The University of Maine’s struggling hockey team, loser of four of its last six games, will try to win a Hockey East game at Alfond Arena for the first time since Nov. 14 when it entertains 11th-ranked the University of Connecticut this weekend.
The Black Bears and Huskies will face off at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The unranked Black Bears, 14-11-2 overall and 8-9 in Hockey East, have lost their last four league home games dating back to their 7-0 victory over Vermont on Nov. 14.
It is the first time since the 2015-16 season that the Black Bears have lost four consecutive Hockey East home games.
UConn, 16-7-3 and 10-5-1, respectively, has one of the nation’s best road records at 9-1-1. UConn has won five of its last six games.
And the Huskies are 6-3-2 in their last 10 trips to Alfond Arena including a 4-2 win and 2-2 tie a year ago.
However, the Black Bears got a measure of revenge by beating UConn 5-2 in the Hockey East championship game at TD Garden in Boston last season.
This year, UMaine is coming off 3-2 overtime losses at home to Providence and at Boston University.
The Black Bears are 4-8 in their last 12 conference games after a 4-1 start.
In their three Hockey East home wins, they have outscored their opponents 20-9. In their four losses, they have managed to score only five goals while allowing nine.
“We’re inconsistent in everything we do,” said UMaine fifth-year head coach Ben Barr. “Not everybody but, as a whole, our team has been inconsistent because we have so many young guys who haven’t found a consistent level of play yet. Even some of our older guys have been up and down every game, too.”
UMaine had eight freshmen in the lineup against BU last Friday night and 10 vs. Providence the previous Saturday night.
Barr said they have missed the leadership of former captain David Breazeale this season.
“He was the emotional leader. He could keep everything together,” Barr said about defenseman Breazeale. “He never changed his game. He was the most consistent human being in every aspect of his life and that trickled down to the whole team and the culture. Right now, we’re the opposite of that.”
Breazeale was one of six members of a leadership group consisting of players who concluded their college careers with anywhere from 123 games to 162 games under their belts.
They also provided the Black Bears with an X-factor that is missing this season.
The X-factor is an ability to come up with a defining play that ensures victory. It could be anything — from a timely save, to a blocked shot, to an important clearance on the penalty kill or while protecting a lead in the final minutes of a game.
It could be a goal that extends a one-goal lead, a successful penalty kill or a vital power play goal.
UMaine’s .895 save percentage is tied for 42nd in the country among 63 Division I schools. It was .923 a year ago and .903 two years ago. Junior Albin Boija, a second team All-American in 2024-25, has struggled with consistency so far as has freshman Mathis Rousseau.
Both have shown they are capable of being elite-level goalies and are coming off strong performances in the two overtime losses.
But one of the two has to elevate their game over the final seven contests if UMaine is going to make any kind of playoff run.
The special teams have been poor with the penalty kill (78.5 percent success rate) being ranked 41st in the country and the power play ranked 37th (18.1 percent) as a result of a current 1-for-22 funk.
UConn has featured impressive balance with 10 players who have scored six or more goals led by Joey Muldowney’s 13 and Ryan Tattle’s nine.
UMaine has just five with six or more led by Justin Poirier’s 18 and Josh Nadeau’s 10. But both have scored just one goal in their last eight games.
Mike Cavanaugh’s Huskies, an NCAA Tournament team last season, are the eighth stingiest team in Division I, allowing only 2.23 goals per game and senior goalie Tyler Muszelik has the nation’s fifth-best save percentage (.931) and 11th best goals-against average (2.06).
“They have a lot of veterans. They were very good last year and they are very good again this year,” Barr said. “They are going to be hard, tight-checking games that you have to be able to play in. It’s going to be a great challenge.”
He said his team has to work hard and not get frustrated.
“Hard work can overcome a lot of frustrations,” he said. “We’ve got to grind through it.”