Maine magic. Another pixie dust moment in this fairytale of a season.

How can anyone not be romantic about Maine hockey?

After a season already jam-packed with some of the most memorable wins and special moments in the past decade, co-captain and senior forward Lynden Breen's late go-ahead goal on Senior Night might just take the cake as the moment of the season.

The moment of the season so far.

Breen's goal sealed the Maine Black Bears' weekend sweep over the Massachusetts Minutemen on Saturday night at Alfond Arena, which was sold out for a conference-leading tenth time this season.

Suddenly, after sputtering for the past month, Maine enters the Hockey East playoffs on a three-game win streak and, more importantly, is back to looking like its confident, best selves, oozing with heart and fight.

The Black Bears' victory the evening before already solidified Maine's third-place finish in the conference standings. This positioning not only gave the Black Bears a first-round playoff bye in Hockey East's single-elimination tournament but also locked Maine into hosting their all-important quarterfinal contest at Fortress Alfond next Saturday.

So while the last game of the regular season wouldn't affect Maine's conference ambitions, it still, like all games, would have significant ramifications on the Black Bears National Tournament prospects. Although Friday's win also all but solidified Maine an at-large bid in the sixteen-team tournament, the Black Bears, entering the evening ranked #9 in the Pairwise, could still jockey themselves up or down in the rankings. This would have a significant impact on where they may play and who they might start the NCAA Tournament against.

The Alfond Faithful entered the evening feeling relaxed and relieved after having already sealed up third place with a game to spare. But the Black Bears coaching staff and players weren't about to hand UMass any freebies.

Many wondered if Maine would start either senior netminders Victor Ostman or Connor Androlewicz on this, their last regular season game at the Alfond. But Head Coach Ben Barr, not wanting to send a message of complacency and potentially lose his team's winning momentum, which the Black Bears had spent weeks toiling to find, sent a clear message with his mostly unchanged lineup. The Black Bears were not about to let up after refinding their stride just in time for the playoffs. Maine could not afford to potentially lose their fighting spirit, hoping it would magically reappear next weekend. It had to be maintained and pushed to the next level on the eve of the season's most unforgiving time of the year, a time which could chew up and spit out any team not on top of their game.

After Friday evening saw Maine put in their most complete performance since the New Year, there were still aspects of it Barr hoped his team could improve upon. Details such as finishing checks, moving their feet on the breakout with the puck to move it zone by zone, and being prepared to take a hit to make a play had been the best they've been in weeks. Nonetheless, Barr noted that his team's positioning on both sides of the puck could still be improved.

This included establishing themselves in front of UMass's net, taking away the goaltender's eyes, and looking for deflections and rebounds with this increased net-front presence. After Thomas Freel's deflected go-ahead goal the night before, Barr highlighted the necessity of net-front drive in scoring goals, particularly as these playoff-like games leave little to no open ice to score cleanly.

He also wanted to see Maine play positionally better on the backcheck when coming out of their offensive zone, picking up and staying tight on their opponents when streaking through center ice and into Maine's zone during quick transitions. Massachusetts's only goal on Friday came when both of the Black Bears' defensemen were caught out of position in Maine's attacking zone as UMass countered with a quick rush that left a Maine forward covering for the d-men, all exposed and not able to deal with the great transition speed the Minutemen posses.

So, Maine's only change to their lineup was the swap of extra forward Nicholas Niemo for extra defenseman Jack Dalton. This sent a clear message that the Black Bears would refuse to dial their play down as the puck dropped on another ferocious battle between Black Bears and Minutemen.

Although this contest wouldn't impact the standings for Maine, for Massachusetts, it was the biggest game of their season. They were desperately fighting for their own first-round bye, home-ice, and at-large bid to the National Tournament, which was teetering on the edge. UMass fought desperately for their life, slamming into every Black Bear body they could find in the opening minutes of the contest.

But the Black Bears refused to roll over. Instead, they took it upon themselves to match Massachusetts' ferocity. They fired back with their own bone-rattling crunches, instantly throwing out any discussions of complacency or low energy levels among Black Bear Nation.

