ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine men's hockey team will travel to #7/#6 Providence College to take on the Friars. Puck drop for the October 5th season opener is scheduled for 4:00 pm.

GAME INFORMATION
Game #1: Maine Black Bears at #7/#6 Providence College Friars
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 2019
TIME: 4:00 p.m. EST
SITE:  Schneider Arena – Providence, Rhode Island
2018-19 RECORDS: Maine 15-17-4 (11-9-4 HE), Providence 24-12-6 (14-7-3 HE)
GAME NOTES: Maine (PDF)

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About the Black Bears

• The 2019-20 University of Maine men's ice hockey team enters the season with 10 new faces on the roster after seeing nine players graduate or leave to pursue professional hockey. Nine incoming freshmen and one transfer junior make up players who were added by the coaching staff. Five of the incoming student athletes are from the United States, while the other five are from Canada.

• Traveling to Providence, the Black Bears will open the regular season portion of their schedule on the road for the first time since the 2014-15 season, when they traveled to Alaska to play Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks.

• In their two-game series last year, the two Hockey East foes each won a contest at the Alfond. Providence took game one, 1-0, as Maine won Saturday night's game, 3-1.

• Maine won their third and final game against a team ranked in the top 20 when they defeated #11/#12 Providence, 3-1. Brendan Robbins, Chase Pearson, and Mitch Fossier were the goal scorers for the Black Bears. It was the 11th match-up of the 2018-19 season against a top 20 opponent.

• Seven different Black Bears scored in the 7-2 victory at Boston College on Wednesday, January 16th. It was the first time seven players scored in game for Maine since the 2013-14 season. Jeremy Swayman did his part in the rout as he saved 34 total shots.

• Last year's junior class finished with 105 points, good for third overall in Hockey East behind Providence's and Northeastern's juniors, with Mitch Fossier and Chase Pearson finishing second and eighth. 

• The nine-member Class of 2023 includes AJ Drobot, Ben Poisson, Brady Gaudette, Levi Kleiboer, Dawson Bruneski, Remy Parker, Perry Winfree, Adrien Bisson, and Matthew Thiessen. 

• The UMaine roster includes four NHL draft picks, with Patrick Shea being selected by the Florida Panthers in 2015, JD Greenway being selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016, Jeremy Swayman being taken in the 2017 draft by the Boston Bruins, and Matthew Thiessen being taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2018 NHL draft.

About the Friars

• Providence finished with a record of 24-12-6 last year, ultimately being defeated by #1 Minnesota Duluth and eventual national champion, in the First Round of the Frozen Four.

• The Friars return only one of their top five scorers from 2018-19 in Jack Dugan.

• Gabe Mollot-Hill, who appeared in two games last year while going 0-0-1, posted a 3.46 goal against average and a .900 save percentage.

• Josh Wilkins, Brandon Duhaime, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Scott Conway, and Hayden Hawkey graduated or signed professional contracts at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. They were the Huskies' four of the five top scorers last season and the top goaltender.

The Series with Providence

• Maine and Providence have squared off 127 times prior to Friday's tilt, with Maine holding an edge of 65-55-7 in the all-time series.

• The squads first squared off on Jan. 5, 1980, with Providence topping Maine, 4-3, at Alfond Arena.

• Maine had a 13-game unbeaten streak in the series (12-0-1) from Feb. 9, 1991 to Feb. 3, 1995.

• The Black Bears and Friars met in the Alfond last season with each squad taking one game in the two game series. 

• Maine's Associate Head Coach Ben Guite had two career game-winning goals against the Friars while assistant coach Alfie Michaud had four wins between the pipes.

About Head Coach Red Gendron
• Red Gendron, who enters his seventh year behind the bench of the Black Bears, has won two NCAA Hockey National Championships and a NHL Stanley Cup as an assistant coach.
• He assisted head coach Shawn Walsh with the UMaine 1993 NCAA Division I National Championship team.
• Before being named the head coach of the Black Bears, Gendron was associate head coach at Yale University; the Bulldogs earned the 2013 NCAA Division I National Championship.
• Prior to Gendron's two seasons at Yale, from 2005-11, he was an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts.
• Gendron spent 11 seasons in professional hockey with the New Jersey Devils organization.

