Amidst the dreary dog days of February, when the long Maine winters feel especially endless and cumbersome, there's nothing much better at pumping life and energy back into the bloodstream than taking in the two Northern New England hockey adversaries battling it out for bragging rights.

This weekend, the New Hampshire Wildcats and the Maine Black Bears renew their Border Battle rivalry with a Valentine's Day weekend date at Alfond Arena.
While love may be in the air this weekend, there won't be an ounce of it present at the Alfond.

"When we go down there or when they come up here, it almost feels personal. It's different than just a hockey game," Maine co-captain and senior defenseman David Breazeale said. "It means a lot to everybody when you're playing UNH, and it's the same thing for them down there, which is why it's so special. It's something we always look forward to, so we're pumped about it."

Border War
A battle for the border in the most literal sense, the rivalry between the two states dates back long before their creation. In 1622, the Province of Maine was split at the Piscataqua River, forming the Province of New Hampshire to the south and the Province of New Somersetshire (a precursor to the modern-day State of Maine) north of the river.

Since then, border disputes over who controls the Isles of Shoals and, in particular, Seavey's Island, which is considered part of Maine and houses a U.S. Navy shipyard right smack in the middle of the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine, have raged on with little compromise.

The State of New Hampshire has sued the State of Maine twice over the exact details of the border, first in 1977 over lobster fishing rights in the river and again in 2000, disputing Maine's ownership of Seavey's Island. The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in favor of Maine. Most recently, in January 2025, the New Hampshire General Court introduced a revision to the border, which, if passed, would ask the U.S. Congress to find the Piscataqua River and Portsmouth Harbor as lying within New Hampshire, not Maine.

Paralleling these disputes over legislation, between lawyers, and in courts, the two state's flagship universities have flamed their own competitive tradition, with their hockey teams sparring in plenty of high-profile contests, sparking one of the most iconic and fierce rivalries in college hockey.

"Proximity, history, league championships, great players, the '99 National Championship game, there's a lot of reasons [the rivalry is special]. It's a lot of fun for both sides whether we are at home or up at the Alfond. It's a hostile environment in both places and I think both programs enjoy playing in it," said UNH head coach and Wildcat alumnus Mike Souza.

Since first facing off in 1979 in Orono (a 5-3 Maine victory), the Black Bears and Wildcats have slugged it out 146 times since, with Maine leading the all-time series over the noisy neighbors by a record of 73-64-14.

The Black Bears dominated the early days of the rivalry through the '80s and '90s – at one point beating the Wildcats 22 out of 24 times between 1986 and 1993.
The rivalry reached a boiling point in 1999, when the two teams met in the national title game in Anaheim, California. This was just a month after UNH swept Maine in Durham to end the regular season and earn the Wildcats the Hockey East regular-season championship. But the Black Bears got the last laugh when it meant the most after Marcus Gustafsson scored in overtime to clinch Maine's second national championship. In that famous game, current Black Bears' assistant coach Alfie Michaud stopped 46 of 48 shots, while Souza assisted and scored in the third period to rally UNH and force overtime.

Maine and UNH have met in the Hockey East playoffs on seven different occasions, with the Black Bears besting the Wildcats in either a single-game or playoff series five of those times. New Hampshire's first-ever trip to the Hockey East Championship Game at the old Boston Garden resulted in a 4-1 loss to Maine in 1992 (with Jim Montgomery scoring the game-winning goal).

The two teams would meet in the conference title game again in 2002, where UNH got the better of the Black Bears 3-1 to win for their first of back-to-back Hockey East championships. But less than a month later, Maine would foil New Hampshire's national ambitions once again, overpowering UNH 7-2 in the Frozen Four semifinal thanks to two goals each by Peter Metcalf, Róbert Liščák, and Paul Falco.

Aside from New Hampshire's 2002 victory, the only other time the Wildcats have beat the Black Bears in the playoffs was in 2021, a 7-2 Wildcat victory in front of an empty Alfond Arena during Maine's only home game of the season due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Most recently, Maine beat UNH 5-0 last year in the Hockey East Quarterfinals thanks to two goals each from Bradly and Josh Nadeau and a power play tally from Ben Poisson.

