ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine men’s hockey team may have uncovered a blueprint for success during its 3-2 Hockey East loss to No. 5 Boston College on Saturday at the Alfond Arena.
Meanwhile, the Black Bears are mired in a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2) and will face their third top-five opponent of the season this weekend when the fifth-ranked UMass Lowell River Hawks invade Alfond Arena for a contest at 7 p.m. Friday.
The two teams travel to Lowell’s Tsongas Arena for a game at 3 p.m. Sunday.
UMaine is 3-5-2 overall and 0-2 in Hockey East, and UMass Lowell goes into the series at 6-2-2 and 2-0, respectively. Norm Bazin’s River Hawks have won three straight.
Boston College has moved up to No. 3 in both major polls, and Quinnipiac was ranked third when it split a pair of overtime games in Orono in October. Quinnipiac is now No. 7 in one poll and No. 8 in the other.
After a dismal performance in a 6-1 loss to Boston College in Portland on Friday night, UMaine strung together two strong periods on Saturday, outshooting Boston College 21-12 and carrying the play against the speedier but smaller Eagles.
UMaine was outshot 22-9 in the first period largely because of the four power plays the Black Bears gave Boston College, which had seven power-play shots on goal.
“What we need to do now is play an entire game the way we played the last two periods,” said UMaine head coach Red Gendron, who is wearing a bandage on his hand after it was sliced by a skate during a recent practice.
“We were up on our toes, we were pressuring the puck, we were finishing our checks, we were getting the puck deep, we were executing on the power play the way we were supposed to,” Gendron said. “We were taking what they were giving us. And we stayed out of the penalty box. We didn’t give them any power plays after the first period.
“All of those things are a strong recipe for us to play well and give ourselves a chance to win. We’ve seen all of those things at times, and it’s simply a question of executing them on a consistent basis,” he added.
Gendron has been encouraged by the development of his younger players and felt his veterans turned in impressive performances on Saturday night.
Sophomore left wing Dane Gibson scored a goal in each game against Boston College after finding the net just once in 33 games a year ago. He also had three assists.
Gibson has two goals and two assists this season.
He notched 32 goals and a league-high 57 assists in 56 games for the Victoria Grizzlies in the British Columbia Hockey League during 2014-15 and was a first-team all-star.
“He struggled offensively last year, but he has played well all year,” said Gendron, who noted that on Gibson’s Saturday goal, a 25-foot snap shot, he “didn’t pick out a spot. He just wired it. That’s fine with me if he continues to do that.”
“I’m just trying to keep it simple, work hard and play physical,” said Gibson.