The contest's rumble-and-tumble flow spiraled too far out of control for the referee's liking, as the Minutemen couldn't stay disinclined early on. When Josh Nadeau leveled a Minuteman with a clean hit, a retaliatory cheap shot on Josh behind the play put Maine on the early power play.

After getting the monkey off their back on Friday, Saturday evening saw Maine play more loose and confident, especially on the proceeding power play. They no longer looked tentative, overthinking, and herky-jerky as the Black Bears cycled the puck with speed, poise, and purpose. Donovan Houle took the puck at the half-boards before slicing around the top of the right faceoff circle threateningly. UMass, backing off of Houle and collapsing their structure, stayed focused on blocking Houle's shooting lane. But this allowed Houle to find Harrison Scott with his own wide-open lane towards the net. Houle dished the puck perfectly into Scott's big windup, which rocketed into the back of the net with a blistering one-timer at which the capacity Alfond crowd erupted into early celebrations.

Known to be as laid back off the ice as they come, the California boy, Scott, has been anything but easygoing on the ice. The junior who transferred from Bentley during the offseason has quickly become a strong candidate for Maine's MVP of the season. A junkyard-dog without the puck, Scott's endless energy and puck-winning ability through sheer aggression and tenacity epitomizes the Black Bears' style of play under Barr.

Not only one of Maine's best forecheckers and resolute defenders, with the puck on his stick, the center is equally dangerous, making things happen through sheer will. Scott can use his speed and power to break past any defender with incredible directness. On Saturday evening, he showcased his knack for finding the back of the net with his fourteenth goal of the season and third in the past four games.

The Black Bears would return on the man advantage just a few minutes later as Josh Nadeau's pestiness again drew the Minutemens' ire and the penalty call. The Black Bears penalty kill, now brimming with confidence, once again showcased their decisive and probing puck movement to scramble Massachusetts's PK structure. Oncce again it was Maine's second powerplay unit that would find the back of the net. This red-hot PP unit with Freel in front of the net, Houle and Scholle out-wide, and Holt and Scott up-top, secured their third straight goal in as many attempts, carrying over from Freel's late-third period goal the night before.

The Minutemen couldn't deal with the Black Bears' scorching lateral puck movement, pulling UMass around every which way. This time, Brandon Holt slung the puck across the ice into Sully Scholle's wheelhouse. The freshman from Minnesota made no mistake about what would happen next. He hammered home the one-timer from the left faceoff dot with a sizzling shot that sent the Naked Five on their second lap around the Alfond in five minutes.

In a game that lacked significant importance for Maine, it could be natural for the focus and desire to drop after going two goals to the good so quickly into the game. But while this may or may not have been the case for the Black Bears, for UMass, falling two goals behind in a must-win game only upped the Minutemen's ante. They began to outskate and outbattle the Black Bears, fighting desperately for every loose puck or one-on-one battle as if their lives depended on it.

Massachusetts got one goal back shortly after Scholle's when Taylor Makar, younger brother of NHL superstar and former UMass Alumni Cale Makar, outbattled a Black Bear behind Boija's net. Makar threw a pass from behind the net into the crease, where Lucas Mercuri outmuscled two Black Bears for netfront positioning, slotting the shot past Boija before anyone could react.

With the bit between UMass' teeth and their tails up, for the remainder of the game, the Minutemen kept the Black Bears mainly on the back foot. They fully dominated Maine in terms of offensive production for large chunks of the remaining contest.

The Minutemen began the second period with the same vigor and front footedness witth which they ended the first frame with. An early penalty against Maine gave the lethal UMass powerplay a golden opportunity to even the game on the man advantage early in the second. The Black Bears' penalty kill mainly kept the puck to the perimeter for most of the kill, but a low shot through traffic kicked off Boija's pads directly to a lurking Minuteman by the back post slot. Before Boija could recover and establish his positioning, the Massachusetts' forward, Cole O'Hara, slotted the puck past the lunging Boija, knotting the contest up at two.

