Justin Poirier has always been a goal scorer.
But the University of Maine’s freshman left winger knew going from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League to college hockey was going to take a significant adjustment because he would be going up against older, stronger, more experienced players at that level.
Just 19 games into his college career, he has already scored 17 goals. That is second most among players from the 63 Division I schools. Only Michigan’s Will Horcoff has scored more with 19 so far.
Poirier enters the Christmas break having scored two goals in each of his last three games to key a three-game Black Bear winning streak.
He has surprised himself with his output.
“Honestly, I was thinking I would have 15 to 17 goals at the end of the season, not at the end of the first half,” Poirier said.
He had a hat trick in his college debut, a 5-2 win over Holy Cross on Oct. 10, and that was the first of his five multi-goal games so far.
He is fifth in the country and tops among freshmen in goals per game at 0.89 and his seven power play goals are tied for second.
He has nine assists to go with his 17 goals and he is the only player in Hockey East with more than 10 goals. He leads the conference in goals, points and power play goals.
His 80 shots on goal are second most behind Boston University sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson’s 86.
He has a quick release on his shot and his 21.3% shooting percentage (17 goals on 80 shots) is extremely high.
Poirier could become one of UMaine’s most prolific freshman goal scorers if he stays healthy and continues to produce like he has. Fellow Quebec native Jean-Yves Roy owns the school’s freshman scoring record with 39 goals in the 1989-90 season.
Poirier said that “playing a simple game” is the key to his offensive production.
“I know I am an offensive forward and I love shooting pucks,” said Poirier, a fifth-round draft pick (156th overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes. “I just play my game. I bring some pucks to the net. Sometimes they aren’t the prettiest goals but if you bring pucks to the net, you never know what can happen.”
UMaine fifth-year head coach Ben Barr said Poirier’s production has been “pretty amazing” so far this season.
“You never necessarily expect this from a freshman,” said Barr. “He has a gift.”
Barr said Poirier has a great shot.
“He knows how to get himself open and when you can release your shot from different angles and different places on the ice, a lot of times the goalie doesn’t even react to the shot,” Barr said. “It either goes in, hits the goalie, or hits the pipe. That is such a weapon as a player.”
The 5-foot-8, 185-pound Poirier scored 122 goals and added 88 assists for 210 points in 181 games over three seasons for Baie-Comeau Drakker in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. He led the league in goals with 51 during the 2023-24 season and was fourth with 43 a year ago.
Poirier has also evolved into a responsible contributor on the defensive end and Barr said Poirier is “very serious” about becoming a well-rounded player.
“He goes about his business off the ice as well as on the ice. That’s been a cool part. Watching his evolution … how he prepares and how he adjusts to things,” Barr said. “It has been impressive.”
Poirier loves playing at Alfond Arena in front of the “best fans in the league” and said he decided to come to UMaine to further his development as a player. He knew the players would be older and stronger and it has been very beneficial.
“It has helped become a 200-foot player,” said Poirier, who also spends a lot of time in the weight room and noted that UMaine’s intense practices and coaching staff have been instrumental in his improvement. “Every day, I feel bigger and stronger and that’s nice.”
Poirier, who turned 19 in September, said he feels the team is playing well of late and is ready to have a strong second half.
The Black Bears are 11-7-1 overall, 6-5 in Hockey East, and ranked 14th in one national poll and 15th in the other.
UMaine returns to action on Jan. 2-3 when it travels to take on No. 6 Denver before going to Providence for a pair and, following a weekend off, heading to UMass-Lowell for two games.
“It’s going to be a really good challenge,” Poirier said. “We have to play to our identity. We talk about bringing the Maine Black Bear culture on the ice every week and if we do that, we will have a lot of success in the second half.”