The latest edition of the New Hampshire-Maine rivalry features two programs going in different directions, but in a somewhat unusual way.
Maine, No. 5 in the USCHO men’s D-I poll and No. 4 in the PairWise, is unbeaten in eight of its last 10 games since the beginning of 2025, but two of those results were ties and four wins were by a single goal.
UNH, unranked by USCHO but firmly on the PairWise bubble at No. 18, goes into the weekend having lost eight of its last nine, but with half of those losses by a single goal, including two in overtime. Last week at home against No. 1 (USCHO and PairWise) Boston College, the Wildcats led 2-1 early in the third period before BC rallied for three unanswered goals and a 4-2 win.
Seventh-year UNH coach Mike Souza said his team’s recent struggles have created an element of exasperation among the players, but not disharmony.
“No one’s slamming sticks or banging boards or yelling at guys,” Souza said. “But I think there’s an inner frustration. (I) feel for them. Do I think we should’ve won every game in the last stretch? No, of course not. Do I think we could have won a few? Absolutely.”
Maine won the first and so far only meeting this season between the two squads, 3-1 at UNH on Nov. 22, in which Black Bear goalie Albin Boija and Wildcat goalie Jared Whale combined for 55 saves. It won’t take much for the longtime rivals to get up for this weekend’s series — together the iconic programs have combined for seven Hockey East regular-season championships and 10 conference tournament titles. Each team has beaten the other once in the tourney final, and they met in the 1999 NCAA championship game in Anaheim, Calif., which the Black Bears won 3-2 in overtime for their second national title.
“We’ve played each other so many times, I could bore you with stories,” said Souza, who also played for UNH from 1996 to 2000. “It’s fun to be in that environment. I think as an athlete, you want to measure yourself in hostile environments.”
With just seven games left in the regular season, Maine is all but assured of a spot in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year after a preceding 12-year drought. Fourth—year coach Ben Barr said there’s no chance the Black Bears will take UNH lightly this weekend.
“Throw it out the window every time we play these guys,” Barr said. “They’re a top-20 (Pairwise) team and they’ve lost a lot of one-goal games. Watching them play BC last weekend, they were the better team for a lot of periods.
“They’re fast, they’re skilled, they forecheck really well. They clog the neutral zone really well. It will be more of the same. Not the same Xs and Os, but (there’s) not a lot of grade-A chances one way or the other. When you get them, you have to make the most of them.”
A somewhat troubling trend of late for Maine has been a sluggish offensive output — the Black Bears have averaged just two goals a game in their last 12. Seven of Maine’s 12 goals in its last five contests have come off the stick of senior forward Taylor Makar, who is currently second on the team in scoring (13-10-23) behind senior forward Scott Harrison (15-14-29). Sophomore forward Charlie Russell is third (5-15-20).
“Hopefully we can find a little bit more from some of our other guys,” Barr said. “But obviously it’s been nice to have Taylor scoring.”
While UNH’s scoring struggles have been well documented, it enters the weekend with four players with 20 points or more — sophomore forward Ryan Conmy (13-12-25), senior forward Robert Cronin (11-10-21), senior forward Liam Devlin (7-14-21) and sophomore forward Cy LeClerc (7-13-20).
The teams’ low scoring output in recent weeks suggest a defensive battle will be on tap this weekend, and statistics bear that out — UNH is third in the nation in fewest shots allowed while Maine is fifth. Also, Souza noted, the two teams are among the top teams in the nation in body contact.
“My guess is it’s going to be a real physical series,” Souza said. “Two teams where the kids are going to play really hard against each other. I think that’s how both teams like it.”