Smelling Black Bear blood, the Minutemen kept pushing the pace, searching for a quick go-ahead goal. Utilizing great transition speed, Maine struggled to separate UMass body from puck, as Massachusetts motored their way through the neutral zone with great force and dynamism. However, the Black Bears held their blueline resolutely, not allowing the Minutemen to continue this speed into their attacking zone very cleanly by setting up a wall of white sweaters gatekeeping the zone. This forced Massachusetts' to jump offside repeatedly, and as a result the contest became very choppy with all the starts and stops.

While the Minutemen didn't find substantial success in carrying the puck into Maine's zone, they did, however, cause the Black Bears plenty of problems by gaining the redline and tossing the puck in deep. This turned Maine around. Scampering back for the puck, Maine was hit time and again behind the goalline. The Black Bears, who are usually the side working on the long game of grinding the opponent down through relentless battering hits that bruise bodies and tire minds and legs alike, were very much on the receiving end of this punishing play Saturday night.

Minutes after tying the contest, the Minutemen took the lead. This time, it was Cole O'Hara's turning provider when he gathered the puck in UMass' defensive zone and tore up ice with lightning speed on a quick developing two-on-two. O'Hara gained the Maine zone and threw a heavy shot onto the net. Similar to the UMass goal just minutes before, the shot was disguised as a pass, which, low and hard, was steered back into the slot off of Boija's pads. The rebound rocketed out to Jack Musa who reacted the quickest, wristing the puck into the exposed net. It's a goal Boija would desperately want back, as it was a rare showing of poor rebound control from the usually faultless Swede. However, similar to Friday night, Boija quickly turned the page and remained faultless after his mistake.

Also similar to Friday night, during the second period the Black Bears and Minutemen would trade phases of being the team on top and the side with the game's momentum. One team would have the wind in their sails, grinding the other down and creating more of the offense before a play would change the direction of the winds, and the other side would suddenly be playing on the front foot.

Now down a goal, Maine's response was gutsy and dogged. The forecheck started clicking as the Black Bears began to win the puck back deep in Massachusetts' territory, catching the Minutemen out of position and creating their best offensive chances of the period. However, Maine's game-tying goal didn't come from the hard work of their grinding forecheck but rather from the vision and skill of Maine's most creative players.

Power forward Nolan Renwick showcased his soft mitts when he and the Nadeau brothers raced up ice on a three-on-three. In the middle of the ice, Renwick gained the blueline before cutting to his right, pulling two Minutemen back checkers with him. With Bradly Nadeau jumping into the space left by Renwick, the big red-headed Sasky farm boy had the vision to smoothly make a no-look drop pass between his legs, connecting with Brad in the high slot.

The younger of the brothers, with his head up, quickly moved it on to Josh, who was drifting wide by the right faceoff dot. The older brother finished off the sublimely worked tic-tac-toe move with a quick flick of the wrist, rifling the puck past the UMass goaltender's blocker, putting the Bears back level.

The evenly played game would remain tied heading into the second intermission, with both sides able to catch their breath after a blistering back-and-forth second period.

But from this point on, Massachusetts completely took it to Maine, who only managed five shots on the Minuteman goal in the third period after slinging twenty-three on net in the first two periods. Meanwhile, UMass pummeled Boija's net with sixteen shots on goal after managing twenty-one in the first two frames.

The Minutemen threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Black Bears for the entirety of the final period, fighting desperately for their own ambitions of home ice in the playoffs and their National Tournament lives. With unstoppable intensity and zeal, Massachusetts buzzed around Maine's net, creating a constant tornado of moving screens that flashed in front of Boija, searching for deflections. Using their forwards' superior size and strength, UMass had great success working the puck behind the net before spinning around and setting up a teammate by the post with little reverse passes looking to catch Boija covering the wrong side of the net.

With his head on a swivel however, Maine's heroic freshman goaltender tracked every play, always maintaining his positioning, and as calm as a cucumber, made difficult saves from in tight look easy with his composed character and innate vision for the puck.

The Black Bears had significant trouble breaking themselves out of their zone and generating their own pushback. Every time a Maine player got the puck into the neutral zone, they were pummeled to the ice by ferocious Minutemen checks that only further energized the Massachusetts bench. The teeth-clattering body blows began taking effect as the Black Bears, under enormous pressure and having to take many hits to make a single play, began to look tired and worn thin.

