ORONO, Maine – The #8 University of Maine men's hockey team will kick off the second semester at the Ledyard Bank Classic this weekend, host by Dartmouth at Thompson Arena.
 
The Black Bears will face the #18/19 RIT Tigers at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29. Maine will then take on either Dartmouth or Lake Superior State on Saturday, Dec. 30, with puck drop coming at either 4:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
 
All four games of the Ledyard Classic will stream live on ESPN+, with an international stream available via Dartmouth's StretchInternet portal.
 
GAME 15 | #8 Maine vs #18/19 RIT
Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 | 4:00 P.M. 
Thompson Arena | Hanover, N.H.
 
GAME 16 | #8 Maine vs Lake Superior State/Dartmouth
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 | TBD 
Thompson Arena | Hanover, N.H.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• The University of Maine will open up the second semester of play this weekend when it takes part in Dartmouth's Ledyard Classic.
• The Black Bears will face #18 RIT on Friday afternoon and will then meet either Dartmouth or Lake Superior State on Saturday.
• Maine has played in five previous Ledyard Bank Classics (formerly known as the 'Auld Lang Syne') but not since 1985 ... the Black Bears have two second-place finishes, two third-place finishes and one fourth.
 
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD...
• Bump the Black Bears to 11-3-1 overall on the season and 6-1 in non-conference games.
• Move Maine to 1-0-0 all-time against RIT.
• Give Maine its first five-game winning streak since the 2019-20 season.
• Give the Black Bears 11 wins in the opening 15 games of the season for the first time since 2003-04 (12-2-1).
 
THE LAST TIME OUT...
• The Black Bears last played on Dec. 9, earning a 3-2 comeback win over Bentley in a neutral-site contest in Portland ... Josh Nadeau scored twice in the game, including the game-winner, while Cole Hanson potted his first of the year.
• The win over Bentley marked the end of nine-day stretch that saw Maine play four games in three different arenas while going 4-0-0.
• After topping New #14 UNH (5-2) and UConn (7-3) at home Dec. 1 and 3, respectively, Maine trekked to Union for a midweek game, picking up a 3-1 win on Dec. 6 ... the Black Bears wrapped up the first semester with the win over Bentley in Portland.

ABOUT MAINE
• WIth 22 points from 10 goals and 12 assists, Josh Nadeau leads Maine in points ... Bradly Nadeau is second on the team in points with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 total ... Maine and Boston College are the only Hockey East teams with at least two 10-goal scorers.
• Through the first 14 games of the season, Maine has 20 different point getters and 16 different goal scorers.
• Victor Östman, who has seen the majority of time between the pipes and sits at 9-3-1 with a 2.40 goals against average and .906 save percentage, has gone 3-0-0 in the last three games Maine played.
• Harrison Scott has a team-leading 154 face-off wins, good for fifth in Hockey East ... his 61.1 winning percentage is tied for third in the nation among players who have taken at least 200 draws.
• Through 14 games, Maine's record of 10-3-1 marks the first time the program hit nine wins in the first 14 games since also going 10-3-1 in 2006-07.
 
ABOUT RIT
• The Tigers enter the Ledyard Classic at 11-5-0 overall after splitting a series at AIC to close out the first half of the season … on Dec. 8, RIT felt 3-2 in the first game at AIC before rebounding for a 5-2 win on Dec. 9.
• RIT is led by a pair of 15-point scorers in Carter Wilkie (7-8-15) and Cody Laskosky (5-10-15) … overall, the Tigers have six players with at least 10 points each … Gianfranco Cassaro (7-5-12) is tied for the team lead in goals.
• Tommy Scarfone has seen the majority of time between the pipes, going 10-4-0 with a 2.33 goals against average, .926 save percentage and one shutout.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs RIT
• This is the first-ever meeting between RIT and Maine.
• The Black Bears and Tigers share one common opponent so far this season: New Hampshire … the Tigers beat the Wildcats 5-4 before falling 4-3 in overtime … Maine picked up a 5-2 win over UNH at Alfond Arena.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs DARTMOUTH
• Maine holds an all-time record of 6-6-1 in the series with Dartmouth.
• The Black Bears and Big Green have not met since battling to a 0-0 tie on Nov. 27, 2004 at Thompson Arena.
• The first-ever meeting between Maine and Dartmouth came on Jan. 20, 1979 at Alfond Arena ... Dartmouth won, 9-3.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
• Maine holds an all-time record of 6-3-1 against Lake Superior State, including a mark of 2-2-0 in neutral site meetings.
• These teams square off in the 1993 National Championship game, with Maine winning the program's first-ever national title with a 5-4 win at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisc. ... Maine trailed 4-2 heading into the third period but Jim Montgomery recorded a hat trick in a five-minute span for the comeback win.
• Maine and LSU have not met since an 8-1 Maine win on Oct. 12, 2002 ... it was the first career start and win for future NHL goaltender Jimmy Howard.