UNH-Maine showdown has a little extra this time
When the topic of best rivalries in men’s college hockey is discussed, the Border Battle between Maine and New Hampshire is likely to find its way into the conversation.
The programs have combined to reach the Frozen Four 18 times — 11 for Maine, seven for UNH — with the Black Bears winning two national championships, the most recent being in 1999 when they defeated UNH, 3-2, in the championship game.
Leading the way for the Wildcats that season was a junior from Wakefield named Mike Souza, who had 23 goals and 42 assists for a squad that went 31-7-3 and captured the Hockey East regular-season crown.
That was the apex of the rivalry, as neither squad has reached the NCAA tournament since the 2012-13 season. While the matchups have continued to be focal points on the schedule for each squad, the rivalry has failed to capture the attention of those outside the programs in recent years.
That will change Friday, when UNH, ranked 14th in the USA Hockey poll and 15th by USCHO.com, will travel to Maine (11/11) for the first meeting in which both teams are ranked since Feb. 5, 2011. UNH’s 7-3-1 start is the program’s best since it came out of the gate 8-1-2 in 2012-13.
“It’s exciting for both programs,” said Souza, now in his sixth season as head coach at his alma mater. “That’s ultimately what we’re chasing, but the reality is it’s always exciting when UNH and Maine get together.”
Junior Alex Gagne, a native of Bedford, N.H., recounted his first time heading to Orono to play at Alfond Arena as a freshman.
“I remember the buildup, especially from morning skate to walking off the bus to go into the game,” said the captain of the Wildcats. “At 4:30, there was a line already around the building to come in. Going into warm-ups, there’s not a cheer when you skate on the ice. It’s all boos. It’s awesome to play up there.”
UNH is coming off a split at RIT Thanksgiving weekend, using some late-game heroics to avoid a sweep Saturday. With the Wildcats trailing, 3-2, freshman forward Ryan Conmy scored with his goalie pulled and 5.3 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime.
With time winding down, it appeared as though the game would end in a tie, but sophomore Cy LeClerc struck for his second of the game with 6.2 seconds left to lift UNH to the win.
LeClerc (7-7—14) and Conmy (6-8—14) are tied for the team lead in points.
Maine (6-3-1) is coming off a bye after dropping a pair of one-goal contests at Boston University. The top line of Josh Nadeau (4-9—13), Bradly Nadeau (7-5—12), and Lynden Breen (4-8—12) has drawn plenty of attention, but the Black Bears are a deep squad.
They have seven players with at least 5 points, with 14 lighting the lamp this season. Their 54.7 winning percentage on faceoffs is tops in Hockey East and fifth in the nation, with Harrison Scott’s 64 percent leading the nation among all players who have taken at least 175 draws.
The teams have been on similar paths. The three losses for both have come against ranked opponents, with each earning a split with defending national champion Quinnipiac. UNH sits at 11th in the PairWise, while Maine is fifth.
“There’s added excitement naturally,” said Souza, “because both teams are having good starts to the year. “I’m just excited to bring our team up there and have these guys experience the rivalry first-hand.”
Weekend matchups
No. 1 Boston College (11-2-1) will play a home-and-home series with Northeastern (37-1) beginning Friday at Conte Forum. BC freshman Ryan Leonard led all NCAA rookies with eight goals in eight games in November and was named Hockey East Rookie of the Month. “He has a great knack for finding space and getting those opportunities,” said BC coach Greg Brown. “They didn’t go in the first few games, but now they have been. You notice him as a workhorse, but he also has that finish.” . . . BU (9-4-1) and Merrimack (6-6-1) will play a home-and-home series beginning Friday at Lawler Arena. The Warriors swept the season series last season, but BU prevailed in the Hockey East championship game with an overtime victory at TD Garden. After missing October with an injury, Lunenburg native Alex Jefferies returned to the Merrimack lineup in November and had 13 points on 7 goals and 6 assists to earn the conference’s Player of the Month honor. BU sophomore Lane Hutson had 6 goals and 5 assists to take Defender of the Month . . . Harvard (1-3-3) travels to North Country to face ECAC foes Clarkson and St. Lawrence before going on winter break. The Crimson will have eight road games before playing at home against RPI on Jan. 19 . . . UMass (9-3-1), which split a pair of games against Vermont at Amherst in November, travels to face the Catamounts Friday.