Expectations weren’t high for center Harrison Scott when he transferred to the University of Maine from Bentley University prior to last season.
After scoring 12 goals and 14 assists in 65 games over two seasons for Bentley in college hockey’s lowest-rated Division I conference, Atlantic Hockey, few would have predicted Scott would thrive in highly regarded Hockey East.
But the San Jose, Cal. native erupted for by far, the best season of his college career for the Black Bears.
Scott scored 15 goals and added 12 assists in 37 games. He was third on the team in goals and fourth in points with 27. He was second in power play goals with four and tied for second in game-winning goals with four.
He scored the only goal in UMaine’s 3-1 loss to Cornell in the NCAA’s Springfield Regional, the Black Bears’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2011-12 campaign.
He had eight shots on goal, four more than anyone else on either team.
The 23-year-old Scott admits he was a little surprised by his season.
“I’m happy with what I did. I knew if I played at a program like this and I was around like-minded guys and elite caliber hockey players, that would only make me better,” said the 6-foot, 185-pound senior, who is attending the optional six-week workouts for the hockey team on campus this summer. “At the end of the day, being around guys who are going to push me is what I find so cool here.”
UMaine head coach Ben Barr said Scott was outstanding last season.
“I don’t think he had a bad game for us all year,” Barr said.
Barr said he didn’t expect Scott to put up the numbers he did, even though he knew the player worked hard.
“It was the right place for him. And he was really good at the end of the season. His confidence kept getting better and better. He was outstanding against Cornell,” Barr said.
Scott, who is an undrafted free agent, attended the NHL development camp of the Vegas Golden Knights from July 1-6.
It is where Vegas draft picks and invitees learn what the professional game is about. They practice and have scrimmages.
“It was a good overall experience. It was fun. I learned a lot and I’m taking what I learned and am putting it into use right now,” said Scott.
For the second straight season, the Black Bears won eight more games than they did the previous year.
They went 23-12-2 after going 15-16-5 in 2022-23 and 7-22-4 in Barr’s first season in 2021-22.
They reached the Hockey East semifinals in addition to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since that 2011-12 season.
But the first round loss to Cornell left a sour taste in their mouths.
“I’m so excited (about this season). We’re taking everything to another level. We all know what worked last year and what didn’t work. We’re just trying to figure out how to close that gap and how to progress further. We’re going to push harder because we want to win that national championship,” said Scott.
Scott said he wants to have a better season than he did a year ago and help the team.
“I want to keep progressing my game and keep getting better every single day,” said Scott. “I’m so driven this year to be on a winning team that has a lot of success. I built a lot of confidence last year and want to be the best leader I can be.”
Scott went from playing in front of 1200-1500 fans at Bentley to a bunch of sellout crowds of 5,043 at a raucous Alfond Arena.
“It was the best thing ever. When I was in high school, I wanted to play college hockey and Maine is the picture of college hockey. I am so grateful and appreciative of the fans we have. It makes it that much more special, that much more exciting and it gives us much more to play for,” he said.
Barr expects another productive season from Scott.
“I can’t ever see him going backwards as far as how much he impacts a game. He doesn’t lose one-on-one battles, he wins tons of faceoffs, he’s a top six forward and he kills penalties,” said Barr. “He does everything for us.”
UMaine opens the season by hosting Atlantic Hockey’s American International College (Mass.) on Friday, Oct. 5.
