ORONO, Maine – The #7/7 University of Maine men's hockey team will return home this weekend to host #10/13 Providence College on Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10 at Alfond Arena.
 
Puck drop between the Black Bears and Friars is set for 7 p.m. on both nights, with both games airing on ESPN+ and 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 25 | #7/7 Maine vs #10/13 Providence College
Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 | 7:00 P.M. 
Alfond Arena | Orono, Maine
 
GAME 26 | #7/7 Maine vs #10/13 Providence College
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 | 7:00 P.M. 
Alfond Arena | Orono, Maine
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• The University of Maine and Providence College will meet for two games this weekend at Alfond Arena.
• This is the first top-10 matchup at Alfond Arena since #8 Maine and #3 New Hampshire clashed on Dec. 10, 2010.
• The Black Bears went 1-1-0 on the road last weekend, falling at Northeastern on Friday night, 6-3, before bouncing back for a win at #11 UMass on Saturday, 1-0.
• The Friars split a home-and-home series with UConn, winning 5-0 on the road before falling 2-1 at home.
• It'll be a game between the top two teams in terms of shots on goal in Hockey East, with Providence landing a league-leading 864 on goal while Maine is second with 842.
• Maine sits in third place in the Hockey East standings with 28 points in 14 games played while Providence is in fourth with 26 points in 15 games played.
 
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD...
• Bump the Black Bears to 18-5-2 overall on the season and 10-4-1 in Hockey East.
• Move Maine to 73-56-7 in the all-time series with Providence.
• Give Maine double-digit conference wins for the first time since 2019-20 (12-9-3).
 
ABOUT MAINE
• Maine brings an overall mark of 17-5-2 and a Hockey East mark of 9-4-1 into the series with providence.
• Josh Nadeau (13-21-34) and Bradly Nadeau (14-18-32) give the Black Bears two 30-plus point getters on the year … Lynden Breen (6-18-24) and Donavan Villeneuve-Houle (8-12-20) make Maine make Maine one of four Hockey East teams with at least four 20-plus point getters.
• Maine, Boston University and Boston College are the only Hockey East teams with at least two 30-plus point getters.
• Between the pipes, Victor Ostman is 13-4-1 with a 2.66 goals against average and .897 save percentage while Albin Boija is 4-1-1 with a 1.33 goals against average, .940 save percentage and one shutout. 
• The Black Bears are second in Hockey East with a 52.1 face-off winning percentage … Harrison Scott is fifth in Hockey East with 252 face-off wins.
 
ABOUT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
• Providence College enters Friday at 15-8-2 overall and 8-5-2 in Hockey East play.
• Nick Poisson leads Providence with 20 points form seven goals and 13 assists while Chase Yoder has a team-leading nine goals and 16 points total.
• Philip Svedebäck has played all about 44 minutes between the pipes, going 15-8-2 with a 2.16 goals against average, .902 save percentage and four shutouts.
• The Friars have the second-best penalty kill unit in Hockey East with an 85.0 percent success rate.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs PROVIDENCE
• Maine has an overall record of 72-56-7 in the all-time series with Providence ... the Black Bears are 44-18-4 against the Friars at Alfond Arena.
• The teams met twice last season in Orono, with the Black Bears earning 3-2 and 3-0 wins ... in the 3-0 win, Lynden Breen scored the game-winning goal while Victor Ostman made 52 saves for the shutout.
• Lynden Breen is Maine's active scoring leader against the Friars, notching seven points on two goals and five assists ... Nolan Renwick (1-2-3) and Ben Poisson (2-1-3) have chipped in three points each ... eight current Black Bears have at least one point against Providence.
• The squads first squared off on Jan. 5, 1980, with Providence topping Maine, 4-3, at Alfond Arena.
• The Black Bears had a 13-game unbeaten streak in the series (12-0-1) that ran from Feb. 9, 1991 to Feb. 3, 1995.
• Maine head coach Ben Barr spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Providence College with Nate Leaman (as well as three seasons together at Union).
• Maine alternate captain Ben Poisson and Providence alternate captain Nick Poisson are brothers.
 
UP NEXT
• The Black Bears will head to New Hampshire next weekend for the final two regular season Buffalo Wild Wings Border Battle tilts with the Wildcats.
• Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 17.