ORONO, Maine – The #6/5 University of Maine men's hockey team returns to action this weekend with a pair of Hockey East road games, facing off against Northeastern on Friday night before making the trip to #11 UMass on Saturday.
 
The Black Bears and Huskies will face off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Matthews Arena while Saturday's battle with the Minutemen is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center. Friday's tilt with Northeastern will air live on NESN while Saturday's matchup with the Minutemen will be on TSN+.

Both games on the weekend can be streamed live 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 23 | #6/5 Maine at Northeastern
Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 | 7:00 P.M. 
Matthews Arena | Boston
 
GAME 24 | #6/5 Maine at #11 UMass
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024 | 7:00 P.M. 
Mullins Center | Amherst, Mass.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• The University of Maine and Northeastern will face off on Friday night at Matthews Arena ... after playing the Huskies, the Black Bears will then travel to play at UMass on Saturday night.
• Maine was off this past weekend, last having played in a sweep of UMass Lowell Jan. 19 and 20 ... the Black Bears had 5-3 and 7-2 home wins over the River Hawks.
• Over the weekend, Northeastern swept a home-and-home with Merrimack by 5-3 and 4-1 scores ... on Tuesday, the Huskies will host Boston University.
• UMass, who last played on Jan. 20 in a 2-1 win at Northeastern, will play at Merrimack on Friday night.
 
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD...
• Bump the Black Bears to 17-4-2 overall on the season and 9-3-1 in Hockey East.
• Move Maine to 57-56-21 in the all-time series against Northeastern.
• Snap Maine's 15-game winless streak at Matthews Arena.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs NORTHEASTERN
• Maine stands at 56-56-21 in the all-time series with Northeastern ... the Black Bears are 21-34-10 on the road against the Huskies.
• The teams met twice at Alfond Arena last season ... in the first game, they played to a 2-2 tie (and Maine won the shootout) and in the second game, Northeastern picked up a 4-1 win.
• Ben Poisson is Maine's leading scorer against Northeastern with two goals ... Donavan Villeneuve-Houle has two points on one goal and one assist ... six current Black Bears have at least one point against the Huskies.
• Maine has not won at Matthews Arena since a 7-1 win on Feb. 25, 2012, going 0-13-2 there since then.
• The first ever meeting in the series was on Dec. 1, 1977 at then Boston Arena where Northeastern won, 7-4.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs UMASS
• Maine has an overall record of 57-28-10 in the all-time series with UMass, including a mark of 19-18-8 on the road.
• The teams met twice last season in Orono, with UMass sweeping Maine by 5-2 and 4-3 scores to close out the regular season.
• Lynden Breen is Maine's active scoring leader against the Minutemen, nothing eight points on three goals and five assists ... Donavan Villeneuve-Houle has two goals and two assists all-time against UMass while Ben Poisson has three points on two goals and one assist ... eight active Black Bears have at least one point against the Minutemen.
• The teams first met on Jan. 26, 1979 at Alfond Arena, with Maine winning 8-3.
• Maine head coach Ben Barr spent five years as associate head coach at UMass ... his time in Amherst include a Hockey East regular season and tournament title, three NCAA tournament appearances, back-to-back NCAA title game appearances and the 2021 National Championship.
 
UP NEXT
• Maine will return home next weekend to host #10 Providence on Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10 at Alfond Arena.
• Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on both nights.