The University of Maine Black Bears and University of New Hampshire Wildcats have healthy rivalries with Boston College and Boston University.
But the players say that it’s not the same as the rivalry with their northern New England counterpart.
The teams will resume the rivalry tonight at 7:30. Maine will then host UMass on Sunday at 4.
Maine junior right wing Gustav Nyquist said the fans at the two schools help make it a more intense rivalry than they have with BC or BU.
“When we go to UNH, it’s always sold out. And when they come here, it’s sold out. But when we go to BU or BC, it may not be sold out. The fact our games with UNH are always packed makes a big difference.”
“We’re rivals with them in every sport,” said UNH senior defenseman Matt Campanale. “When they come to our place, we usually have big White-out game. Whenever we play Maine, everybody wants to pick it up a little bit. Everybody wants to win the series.”
White-out games encourage fans to wear white shirts to show support for their team.
UNH junior goalie Matt DiGirolamo has observed that there appears to be a genuine “hate” between fans of the two schools.
“It’s always a huge game when we play them,” said Maine junior left winger Brian Flynn. “These are games you love to play.”
“We really want to beat them for our fans,” said Maine junior defenseman Ryan Hegarty. “Sometimes the fans are really into it, even more so than we are. Our fans have been great to us all year so we want to show them what they mean to us.”
UNH is ahead of Maine in the Hockey East standings and Nyquist said, “it’s always important to beat the teams ahead of you.”
The fact both teams are ranked will add to the game.
UNH is ranked third while Maine is eighth.
“That definitely makes the game even bigger,” said Campanale. “I know Maine has gone through a little tough stretch (in recent years) but they’ve picked it up again. That will make it even more competitive.”
UNH has made the last nine NCAA Tournaments while Maine has missed it the previous three seasons after a run of nine straight appearances.
DiGirolamo will be making his first start at Alfond Arena after backing up Brian Foster for two seasons. He is having an outstanding season with a 9-2-4 record, a 2.30 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.
“I’m excited,” said DiGirolamo. “The last two years I’ve been up here, the atmosphere has been nuts. The only thing that compares to it was the rivalry (in the United States Hockey League) between Waterloo and Cedar Rapids but that’s not even close to this.”
DiGirolamo said he intends to prepare for the game just like he would any other game.
He is used to pressure-packed environments.
“I’ve played in three national championship games, two in the USHL and one in the North American League,” said DiGirolamo. “I know Maine has a very skilled team and everybody works real hard. I’ll expect shots at any time.”
He is likely to be opposed by freshman Martin Ouellette, who made 32 saves in shutting out Providence on Saturday, 5-0.
In his only previous start at Alfond Arena, Ouellette made 16 saves in a 3-3 tie with UConn on Oct. 9.
But the stakes are much higher and the opponent is much better this time around.
“I’ll be nervous but I’ll be ready,” said Ouellette. “I’m just going to try to do the same things I did last weekend. Keep it simple. It’s not the first time I’ve played in a big game against a rival.”
Campanale said it will be important for the Wildcats not to let Maine’s rowdy student section “get into our heads.”
Nyquist said Maine will have to play a thorough defensive game like it did at Providence.
“And we’ve got to get the puck deep and not turn it over,” said Nyquist.
“We’ve got to make them come 200 feet because we know they’re a very good transition team,” agreed Flynn.
“They’re a skilled team that is real good on the rush. We’ve got to defend well on the rush and win the special teams game,” said Hegarty who noted that wins over UNH and UMass this weekend would supply them with a “pretty important springboard” for the break.
“We would hit the ground running after the break. It would be good for us,” he added.