ORONO, Maine – The #6 University of Maine men's hockey team will face #12 Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Springfield Regional on Thursday, March 28 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

Puck drop between the Black Bears and Big Red is set for 5:30 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPNews and ESPN+. The game can also be listened to via 92.9 FM in eastern Maine, 100.5 FM in southern Maine, 1160 AM or online at GoBlackBears.com/MIHRadio.

The winner of the first-round game will advance to Saturday's 4 p.m. regional final against the winner of the Denver-UMass first round matchup.

GAME 37 | #6 Maine vs #12 Cornell
Thursday, March 28, 2024 | 5:30 P.M.
MassMutual Center | Springfield, Mass.
NCAA Tournament First Round | Springfield Regional

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• The University of Maine men's hockey team will face off against Cornell University on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
• The Black Bears are playing in the program's first NCAA Tournament in 12 years, last having appeared in 2012, and the 19th overall ... Maine earned an at-large bid and enters the tournament as the fifth overall seed.
• Cornell earned ECAC Hockey's automatic bid with the program's 13th Whitelaw Cup win ... this is the second consecutive and 24th overall NCAA Tournament bid for the Big Red.
• The winner of the first-round game will advance to Saturday's 4 p.m. regional final against the winner of the Denver-UMass first round matchup.

A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD...
• Bump Maine to 24-11-2 on the year for the most wins in a season since 2005-06.
• Give the Black Bears the first NCAA Tournament win for the program since March 24, 2007.
• Move Maine to 31-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Bump Maine to 8-7-3 all-time against Cornell.

ABOUT MAINE
• The Black Bears sit at 23-11-2 overall ... this past weekend, Maine advanced to the Hockey East Tournament semifinal for the first time since 2012 where it fell to #2 Boston University, 4-1.
• Bradly Nadeau (19-27-46) and Josh Nadeau (18-27-45) are tied for the team lead in points … seven players have at least 20 points for the Black Bears … through 36 games, Maine has 23 different point getters and 20 different goal scorers ... with the Nadeau brothers and Lynden Breen (9-21-13), Maine has three 30-point players for the first time since 2011-12.
• In goal, Albin Boija is 10-6-1 with a 2.01 goals against average, .916 save percentage and two shutouts.
• Maine is averaging 62.42 shots per game, the most of any Hockey East school ... the Black Bears are second in Hockey East and 17th in the nation with a 52.1 face-off winning percentage. 
• Nineteen of Maine's 36 games have been against ranked opponents, with the Black Bears going 11-7-1 in those games for the most ranked wins since 2003-04 (12).
• The Black Bears have been ranked for 20 consecutive weeks for the first time since a 57-week stretch from January 2005 to March 2007.

ABOUT CORNELL
• Cornell enters the NCAA Tournament at 21-6-6 overall ... the Big Red earned the ECAC Hockey automatic bid with a 3-1 win over St. Lawrence in the conference tournament title game.
• Gabriel Seger leds Cornell in scoring with 42 points form 14 goals and 28 assists ... Dalton Bancroft is second with 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points while Kyle Penney (9-17-26) and Jonathan Castagna (11-14-25) give Cornell four players with at least 25 points.
• Ian Shane is 21-4-6 between the pipes, posting a 1.70 goals against average and .922 save percentage to go with three shutouts.
• This is Cornell's second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and the 24th in program history.

SERIES HISTORY vs CORNELL
• Maine holds an all-time record of 7-7-3 against the Big Red.
• This is the first meeting between the two squads since the 2013 Florida College Classic championship game on Dec. 29, 2013 ... Maine and Cornell's last seven meetings came at the annual Florida College Classic tournament.
• This is the first-ever NCAA Tournament meeting between the two teams.
• Cornell and Maine squared off for the first time ever on Dec. 28, 1979 at Lynah Rink, with the Big Red pulling out a 3-1 win.

MAINE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Maine is playing in its 19 NCAA Tournament ... the program has appeared in 11 Frozen Fours.
• The Black Bears have won two titles, doing it in 1993 and 1999.
• The Black Bears are 30-20 all-time in the tournament, including a mark of 14-7 in the regional round.
• Maine appeared in its first national title game in 1993, topping Lake Superior State, 5-4, for the program's first title ... the Black Bears are 2-3 in the championship game.