ORONO, Maine – The #15/18 University of Maine men's hockey ice team will battle the UMass Lowell River Hawks on Wednesday night in a neutral site contest at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
 
Puck drop of the Hockey East game is set for 7 p.m. and the tilt will stream on ESPN+, with an international stream available via Hockey East/Stretch Internet. The games can also be listened to via 92.9 FM or online at GoBlackBears.com/MIHRadio.

Game 17 | #15/18 Maine vs UMass Lowell
Wednesday, Dec. 10 | 7:00 p.m.
Cross Insurance Arena | Portland, Maine | ESPN+

WHAT'S ON TAP
• The University of Maine men's ice hockey team and the UMass Lowell River Hawks will meet for a single game on Wednesday night at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
• Both teams are coming off of two-loss weekends, with Maine falling to UNH twice at home while UMass Lowell dropped both ends of a home-and-home series against Boston College.
• Maine stands at 8-7-1 overall on the year, including a mark of 5-5-0 in Hockey East play ... the River Hawks are 6-10-0 and 3-5-0 in conference games.
• The Black Bears and River Hawks last faced off in Portland during the 2021-22 season, with UMass Lowell picking up a 2-0 win on Nov. 27, 2021.
 
A WIN ON WEDNESDAY WOULD. . .
• Move the Black Bears to 9-7-1 on the year and 6-5-0 in Hockey East play.
• Bump Maine to 88-49-6 in the series with UMass Lowell.
• Move Maine to 2-2-0 in Portland under head coach Ben Barr.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs UMASS LOWELL
• Maine holds an all-time record of 87-47-6 against UMass Lowell.
• The teams met three times during the 2024-25 season with Maine going 3-0-0 ... they played a two-game series at Lowell in January with Maine picking up 2-1 and 3-1 wins ... the Black Bears then claimed a 7-1 victory in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinal round in Orono.
• Eleven total Black Bears have at least one career point against the River Hawks ... Brandon Holt (2-5-7) is Maine's active scoring leader against UMass Lowell while Thomas Freel (1-5-6) and Josh Nadeau (2-4-6) have six points each.
• The first-ever meeting in the series came on Jan. 14, 1978, with Maine dropping that road tilt, 5-1.
 
IT'S WORTH NOTING
• Maine has five first-year skaters with more than five points each, tied with Merrimack for the most in Hockey East.
• Brandon Holt is third in active career scoring by a Hockey East defender, totaling 61 points on 15 goals and 46 assists.
• Earlier this season, Justin Poirier became one of just three Hockey East rookies since 2005-06 to score nine goals in their first 10 career games.
• Josh Nadeau's 86 points in his first 88 career games trails only Gustav Nyquist's 108 points among Maine players in their first 88 career games since the 2002-03 season.
• Since Maine was ranked in both national polls on Oct. 30, 2023, the Black Bears have been ranked in 60 consecutive polls for the longest stretch for the program since an 84-week stretch from Dec. 3, 2001 to Jan. 3, 2005.
• Maine has outshot the opponent in 71 of 91 contests dating back to the start of the 2023-24 season.
• Maine is 15-1-2 all-time when Thomas Freel scores a goal.
• Maine's weekend sweep of BU Oct. 31-Nov. 1 was the program's first weekend sweep of a top-5 team since doing it at #3 Boston College on Jan. 25-26, 2013.

UP NEXT
• Maine will close out the first semester with a two-game series this weekend against Lindenwood at Alfond Arena.
• Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14.