The history of this bitter rivalry is not lost on the current crop of Black Bears and is, in part, what makes these games so special for them.

"We go back…we've watched the '99 game with Alfie in net. How cool is that, to beat them in the national championship? I think that's where this rivalry is so special, where you can compete at the highest level in the national championship. So the history goes back so far, obviously, it's a border battle, and it's so unique. I think it's one of the best rivalries in college hockey and almost all of college athletics," Breazeale said.

While the ill-will may have cooled down during the mid-2000s, the resurgence of both programs in recent years has certainly reignited the rivalry.

"It is decades old, and maybe in the last couple of years, it has heated up a little bit with both programs doing a little bit better than we have in past years. But it's got a different feel when you get onto the ice, whether that's here or there, it's got a different feel no question," said Maine head coach Ben Barr.

These clashes between UNH and Maine are not only circled in bright red ink on both sets of fans' calendars but are also seen as extra special for the players.

For seniors like Breazeale, the opportunity to come out on top in potentially their final Border Battle experience is of paramount concern.

"This is one you have circled on your calendar, of course. UNH, in the Alfond, is special. Every year that we've played these guys has been an absolute battle, down at their place or here," Breazeale said. "Just trying to think about it like it's another weekend, but every weekend down to the wire, it's your senior year…I've got nine games left in the regular season and two of them are fortunately against UNH which is pretty special, so I'm pumped about it. Maybe at the end of the second game, if we get a win, I'll be able to soak it in a little bit and say, wow, that was pretty special. But until then, I'm just focused on that first shift, that first period, and making sure we're coming out there flying for both games."

Meanwhile, it is equally exciting for Black Bears who are new to the rivalry, such as is the case for Taylor Makar, who transferred to Maine from UMass in the summer and is looking forward to his first Border Battle at the Alfond.

"If I haven't seen [the Alfond] at its craziest yet, then I don't even know what to expect," Makar said. "I'm really excited for this weekend because even when I was at Hannaford's, people were talking about how amazing it is, so I'm pumped."

With the rivalry's resurgence, the national spotlight will be on Orono this weekend, giving this weekend's Border Battle even more flavor and hype. Everything College Hockey will be in attendance for Saturday's Whiteout game, which will include a three-hour Pregame Fan Festival outside the Alfond.

Everything College Hockey is a digital media group that showcases the unique fan culture and gameday experience of college hockey to promote the collegiate game.
"It's really neat that Everything College Hockey is coming here. They've kind of established themselves as almost a College Game Day deal with college hockey," Barr said. "In the middle of February in the Maine winter, I think it might be a neat thing for the whole community."

Black Bear Nation will get the chance to showcase its unparalleled Alfond atmosphere to a national audience, with Everything College Hockey documenting Saturday's game.
"We're super excited to have them come up to Orono and do something for the community up here before such a big rivalry game on Saturday, so we're pumped to have them and excited to have them in the building and it kind of adds to the whole weekend," Breazeale said.

Previewing the weekend
The Border Battle has been largely dominated by the home team in recent years, with each team's hostile environments proving an enormous hurdle for the visitors to overcome. Since the 20201-22 season, the home crowd has lifted their team to a regulation victory or shootout win seven out of nine times.

One of these road victories came earlier in the season when the Black Bears took care of business down in Durham, outlasting UNH 3-1 in late November.

For the Black Bears playing in front of their home crowd, it will be crucial to utilize the energy of the Alfond Faithful while also staying focused inside the cauldron of noise, not allowing it to be a distraction.

"It's easy to find the juice, you know, but you've also got to settle into the game a little bit where it's the excitement, the buzz, the crowd, you've got to channel it so it's good effort, it's good focus, we're not getting distracted with it all," Breazeale said. "I think we're going to let it fuel us, get it fired up for us to go out there, especially that first shift, but once you get that first shift in, you kind of have to settle in and just play hockey from there. Feed off the crowd when they get loud because obviously that's one of the best parts of college hockey in general, it's the coolest thing."

From the perspective of Souza, who played as a visitor at the Alfond on six occasions, winning three times, it's all about embracing the role of villain in a hostile environment.

