ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine men's ice hockey team will travel to face fifth-ranked Quinnipiac Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28 at M&T Bank Arena.

Puck drop between the Black Bears and Bobcats is set for 7 p.m. on both nights, with both contests streaming live on ESPN+. Friday night's game will also air live on NESN.

The game can be listened to via 92.9 FM or online at GoBlackBears.com/MIHRadio.
 
GAMES 3 & 4 | Maine at Quinnipiac
Friday, Oct. 27, 2023 | 7:00 P.M. | NESN/ESPN+
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 | 7:00 P.M. | ESPN+
M&T Bank Arena | Hamden, Conn.

 WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• The University of Maine men's ice hockey team will face the reigning National Champion Quinnipiac Bobcats on Friday and Saturday at M&T Bank Arena.
• Made swept RPI, 4-1 and 6-3, to open up the season back on Oct. 12-13 ... Quinnipiac is coming off of a road split at New Hampshire, winning 5-2 and falling 5-4 in overtime.
•These two teams squared off last season at Alfond Arena, with Maine dealing the Bobcats one of only three regular season losses in their championship year, 4-0, before Quinnipiac responded for a 6-2 win.

A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD...
• Bump the Black Bears to 3-0-0 on the season to give Maine its first 3-0-0 start since 2018-19.
• Move Maine to 10-8-1 all-time against Quinnipiac, including a mark of 4-3-0 on the road.

ABOUT MAINE
• Maine opened up the 2023-24 season last weekend, Oct. 12-13, earning 4-1 and 6-3 wins over RPI at Alfond Arena.
• In the season-opener, Bradly Nadeau scored twice in the second period while Lynden Breen and Nolan Renwick scored 30 seconds apart to open the third in the 4-1 win.
• The next night it was Josh Nadeau that scored two goals, converting twice on the power play, while Harrison Scott, Grayson Arnott, Donavan Villeneuve-Houle and Ben Poisson ripped the twine as well.
•Victor Östman went 2-0-0 with 28 saves across the two games in earning Hockey East Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Week honors.

ABOUT QUINNIPIAC
• Quinnipiac enters the weekend at 3-2-0 overall after a road split at New Hampshire last weekend … after falling to #6 Boston College in the season-opener, the Bobcats put up three straight wins – two over AIC and one over UNH – before falling in overtime on Saturday night.
• Jacob Quillan leads the team with seven points on two goals and a team-high five assists … four different skaters have registered three goals while 12 total skaters have scored at least one goal in the first five games.
• Both Vinny Duplessis and Matej Marinova have seen time between the pipes … Duplessis is 2-2-0 with a .922 save percentage and 1.95 goals against average while Marinov is 1-0-0 with a .850 save percentage, 2.76 goals against average and one shutout.
• The Bobcats won the 2023 National Championship with a 3-2 overtime victory over Minnesota.

SERIES HISTORY
• Maine leads the all-time series at 9-8-1 but its 2-3-0 in the last five meetings.
• The Bobcats and Black Bears first squared off on Dec. 12, 1999, with Maine earning a 7-4 win in Orono.
• These two teams squared off last season at Alfond Arena, with Maine dealing the Bobcats one of only three regular season losses in their championship year, 4-0, before Quinnipiac responded for a 6-2 win.
• Maine has a mark of 3-3-0 on the road against Quinnipiac.

THE 2022-23 RECAP
• The Black Bears finished the 2022-23 season with an overall mark of 15-16-5 and a Hockey East record of 9-11-4.
• Maine finished tied for sixth in the Hockey East standings and hosted Vermont in the quarterfinal round ... the Black Bears fell, 4-2.
• Lynden Breen and Victor Östman both earned Hockey East Second Team All-Star honors.
• The Black Bears return the top four scorers from a season ago and eight of the top 10 overall.
• Breen led the team in points (36) and goals (21) while Ben Poisson was second in points (26) and first in assists (17).
• Östman went 14-12-4 on the year with a .918 save percentage, 2.21 goals against average and five shutouts while being named a Mike Richter Award semifinalist ... he ended last season with career-highs in wins (14) and shutouts (5) while posting career-low figures in both goals against average (2.21) and save percentage (.918).

MEET THE CAPTAINS
• David Breazeale and Lynden Breen will serve as the captains of the 2023-24 Maine men's hockey team, with Ben Poisson and Nolan Renwick serving as alternate captains.
• Breazeale, a junior, and Breen, a senior, both served as alternate captains last year
• This marks the second consecutive season that Poisson is wearing an 'A' on his jersey and the first for Renwick.