ORONO, Maine – The second-seeded University of Maine men's ice hockey team will face ninth-seeded Northeastern in the 2025 Hockey East Tournament semifinal round on Thursday, March 20 at TD Garden in Boston.

The single-elimination game between the Black Bears and Huskies is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop, following the 4 p.m. Boston University-UConn semifinal game. The winners of each semifinal will advance to the Hockey East title game set for Friday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m., to determine the winner of the Lamoriello Trophy and the league's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.
 
The semifinal contest will air live on NESN+ along with ESPN+ and an international stream available via Hockey East/Stretch Internet. The Maine-Northeastern game 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 36 | #4/5 Maine vs Northeastern
Thursday, March 20, 2025 | 7:30 P.M.
TD Garden | Boston
Hockey East Tournament Semifinal

WHAT'S ON TAP
• Second-seeded University of Maine will face ninth-seeded Northeastern in the Hockey East Tournament semifinal round on Thursday night at TD Garden.
• Maine is making its second straight semifinal appearance and the program's 22nd overall.
• This will be the 12th meeting between Maine and Northeastern in the Hockey East Tournament and the third-ever semifinal round matchup.
• The teams met three times during the regular season, with Maine going 2-0-1 with a win and tie at Matthews Arena and a win at Alfond Arena.
 
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD. . .
• Move Maine to 23-7-6 on the year.
• Advance the Black Bears to the program's first Hockey East Tournament championship game since 2011-12.
• Move Maine to 59-48 all-time in the conference tournament, including a mark of 7-5 against Northeastern.
• Bump the Black Bears to 61-59-21 in the all-time series with the Huskies.
• Move Maine to 16-6 all-time in semifinal.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs NORTHEASTERN
• Maine holds an overall record of 60-59-21 in the all-time series with Northeastern, including a mark of 6-5 in the Hockey East Tournament.
• Northeastern and Maine have squared off twice before in the semifinal round, with the Black Bears earning a 4-3 overtime win in 1991 and a 3-2 overtime win in 1989.
• Maine had a 2-0-1 mark against Northeastern during the 2024-25 regular season, winning 4-1 and tying 2-2 on the road in October and picking up a 3-1 win at home in January ... it was Maine's first regular season series win since the 2011-12 season.
• The Oct. 25, 2024 win snapped a 16-game winless streak at Matthews Arena (last win: Feb. 25, 2012).
• The first ever meeting in the series was on Dec. 1, 1977 at then-Boston Arena ... Northeastern won, 7-4.
• Fifteen current Black Bears have at least one point against the Huskies ... Josh Nadeau (1-5-6) is Maine's active scoring leader against Northeastern while Nolan Renwick (2-2-4) and Thomas Freel (1-3-4) have four points each ... Taylor Makar has three goals all-time against the Huskies.
 
ABOUT NORTHEASTERN
• The Huskies became the first-ever nine seed to advance to the semifinal with a 3-1 upset at top-seeded and top-ranked Boston College on Saturday night … the Huskies also went on the road and won in the opening round of the playoffs, defeating Merrimack 3-2 in overtime.
• Northeastern is 14-9-3 overall on the year and went 7-14-3 in Hockey East games … the Huskies have six wins over ranked opponents this season, including two over top-3 teams.
• Jack Williams leads the team with 41 points from 16 goals and 25 assists … Cam Lund (17-21-38) and Dylan Hryckowian (16-19-35) give the Huskies three double-digit goal scorers.
• Cam Whitehead has played the majority of minutes between the pipes, going 13-16-1 with a 2.74 goals against average, .910 save percentage and one shutout.
 
MAINE IN THE HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT
• Maine is playing in its 38th Hockey East Tournament this season ... that ties with New Hampshire for the third-most appearances in league history behind Boston College (40) and Boston University (40).
• The Black Bears have won five titles, third most all-time behind BC (12) and BU (10).
• Maine is 58-48 all-time in the Hockey East Tournament ... the Black Bears hold a record of 15-6 in the semifinal round, with a 2-0 mark against Northeastern.
• This is the eighth time that Maine is the No. 2 Seed in the conference tournament, holding an 18-5 all-time record while seeded second ... the Black Bears have advanced to the title game four times when the No. 2 seed.
• The Black Bears have now advanced to the semifinal round in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004-05 and 2005-06.
 
SEARCHING FOR THE SIXTH
• Maine is in search of its sixth Hockey East Tournament title.
• Maine won its first championship in 1989 when it defeated Boston College, 5-4, in a title game held at Boston College.
• Maine appeared in its first title game in 1987 and went on to appear in seven consecutive championship games.
• Maine's last tournament title came in 2004 when it defeated UMass, 2-1, in three overtimes.
• Maine's five titles are third most all-time behind BC (12) and BU (10).
 
TOP-3 FINISH
• The Black Bears finished second or higher in the Hockey East regular season standings for the first time since finishing second during the 2005-06 season.
• Additionally, after finishing tied for third last season, this marks the first back-to-back top-3 finishes for the Black Bears since 2002-03 and 2003-04.
• Maine is the first Hockey East program since 2012-13 to finish in the top three of the regular season standings while having fewer than three draft picks on the roster, doing it last year and this year.
• In 2023-24, the Black Bears were just the second team in 25 years to be picked to finish ninth or lower that went on to earn a top-3 finish (joining the 2011-12 UMass Lowell squad that was led by that season's head coach of the Year, Norm Bazin).
 
UP NEXT
• With a win, Maine would advance to the 7:30 p.m. Hockey East title game against the winner of the Boston University-UConn semifinal on Friday, March 21.
• With a loss, Maine would await to learn its 2025 NCAA Tournament fate on the Selection Show on Sunday, March 23.