"I think that the one takeaway for me is that it's nice to be at home, but it's fun to be in that environment. I think as an athlete, you want to measure yourself in hostile environments," Souza said.

During Maine's victory down in Durham in November, the Wildcats utilized a conservative neutral zone trap to slow down the Black Bears' speed through center ice, limiting Maine's offensive zone time for much of the game. Last weekend, Providence did much of the same, efficiently bottling the Black Bears from getting up ice, which limited Maine to just 20 shots on goal on Saturday, their lowest total of the year. On the other side of the puck, UNH's quick transition game and blistering speed between the bluelines are in large-part what swept the Black Bears out of Durham last season.

"They're fast, they are skilled, they forecheck really well, they clog the neutral zone really well. It will be more of the same [as Providence]. Not exactly the same in terms of x's and o's, but when we played down there, there's not a lot of Grade-A chances one way or the other. When you get them you have to make the most out of them," Barr said.

Meanwhile, both UNH and Maine are two of the heaviest-hitting teams in all of college hockey, both playing an abrasive checking game that leaves their opponent black and blue. Because of this similar style and with both sides being two of the oldest and most experienced teams, especially on the backend with veteran defensemen, neither team allows many Grade-A scoring chances. Maine's current 23.3 shots-against average is the best in the country, while New Hampshire's 24.8 SA/G is sixth best. Much of UNH's defensive success has to do with senior defenseman and New Hampshire native Alex Gagne (4g-10a-14pts), who is one of the most effective defensive-defensemen in Hockey East.

Bearing down in front of the net and executing on the few chances they each will create will be equally key for these two teams, both of which have struggled immensely in this department in recent weeks.

"When we do get chances, and there are not a lot of chances out there either way because that's Hockey East right now and it's going to be like that the rest of the year. When we do get a chance to make a play, we've got to make it, on the power play, we've got to execute, that's going to be the game basically every week the rest of the way," Barr explained.

Speaking of the power play, Maine's man-advantage unit has been struggling significantly since the New Year, going 2 for 30 in 2025, not scoring since Jan. 11 at UMass Lowell. For Barr, making the simple plays and not overthinking and over-handling the puck is key to getting the power play back on track and ensuring that it isn't a momentum killer for Maine every time it takes to the ice.

"The power play has obviously really struggled in the last three, four weekends. It gets in your head a little bit, so you just try and go back to basics: work hard, win your battles, get pucks to the net, get some rebounds, try to not overthink it too much," Barr explained.

On the other side of the puck, the most dangerous Wildcats that Maine will have to watch out for include Robert Cronin (11g-10a-21pts), Liam Devlin (7g-14a-21pts), Cy LeClerc (7g-13a-20pts) and most notably Ryan Conmy (13g-12a-25pts), who is averaging almost a point per game through his two-seasons at UNH.

"He's dynamic, he can really shoot it, so you've got to limit his time and space, he always finds a way to get chances. Albin [Boija] made two or three really good saves on him late in the game down at UNH. He always figures in the offense; he's maybe their most creative game," Barr warned about Conmy.

In net for UNH will most likely be Jared Whale (2.66 GAA-0.890 SV%), a junior netminder who transferred from Alaska-Anchorage in the summer after Tyler Muszelik transferred to UConn and Jakob Hellsten signed pro in Sweden.

"They were lucky to get a goalie as good as him, I think. He's delivered and been really solid for them," Barr said about Whale.

All in all, according to Barr, during this grind of the season, finding a spark night in and night out is not only the biggest challenge but critical to Maine's success this weekend and in the season's remaining weeks.

"You're in the dog days of the season, in the middle of February, it's cold out, we're just trying to keep it fresh and trying to find that spark every night, and at this time of the year, it's not a lot about the x's and o's as it is about how much jump you have and what kind of a passion you're bringing to that game every night, because it is easy to let your mind wander," Barr explained.

But if you can't get up for this weekend, you might not have a pulse.

The eyes of the nation will be glued on Orono.

The Alfond will be rocking.

And hopefully, the Black Bears will be buzzing.

Tie down the sweaters and tighten the chin straps; it's Border Battle time.