Nonetheless, even though the Black Bears' bodies were growing bruised after being rocked every time they touched the puck, they didn't lose focus, stuck to their game plan, and refused to go down without a fight. It would have been so east to, under this tremendous pressure, to start trying forcing passes, desperately trying to release the pressure. But this would have been risky as a bad pass could have handed the Minutemen a golden opportunity on a silver platter. Instead, the Black Bears defensemen, taking good care of the puck, refused to be rattled, got their feet moving up ice, and carried the puck out of their zone and into center ice. They knew an impending hit would be looming there, but knew that would be the price they had to pay to release the pressure from around their net.

Brandon Holt was particularly excellent at taking the onus on himself to fearlessly skate the puck up ice, getting to the redline to negate an icing, dumping the puck into UMass' end to allow his teammates to change before being pulverized as he released the puck.

The defensemen's brave puck-carrying and a reliable outlet along with a Donovan House who refused to be knocked off the puck easily began to ever so slightly release the enormous pressure the Black Bears were under as the game trickled down into the final minutes of play.

And then, Maine magic.

A rare Black Bear forecheck forced a Minuteman mistake when a pass through the middle of the ice was picked off by Lynden Breen, just inside UMass' blueline with just over a minute left in regulation.

The senior from New Brunswick has had a tough go of it of late. Last season saw Breen record a team-high twenty-one goals as the onus was heavily on him to be Maine's primary scoring threat. But this season, Breen has struggled to reach those same lofty numbers, only scoring seven times coming into Saturday. While much of this has to do with the Black Bears' ability to spread out their scoring with the additions of the Nadeau brothers, it is still quite the drop-off.

But Breen, a co-captain who leads by example through his fearless play and outstanding work ethic, is one of the core elements of this Black Bears team and is at the center of everything positive. Sacrificing his scoring, Breen has turned into one of Maine's best playmakers, with twenty assists on the year.

So, with his family in attendance on Senior Night and the puck on his stick by the right faceoff circle, Breen ripped a shot that will live long in the Alfond's memory. Time seemed to stand still as the Alfond Faithful watched on in collective silence. Then, the most delightful sight in the world occurred: the puck nestled in the back of the net.

To say the Alfond erupted would be an understatement. Over five thousand collective voices rang out, and double the arms were raised emphatically into the air. The old barn shook with fury as the rafters rang and rumbled. The white sweaters on the ice mobbed their heroic captain celebrating at center ice.

Breen's one-hundredth career point on what could be his final regular season shot at the Alfond.

Captain Fantastic.

His teammates piled on him, awaiting his arrival at the bench.

Every member of this team loves each other, and it shows. But Breen is special; he's the heart and soul of the Black Bears, who refused to let up even when being taken to the cleaners for the entirety of the third period.

Maine has the heart of Ursus americanus and the desire to match.

Their sheer willingness to out-compete their opponent has taken them this far and gives them the ability to make a deep playoff run.

Boija closed the door as a chaotic scramble ensued in front of him in the dying seconds of the regular season.

The final horn sounded, and Maine's most emphatic celebration of the season resulted. Don't tell this team the game's result was less important than the others. For them, to win on Senior Night meant everything.

There was not a dry eye in any corner of the Alfond crowd who was well aware of the storybook ending to a fairytale regular season they just had the privilege of witnessing.

After the game, an emotional ceremony celebrated the seniors. Each member receiving a highlight reel montage of their four years on the Black Bears before being greeted by their biggest fans: their families met them on the ice.

Seniors Victor Ostman, Connor Androlewicz, Lynden Breen, and Donovan Houle still have one more year of eligibility because their freshman seasons were significantly watered down due to the pandemic. But it won't be known if any will return to the Black Bears until after the season ends. However, for graduate student Ben Poisson, who utilized his Covid year to return this season, Saturday night's game marked the final regular season game he will play.

The four seniors and one graduate student took their lap around the Alfond ice to great applause and heartfelt thanks from all four sides of the barn before exiting the ice to the salute of their teammates.

This team has something special about them. They have that magic pixie dust. Their second-half struggles have brought them closer together, and the difficulties they've overcome have only made them stronger.

Anything can happen.

Now, the real fun begins.