fans felt much larger when the teams returned to the ice for the final period.

Twenty minutes to find a way past Shane and keep Maine's magical season alive. It was not to be.

The Big Red forecheck continued to raise their game as the game wore on, wearing down the Black Bears with their relentless onslaught of heavy hits. This endlessly grinding style looked as if it was beginning to take its toll on the Black Bears, who were left huffing and puffing on the bench after being smashed around by the formidable forecheck for the entire game. It left Maine penned in their own end of the ice, not able to cleanly work the puck north-to-south with the same speed as they had done earlier in the game. Too much of the final period was played at the wrong end of the ice, with Cornell looking like the more likely team to score next.

With Maine desperately needing the next goal, they grew increasingly frustrated by the style of game Cornell was throwing at them and a goaltender at the top of his game, which kept negating all the hard-worked effort the Black Bears were putting in. When Maine was able to create scoring opportunities, they were often too fancy with the puck, trying anything to desperately put it past Shane. Similar to how the BU game played out, the limited chances their opponents allowed caused Maine to grow increasingly frustrated and unconfident. After everything they kept throwing on Cornell's net refused to sneak over the goalline no matter how much effort they put into it, this frustration veered the Black Bears off their game plan of throwing pucks on net and looking for rebounds. Instead of making the simple play that was dealt with by Shane, they often chose to make the extra cute pass, trying to set each other up for a fancy tic-tac-toe goal. But on the bad ice, with a defense in dominant form and a goaltender standing on his head, these precision passes never came off.

With the time left on Maine's season trickling down, an overly complicated play put the final nail in the Black Bears' coffin. With nine minutes left to play in the third, Josh Nadeau, desperate to get his line on the goal sheet, played an overly hopeful pass to set up his brother. The puck couldn't make it through the swarm of active Big Red sticks, who broke up ice with speed in numbers. Once again, it was Sullivan Mack lighting the lamp when he flicked a shot off the rush past Ostman to all but wrap things up for Cornell.

Although there were still nine minutes left to play, down by two and facing a goaltender who looked destined to not allow a puck past him, the energy from Black Bear Nation seeped out of the MassMutual Center, who were left in stunned silence. The same could not be said for the Black Bears, who continued to pour every ounce of energy they had on the ice. But it was not to be. The Big Red set up shop, controlling the game as the final seconds of the Black Bears season petered out.

As the Big Red celebrated with their heroic goaltender in front of their jubilant fans, the Black Bears shrunk to their knees in heartbreak.

A tip of the cap to Cornell, whose defensive masterclass dazzled, suffocating the Black Bears all night long.

The Big Red were able to capitalize on a couple of Maine mistakes, while the Black Bears couldn't will the puck past Shane when they desperately needed to the most.

In a National Tournament setting, these tiny disparities make all the difference.

For sixty-three of the sixty-four teams in Division One hockey, their seasons will always end in disappointment. Only one program will come away from a season completely happy with its result.

It's not the destination; it's the journey that matters.

And what a journey it has been.

They not only gave everything they had, they gave more than they had.

While it won't ease their sting, the Black Bears should keep their heads raised high. What they accomplished this year is nothing short of amazing. They did themselves proud, they did us proud, and they did the state of Maine proud.

Maine, predicted by fellow Hockey East coaches to finish ninth place in the conference, ended up third.

Not even the most optimistic of Maine fans would have predicted this year's Black Bears to go on and end the year ranked as the #5 team in the country.

This team is still so young. These painful memories will heal as battle scars, providing invaluable experience for even greater journeys ahead.

From an overtime thriller against the defending National Champs that helped bring solace to a heartbroken community, to the Alfond Faithful creating a cauldron powerful enough to upset the #1 in the county, to the road warriors pulling out a thrilling last-gasp come-from-behind winner, to senior weekend heroics, to the sweetest of redemption stories to end the noisy neighbors' season, and finally to turning Beantown blue. =

What a memorable journey this season has brought us along for.

But the best part… This is only the beginning.

The best is still to come.

The greatest chapter has yet to be written.

'Til the Rafters Ring.

-Dmitri