40+ Career Points

• Mitch Fossier, Tim Doherty, Patrick Shea, and Eduards Tralmaks have all surpassed the 40 career point mark.

• Fossier (86), Doherty (40), Shea (44), and Tralmaks (42) enter the 2018-19 season as the Black Bears top returning scorers.

• The Fantastic Four have found the back of the net 81 individual times, while they have dished out 131 assists.

On the National Stage (2018-19)

• Mitchell Fossier finished the 2018-19 regular season at 5th in the nation with 29 assists. In the conference, Mitchell was first overall.

• Chase Pearson ranked 24th nationally with his 16 goals. The captain also was part of the top three goal scorers in Hockey East.

• As a team, the Black Bears killed penalties at a 84.46% clip, which was good enough for 17th in the nation.

It's Worth Noting from 2018-19…

• The Black Bears saw five players sign with an ECHL, AHL, or NHL team at the end of the Hockey East Tournament.

• Brady Keeper inked a deal with the Florida Panthers of the NHL. Chase Pearson and Rob Michel came to terms with AHL franchises, while Daniel Perez and Sam Becker were added to rosters in the ECHL.

Career Weekly Honor(s) for Swayman
• Jeremy Swayman was named the Hockey East defensive player of the week beggining November 18th, December 2nd, January 28th, and February 25th. On March 1st, Swayman was named the Hockey East Goaltender of the month, his first of the campaign. The sophomore has earned five awards during the 2018-19 season.

• The Anchorage, Alaska native was named the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on March 5, his sixth weekly award of last season, the most in Hockey East.

• Swayman was the only player last season to have earned at least one Rookie, Player and Defensive Player of the Week award.

• He was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 1 and was Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Jan. 22.

• Two other times last season he was named the rookie of the week (1/8; 11/20) and on Dec. 11 he was named the league's Player of the Week.

Thirty-or-More

• 18 times this season and 17 times last season that Jeremy Swayman finished with 30-plus saves.

• On Jan. 26, he recorded 53 saves against #2 UMass. The 53 stops were a season and career high for the sophomore as he led the Black Bears to a 4-3 win over the #2 Minutemen.

Solid Sophomore Campaign
• Mitchell Fossier (12-22—34) was eighth in Hockey East in scoring, one of the three underclassmen in the top 10.

• The Alpharetta, Ga. native scored two game-winning goals last season and assisted on three others – including both in Maine's opening round playoff series sweep of UNH.

• Fossier had 12 multiple-point games on the season and had a stretch of three-straight from Jan. 8-13 and his 15 assists on the road lead the conference.

• He lead the team in goals (12) and assists (22).

Seven Different Goal Scorers
• Maine had seven different players score a goal in their win at Boston College on January 16th. 

• It was the first time since Dec. 2013 that the Black Bears had seven goals from seven different skaters.

• Emil Westerlund, Tim Doherty, Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup, Eduards Tralmaks, Daniel Perez, Jack Quinlivan, and Patrick Shea all found the back of the net at BC.

Ranked Opponents

• Maine's 4-3 win over #2 UMass marked the first victory over a Top 3 team in two years.

• The Black Bears defeated then #3 Quinnipiac 4-3 in overtime on October 14, 2016.

• Mitchell Fossier scored the game winning goal for his squad, while Patrick Shea found the back of the net to tie the game at three. Rob Michel assisted on the game-winning, Fossier goal. 

Second Period Goals

• The Black Bears tallied 36 total second period goals in the 36 games last season. 

• Maine had notched 27 goals on the road in the second period to lead the league and sat third nationally in 2017-18.

• The Black Bears scored in the second period in their first 13 straight road games, until that streak came to an end on Feb. 14 at UNH last season.

• Maine's 47 second period 2017-18 goals overall was second in the conference behind Northeastern (53) and ninth in the country.

Five-or-More
• In eight games last season, the Black Bears scored at least five goals.

