The University of Maine’s hockey team has always had statewide appeal and the Black Bear players are appreciative.
The Black Bears will play their first game at Bowdoin College since 1986 on Friday night when they face arch-rival New Hampshire at the Sidney J. Watson Arena in an exhibition contest.
Game time is 7 p.m.
UMaine and UNH played an exhibition game at Colby College in Waterville to kick off the 2023-24 campaign with Josh Nadeau scoring the game-winner with 1:50 remaining as UMaine triumphed 3-2.
“After playing at Colby a couple of years ago, it’s neat when you can go to these places and play your rival,” said UMaine fifth-year head coach Ben Barr. “Bowdoin has a rich [hockey history]. It’s an exhibition but it still means something for both teams. It sold out in three minutes or something like that.
“It’s cool to be able to do stuff like that in the state of Maine,” Barr added.
Junior right wing Nadeau is looking forward to Friday’s exhibition matchup.
“The whole state supports us,” Nadeau said. “We will have some new fans watching us. It will be a good experience for us and the whole state.”
UMaine has played nine regular season games in Portland since 2015 and has drawn an average of 5,004 to those games. And those were lean years until Barr guided the Black Bears to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments the past two seasons.
The Black Bears’ return to Brunswick has been nearly 40 years in the making. The Jan. 21, 1986 game, a 6-4 victory for UMaine over Bowdoin, was played at the old Dayton Arena.
UMaine has 13 newcomers on its team this season and many of them will be making their debuts on Friday night.
“It’s really exciting. The Border Battle will be fun to experience for the first time,” said freshman center Jaden Lipinski, who had 17 goals and 41 assists in 59 games for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League.
Lipinski also played in two American Hockey League games for the Calgary Wranglers. He is a fourth round draft pick of the Calgary Flames.
The Western Hockey League is one of three Canadian Major Junior leagues whose former players are now eligible to play college hockey for the first time. The NCAA had deemed them professionals in the past because they received small financial stipends and that made them ineligible.
Nine of the 13 newcomers are from the three Major Junior leagues.
“I can’t wait,” said right wing Justin Poirier, a fifth round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes who had 94 goals and 68 assists in 126 regular season games the past two seasons with Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
Friday’s game will also mark the debut of senior defenseman Brandon Holt and senior left wing Thomas Freel as the Black Bear co-captains.
“There is so much history of great leaders at Maine. It’s an honor and a great opportunity to try to carry that on,” said Holt, a third team All-Hockey East defenseman a year ago and the runnerup to Boston College’s Eamon Powell as the league’s best defensive defenseman.
“I’m not the biggest vocal leader. The way I lead is by example. I come to the rink every single day and kind of be a pro. I have my routine and try to be a good example for the younger guys,” Holt said.
“It’s a huge honor,” Freel said. “I’ve been really fortunate to have had some really amazing captains since I’ve been here. The idea of being a captain for a University of Maine program with so much history is the coolest thing ever.”
Freel said he and Holt have both “really embraced the culture and the direction” that the UMaine program is headed.
“It’s nice to have been given this honor but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Freel said.
Barr said their consistent effort and their attitudes have been “awesome” ever since they have been at UMaine.
“They encapsulate everything we try to be,” said Barr. “They are unheralded guys who have worked their way to be really effective players.”
