Following a rare early season weekend off, the University of Maine’s hockey team returns to Alfond Arena for a two-game series against Colgate University on Friday and Saturday nights as the two teams renew their non-conference rivalry.
It is Homecoming weekend in Orono, and both games begin at 7 p.m.
This will be the third time in four years the 2-2 Black Bears and 0-4 Raiders will be meeting for a two-game set in Orono, with the Black Bears holding a 2-1-1 edge in the close, hard-fought games. The teams split 3-2 decisions a year ago, with Colgate winning the first game and UMaine taking the second one in overtime.
During the 2023-24 season, UMaine notched a 3-1 victory and then rallied from a 3-0 deficit to earn a 4-4 tie.
UMaine traveled to Hamilton, New York, for a two-game series in 2022-23, and the Raiders posted a 5-2 triumph before the teams skated to a 1-1 tie.
So far this season, the Black Bears have split a road series with Holy Cross (4-1 win, 3-2 overtime loss) and a home set with Quinnipiac (2-1 loss, 5-3 win) while the Raiders dropped a pair at Stonehill (2-1 in overtime, 4-2) and were swept at home by New Hampshire (5-2, 2-0).
UMaine head coach Ben Barr said Colgate’s record is irrelevant.
“They’re just like everybody else. They’ve been in a bunch of close games, just like us,” Barr said. “They’re going to be extremely motivated. They always play us great up here.”
Barr said his team needs breakthroughs from players in every game, but he’s not worried whether they’re going to work hard.
“But then we have to go out and execute as well,” he said. “There have been games that we’ve done that and games that we haven’t and that’s been the story of our team.”
“We don’t really look at any team’s record,” UMaine sophomore defenseman Lukas Peterson said. “Every team in college hockey is good. And they are always going to come out [ready to play] especially when they have an opportunity to come up to Maine and play in our arena.”
UMaine graduate student left wing and captain Owen Fowler said Colgate will be a “hungry group.”
“They wanted to come up here and play again, and we have to be ready for them,” Fowler said. “They definitely want to upset us. We have to play our game, stick to what we’re doing well and play with a lot of energy and physicality.”
Colgate is coming off a 13-20-4 season, 9-10-3 in the ECAC, and was picked to finish ninth in the 12-team league in the preseason coaches poll.
UMaine was chosen to finish seventh in Hockey East.
Coach Mike Harder’s Raiders have returned six of their top 10 scorers and starting goalie Reid Dyck, but among their losses were co-leading scorer Simon Labelle, who graduated, and fifth-leading point-producer Michael Neumeier, a defenseman who was the 2024-25 ECAC Rookie of the Year and transferred to Western Michigan.
Colgate has scored only five goals in four games, with senior right wing Jake Schneider being the lone Raider with two goals.
Defenseman Isaiah Norlin headlines the list of returnees after collecting 28 points on 8 goals and 20 assists a year ago to tie Labelle (13 goals, 15 assists) for the team scoring lead. Max Nagel had 11 goals and 15 assists, Ryan Sullivan had 7 goals and 19 assists and Jack Brandt had 8 goals and 10 assists, with three of his eight goals coming against UMaine.
Dyck started 27 games and was 10-15-3 with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He made 25 saves in the win over UMaine.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore has started all four games this season and has a 2.78 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
UMaine has four players sharing the scoring lead led by right wing Lee Parks, who has 3 goals and an assist and will bring a three-game goal-scoring streak into the series. Defensemen Isa Parekh and Peterson and senior center Max Scott are the other four-point producers.
Eight Black Bears have scored at least a goal and nine have at least two points.
Left wingers Tanner Klimpke, Fowler and Will Gerrior and center Sully Scholle each have three points.
Goalie Albin Boija is 2-1 with a 2.03 GAA and a .906 save percentage.