ORONO, Maine – The eighth-ranked University of Maine men's hockey team returns home this weekend to host UMass Lowell for two Hockey East games on Friday, Jan. 19 and Saturday, Jan. 20 at Alfond Arena.
 
Puck drop between the Black Bears and River Hawks is set for 7 p.m. on both nights, with both games airing on ESPN+ with an international stream available via Hockey East/Stretch Internet. The games can also be listened to via 92.9 FM in eastern Maine, 100.5 FM in southern Maine or online at GoBlackBears.com/MIHRadio.
 
GAME 21 | #8 Maine vs UMass Lowell
Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 | 7:00 P.M. 
Alfond Arena | Orono, Maine
 
GAME 22 | #8 Maine vs UMass Lowell
Saturday, Jan, 20, 2024 | 7:00 P.M. 
Alfond Arena | Orono, Maine
 
 WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• The University of Maine men's hockey team and UMass Lowell will meet for two tilts this weekend at Alfond Arena.
• The Black Bears split a two-game set at UConn last weekend, putting together a 5-3 comeback on Friday night before falling, 2-0, on Saturday ... it was the first time this season that Maine was kept off the scoreboard.
• The River Hawks last played Jan. 5 and 6 at the Desert Hockey Classic, falling to Omaha, 4-3, but topping Harvard, 7-4.

A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD...
• Bump the Black Bears to 15-4-2 overall on the season and 7-3-1 in Hockey East games.
• Move Maine to 83-49-6 in the all-time series with UMass Lowell, including a mark of 43-24-1 at Alfond Arena.
 
ABOUT MAINE
• Maine split a series at UConn last weekend, earning a 5-3 comeback win on Friday before having its nine-game unbeaten streak snapped with a 2-0 loss on Saturday.
• The Black Bears stand at 14-4-2 overall and 6-3-1 in Hockey East play.
• Josh Nadeau currently leads the team in points with 28 and also leads the team with 17 assists … Bradly Nadeau is second with 27 points from 14 goals and 13 assists while Lynden Breen has six goals and 16 assists for 22 points.
• Through the first 20 games of the season, Maine has 20 different point getters and 18 different goal scorers … 14 players have at least five points each while seven players have at least 13 points.
• Maine is 13-1-1 this season when Breen has a point ... Breen is the Hockey East active leader in scoring in points (94), goals (39) and face-off wins (1,003).
• In goal, Victor Ostman is 12-3-1 with a .900 save percentage and 2.48 goals against average … Albin Boija is 2-1-1 with a 1.50 goals against average and .939 save percentage.

ABOUT UMASS LOWELL
• The River Hawks bring an overall record of 7-12-2 and a Hockey East mark of 3-6-1 into this weekend's series.
• UMass Lowell last played Jan. 5 and 6 at the Desert Hockey Classic, falling to Omaha, 4-3, but topping Harvard, 7-4.
• Scout Truman leads UML in scoring with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points … Nick Rhéaume has a team-high eight goals while adding four assists for 12 points.
• Luke Pavicich and Henry Welsch have been splitting time between the pipes … Pavicich is 3-5-0 with a .891 save percentage and 3.19 goals against average … Welsch is 4-7-2 with a .920 save percentage, 2.19 goals against average and one shutout.
• The River Hawks are converting on 15.5 percent of power plays while killing off 77.0 percent of penalties.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs UMASS LOWELL
• Maine holds an all-time record of 82-49-6 against UMass Lowell ... the Black Bears are 44-21-1 at Alfond Arena against the River Hawks.
• Last season, Maine went 1-1-1 in the series ... after dropping a 2-1 home game on Jan. 23, 2023, Maine responded with a 5-3 win the next night to snap a nine-game winless streak in the series ... the teams then battled to a 1-1 tie (with Maine falling in the shootout) on Feb. 12 in Lowell.
• The two squads first met on Jan. 14, 1978, with UMaine dropping that road tilt, 5-1.
• Ben Poisson is Maine's active leading scorer against UMass Lowell, recording five points on two goals and three assists ... Lynden Breen (2-2-4), Donavan Villeneuve-Houle (2-1-3) and David Breazeale (2-0-2) all have multiple goals.
 
UP NEXT
• After the series with UMass Lowell, the Black Bears won't play again until the first weekend of February.
• The Black Bears will travel to play at Northeastern on Feb. 2 and at UMass on Feb. 3.