Preview: UConn vs. No. 7 Maine

How to watch

Date: Friday, Jan. 12 | Saturday, Jan. 13

Time: 7 p.m. ET | 7 p.m. ET

Location: XL Center, Hartford, CT

Stream: Friday | Saturday

Maine Black Bears

Record: 13-3-2 (5-2-1 Hockey East)

Location: Orono, ME

Head coach: Ben Barr (third season)

Pairwise: Fourth

Scouting the Black Bears

After a losing record in Ben Barr’s first two seasons, Maine has taken the leap in Year 3. A home tie against Colgate in their last game broke a seven-game winning streak and each of the Black Bears’ three losses have come to ranked teams away from home. Then-No. 8 Boston University swept the team in November and are now No. 2, while then-No. 5 Quinnipiac, which is again at No. 5, snagged a win in October.

This puts Maine at third place in Hockey East with two games in hand over Boston University, which is atop the standings, as well as in position to secure a seed in the NCAA Tournament at No. 4 in the PairWise.

The Black Bears have done this by being elite on both sides of the ice. Offensively, they’re No. 10 in goals per game (3.7) and are one of the best even-strength possession teams in the country. At 57.2 percent, Maine is No. 4 in even-strength Corsi. The Black Bears hold onto the puck and gets plenty of shots on the goaltender.

It’s not the most efficient scoring machine in the country with a shooting percentage of 10.4 percent that’s tied for 27th of 64 teams, but at fourth in shots per game (35.8), it doesn’t matter since the Black Bears generate such high volume.

Maine only has three point-per-game performers in brothers (but not twins) Josh (10-16—26) and Bradly Nadeau (13-12—25), as well as Lynden Breen (6-14—20), but they’ve gotten enough secondary scoring. Bradly Nadeau had a hat-trick when these two teams got together in December, while Breen added a tally of his own in a 7-3 Maine win.

Defensively, they’re just as good. The Black Bears are tied for seventh in fewest goals against per game (2.3) and shots against per game (25.2). Maine plays so much of the game in the offensive end that chances are limited and the goaltending plays well enough to be successful.

Victor Ostman is the primary netminder with 16 starts to two for Albin Boija. However, with the afternoon game on Saturday following the Friday night battle, both may get ice time. Ostman has a 2.45 goals against average and .901 save percentage, but was pulled after three goals on six shots last weekend against Colgate. Boija’s numbers, albeit in a small sample, are impressive. He owns a 1.31 goals against average and .949 save percentage.

The one thing Maine doesn’t do at a high level is special teams, which may be a place UConn can win battles and secure points. At 16.2 percent (12-for-74), the Black Bears are No. 44 in conversion rate on the power play, combined with a No. 32 ranking on the penalty kill, at 80.9 percent (55-for-68).

Series history

UConn has been successful against Maine, though the Black Bears did secure a big win in December. The Huskies are 12-7-4 in program history against Maine, which is the only Hockey East school against which UConn has a winning record.

That 7-3 decision snapped a five-game winning streak for the Huskies that dated back to February 2021. The series was uneventful prior to UConn’s Hockey East membership, as it featured just a home-and-home in the late 1970s in which Maine scored 10 goals in each game, then a one-off at Alfond Arena in October 2010 that ended in a tie. However, several league games have been close, as 10 were one-goal decisions and three more ended in ties.

By the numbers

0 — The number of games Maine has played at Toscano Family Ice Forum. Every other Hockey East program will have played on campus by the end of the 2023-24 season.

12 — UConn has beat Maine 12 times in Hockey East play, which is tied for second with Vermont to New Hampshire (14).

8.0 — Maine is ninth with 8.0 penalty minutes per game. Even with a weak penalty kill, the Black Bears don’t go down a man often.

1.44 — Josh Nadeau scores 1.44 points per game, which is eighth in the country. His brother isn’t far behind, in a tie for 10th with 1.39.

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