MAINE vs. CONNECTICUT
Time, site: Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 4 p.m.; Alfond Arena, Orono
Records: UMaine (11-21-4, 5-15-2 HE), UConn (12-16-8, 8-10-4 HE)
Series, last meeting: 3-3-3, UMaine 4-0 on 1/14/17
Key players (last season’s stats): Maine — LW Nolan Vesey (13 goals, 10 assists), C Chase Pearson (14 & 8), D Rob Michel (9 & 10), RW Mitch Fossier (8 & 8), D Mark Hamilton (2 & 10), G Rob McGovern (9-15-3, 2.99 goals-against average .912 save percentage), G Jeremy Swayman (1st season); UConn — C Max Letunov (7 & 20), LW Spencer Naas (15 & 7), C Max Kalter (4 & 16), RW Kasperi Ojantakanen (6 & 10), LW Karl El-Mir (9 & 5), D Joseph Masonius (2 & 11), G Adam Huska (7-9-4, 2.87, .916)
Game notes: Bowdoin graduate Mike Cavanaugh’s Huskies own a 3-1-2 advantage over the Black Bears since joining Hockey East in 2014-2015. Three games went into overtime. Both teams lost their leading scorers from a year ago as UMaine’s Blaine Byron (18 goals, 23 assists) graduated and UConn’s Tage Thompson (19 & 13), a sophomore and third-team all-league selection, signed with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. Naas and Kalter did not play in UConn’s 2-1 exhibition win over St. Francis Xavier. The Huskies return 72.7 percent of their points and 66.7 percent of their goal scoring. UMaine returns 74 percent of its goal scoring. The Black Bears are one of the youngest teams in Hockey East while UConn is one of the oldest. UMaine will try to create an uptempo game and use its physicality to win pucks and energize the crowd.