The last time the University of Maine’s hockey team beat Boston University at BU’s Agganis Arena was on Nov. 17, 2018.
Chase Pearson had two goals and an assist, linemate Mitch Fossier had a goal and two assists and Jeremy Swayman made 40 saves as the Black Bears topped goalie Jake Oettinger and his Terriers 3-1 in that game.
Current Boston Bruins goalie Swayman and Dallas Stars netminder Oettinger are two of the three goalies for the United States Olympic team along with Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, who formerly played at UMass Lowell.
The 18th-ranked Black Bears will try to snap their seven-game Agganis Arena losing streak on Friday night at 7 p.m. It will be their only game of the weekend.
Unranked BU will take on Boston College on Monday night in the Beanpot Tournament final at TD Garden.
UMaine is currently 14-10-2 overall and 8-8 in Hockey East while BU is 12-13-2 and 8-10, respectively.
UMaine is 2-3 in its last five and BU had lost four of five and three straight before battling to a 2-2 tie with Northeastern in Monday’s Beanpot Tournament semifinal before winning the shootout.
Both teams have been inconsistent and are desperate for wins to earn a top-four finish in Hockey East, which would ensure a first-round bye for the league playoffs and home ice berth for a quarterfinal game.
Six teams are separated by just six points in the battle for third and fourth place.
UConn occupies third place with 28 points and UMaine has 22 points and is in eighth place. BU has 24 points.
UMaine is 14-10-2 overall and 8-8 in Hockey East while BU is 12-13-2 and 8-10, respectively.
UMaine swept BU in Orono on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 5-4 in overtime and 8-5, respectively.
The Black Bears will be looking for their first regular season sweep of BU since they won both games during the 2013-14 season.
UMaine comes into the game off a heart-breaking 3-2 overtime home loss to Providence on Saturday night, surrendering the tying goal with 5.6 seconds left in regulation.
The theme for the Black Bears is to avoid getting into a high-scoring, run-and-gun type of game against a youthful and talented BU team that has 18 National Hockey League draft picks, nine of which are either first or second rounders.
UMaine has five NHL draftees but none above the third round.
“Playing an up-and-down game isn’t the best game plan,” said UMaine head coach Ben Barr. “We have to take care of the puck, play hard and be smart.”
“They’re a highly-skilled team and they’re playing more physical than they have in the past,” said UMaine senior defenseman Brandon Chabrier. “We’re going to have to get pucks deep (into the BU zone) and establish our forecheck early.”
The Black Bears also know it is important to not allow the Terriers to generate odd-man rushes.
“If we play disciplined within our structure and make them work for what they get, that’s a good recipe for us,” said senior defenseman and co-captain Brandon Holt.
UMaine will regain the services of junior right wing and second-leading goal scorer Josh Nadeau (illness) and senior left wing Owen Fowler (broken finger), who is tied for fifth on the team in points and is second in plus-minus at plus-14.
A player receives a plus-one if their team scores an even-strength or shorthanded goal and a minus-one if the opponent scores one.
Nadeau has missed the last three games while Fowler missed the Providence game.
UMaine continues to be led in scoring by freshman left wing Justin Poirier (18 goals, 11 assists) and Holt (5 & 17). Nadeau has 10 & 7, freshman right wing Miguel Marques has 7 & 10, Fowler has 7 & 8 and junior center Max Scott has 4 & 11.
Poirier had three goals and two assists in the sweep of BU and Holt had a goal and three assists.
Junior Albin Boija (10-6-2 record, 2.56 goals-against average, .900 save percentage) and freshman Mathis Rousseau (4-4, 2.81, .891) have shared the goaltending.
BU has been led by sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson (8 & 16) and sophomore left wing Cole Eiserman (10 & 6) along with senior center Owen McLaughlin (4 & 11), junior right wing Jack Harvey (9 & 5), sophomore left wing Sacha Boisvert (3 & 11) and freshman right wing Ryder Ritchie (4 & 9).
Sophomore Mikhail Yegorov (12-11-2, 2.80, .901) is BU’s workhorse goaltender.