• In wins over Vermont (6-2) and Quinnipiac (7-4, 5-3) Maine scored five-or-more goals in three-straight games for the first time since a three-game stretch during the 2006-07 season against Bemidji State (7-1, 6-3) and North Dakota (6-2). 

Blanking BU
• With Maine and Jeremy Swayman shutting out BU, 3-0, on Jan. 6, 2018, it marked the fifth-ever shutout for the Black Bears in the 130-game series with the Terriers.

• Maine once again shutout BU with senior Rob McGovern posting 30 saves on senior night.

• The only other time a Maine freshman goaltender blanked BU was on Feb. 21, 1997, when now-assistant coach Alfie Michaud made 20 saves in a 3-0 win at Alfond Arena. 

The Puck Stops Here
• In Maine's two-game set vs #2 UMass on Jan. 25 and 26, Jeremy Swayman registered 38 saves in a 2-4 lose on Friday and another 53 saves in a 4-3 win on Saturday for a weekend total of 91.

• It marked the first time (excluding last season for Swayman) since at least the 1985-86 season that a Black Bear goaltender registered 91 saves on the weekend, as Al Loring did it with 60-save and 35-save performances at North Dakota (game-by-game statistics not available prior to the 1981-82 season).

• It was the highest single-weekend save total since current assistant coach Alfie Michaud made 93 saves (51, 42) in January 1998.

• The last Maine goaltender to make 50 saves in a game was Matt Morris during a game against Providence on Feb. 5, 2016.

Monthly League Honors

• Goaltender Jeremy Swayman was named the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month for January after going 4-2-2 with 2.34 goals against average, .928 save percentage and his first career shutout in a 31-save performance in a 3-0 win over BU.

• Swayman was first among conference rookies in save percentage and goals against average on the month.

• Doherty finished December with eight points on four goals and four assists, with the points placing him tied for third in the league and first among rookies.

• Swayman was runner-up for Goaltender of the Month in December after going 3-0-1 in four starts and posting a 2.70 goals against average and a .934 save percentage.

Three Games, Three Overtime Game Winners
• On Nov. 30 at Vermont, Maine won in overtime when Ryan Smith found the back of the net 1:52 into the extra period.

• Eduards Tralmaks tallied the Black Bears second overtime winner of the 2018-19 season. His goal came with 00:48 left in the frame. 

• In the final game of February, Mitchell Fossier beat the BC goaltender for Maine's third OT game winner of the season.

• The two game winners (excluding his own) were scored by different Black Bears, but Mitchell Fossier was credited with an assist on each of the overtime goals.

Swayman Earns Bronze at WJC

• Jeremy Swayman was named to the U.S. National Junior Team roster for the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship and took home a bronze.

• Swayman was one of three goaltenders on the final 23-player roster, joining BU's Jake Oettinger and BC's Joseph Woll.

• The last Maine player to skate for the U.S. at the IIHF World Junior Championships was Greg Moore in 2004 while goaltender Jimmy Howard was on the roster in 2003, along with Moore.

• Joining Swayman at the WJC was Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup of Denmark.

Clark Cup MVPs
• Junior Eduards Tralmaks was named the 2017 Clark Cup Most Valuable Player after tallying 12 points on 10 goals and two assists in 14 playoff games – and leading the Chicago Steel to the Tier 1 National Championship.
• Tralmaks – whose 10 goals tied for most all-time in Clark Cup playoff history – becomes the third Clark Cup MVP to become a Black Bear.
• Goaltender Matt Morris '17 was bestowed the honor after leading the Dubuque Fighting Saints to the title in 2011.
• Former Black Bear goaltender Matt Lundin earned the award with the Sioux Falls Stampede in 2007.

Feeling the Draft?
• The 2017-18 UMaine roster includes four NHL draft picks.
• In 2015, Patrick Shea was selected by the Florida Panthers.

• In 2016, JD Greenway was picked by the Toronoto Maple Leafs in the third round.
• In 2017, Jeremy Swayman went to the Boston Bruins in the fourth round.

• Incoming freshman, Matthew Thiessen, was taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2018 NHL draft.

-UMaine-