ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine men's ice hockey team and head coach Ben Barr will play the Merrimack College Warriors in the Opening Round of the Hockey East Tournament on Wednesday, March 7. Puck drop against the Warriors is set for 7:00 pm.

GAME INFORMATION
Game #33: Maine Black Bears at Merrimack College Warriors
DATE: Wednesday, March 9, 2022
TIME: 7:00 p.m. EST
SITE: Lawler Rink -- North Andover, Massachusetts
2021-22 RECORDS: Maine 7-21-4 (5-17-2 HE), MC (18-14-1, 13-11-0 HE)

WATCH LISTEN LIVE STATS TWITTER

About the Black Bears

• Ben Barr was named the fifth head coach of the University of Maine men's ice hockey program. Barr comes to Orono after spending the previous five seasons at the University of Massachusetts, winning one national championship.

• The Black Bears hosted the #14 BU Terriers last weekend. Maine dropped Friday night's bout, before scoring eight goals on senior night. Eight different Black Bears scored in the season finale, while 13 players tallied a point.

• The Black Bears enter the season with six new faces on the roster after seeing five players graduate or leave to pursue professional hockey.

• Four incoming freshmen and two transfers make up players who were added by the new coaching staff. Three of the incoming student athletes are from the United States, while the other three are from Canada.

• The three-member Class of 2025 includes Tim Gould, Nolan Renwick, Samuel Duerr, and David Breazeale. Matthew Fawcett and Grant Hebert are the three transfers who chose the University of Maine over their other offers.

About the Warriors

• Merrimack finished the 2020-21 season with a record of 5-11-2, ultimately missing the Hockey East Tournament.

• The Warriors return all five of their top scorers from 2020-21 in Filip Forsmark, Liam Walsh, Alex Jefferies, Declan Carlile, and Logan Drevitch.

• Zachary Borgiel appeared in 15 games last season. The sophomore goaltender posted a 3.10 GAA and .883 save percentage, while winning eight total games for the Warriors.

The Series with Merrimack

• Maine and Merrimack have squared off 105 times prior to Friday's tilt, with Maine holding an edge of 73-23-9 in the all-time series.

• The squads first squared off on Dec. 29, 1978 with Maine winning, 3-2, the neutral site contest at Cornell's Lynah Rink.

• The Hockey East squads met earlier in the season in the Alfond Arena and once in Lawler Rink. David Breazeale scored an OT game winning goal on Friday night, before the Warriors won the series finale on Saturday night. Merrimack also won the single game in North Andover.

• 12 of the last 19 games have been decided by one goal or less.