Friday, October 9
Minneapolis, Minn.
7:00 PM
University of Maine
at
Minnesota
Photo by: Holly Gustavsen
PREVIEW: Maine travels to East West Showcase in Minnesota
10/6/2026 11:45:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
The showcase is hosted by the University of Minnesota
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's hockey program will hit the road for the first time this season and compete in the East West Showcase hosted by the University of Minnesota on Friday Oct. 9 and Saturday Oct. 10.
The Black Bears and Saints will square off on Thursday, Oct. 1 and Friday, Oct. 2 at Alfond Arena, with puck drop set for 6 p.m. on Thursday and 3 p.m. on Friday, with both contests on ESPN+.
GAME 5 | Maine at #3 Minnesota
Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 | 7:00 P.M.Â
Ridder Arena | Minneapolis, Minnesota | B10+
GAME 6 |Â Bemidji State vs Maine
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 | 3:00 P.M.Â
Ridder Arena | Minneapolis, Minnesota | B10+
WHAT'S ON TAP
• The Black Bears will compete in the East West Showcase against #3 Minnesota and Bemidji State.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD. . .
• Move Maine to 2-4-0 on the season.
• Give Maine their first win against Minnesota all time.
• Be the first ranked win for the Black Bears since Dec. 30, 2025 where they defeated #15 Brown.
SERIES HISTORY vs #3 MINNESOTA
• Maine holds an overall record of 0-1-0 in the all-time series with Minnesota.
• This is the first meeting between the two programs since the 2006-07 season where Minnesota took a 5-2 victory at Ridder Arena.
ABOUT #3 MINNESOTA
• Minnesota opened the season sweeping Bemidji State.
• Minnesota returns their second leading goal scorer Bella Fanale who tallied 20 goals for the Golden Gophers in her sophomore campaign. Fanale sits at a tie for the team high in goals this seaosn with two.
• Minnesota finished the 2025-26 season 26-12-1 and 18-9-1 in WCHA play.
• Minnesota fell to Ohio State in the WCHA Finals last season and received an At-Large bid into the NCAA Tournament, falling to Northeastern in the opening round.
SERIES HISTORY vs BEMIDJI STATE
• Maine holds an overall record of 4-2-1 in the all-time series with Bemidji State.
• The first match up between the two programs was back in the 2000-01 season where the swept the series in Orono.
•This is the first time these two teams have matched up in 14 years with the last match up coming back in the 2012-13 season where Maine took the match up in a shootout.
ABOUT BEMIDJI STATE
• Bemidji State opened the season dropping both games to #3 Minnesota.
• Bemidji State returns their leading goal scorer Hailey Armstrong who tallied 16 goals for the Beavers in her junior campaign. Armstrong currently has one goal on the season.
• Bemidji State finished the 2025-26 season 6-27-3 and 3-24-1 in WCHA play.
SERIES RECAP
• Maine went 1-1-0 against RV St. Lawrence
• Maine had three separate goal scorers and had eight separate players tally a point. Maine had three players have a multi-point game in the series opener.
• Gracie Hanson tallied three assists in the series opener, the first time a Black Bear has had three assists in a game since Anna Zikova who did so in 2018.
• Kiia Lahtinen averaged 21.5 saves in the two contests against the Saints
• Alex Gettens captured his first career win on Thursday in the series opener
UP NEXT
• The Black Bears will stay on the road as they will face Rensselaer in Troy, NY on Oct 16 and Oct. 17.
-UMaine-
The Black Bears and Saints will square off on Thursday, Oct. 1 and Friday, Oct. 2 at Alfond Arena, with puck drop set for 6 p.m. on Thursday and 3 p.m. on Friday, with both contests on ESPN+.
GAME 5 | Maine at #3 Minnesota
Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 | 7:00 P.M.Â
Ridder Arena | Minneapolis, Minnesota | B10+
GAME 6 |Â Bemidji State vs Maine
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 | 3:00 P.M.Â
Ridder Arena | Minneapolis, Minnesota | B10+
WHAT'S ON TAP
• The Black Bears will compete in the East West Showcase against #3 Minnesota and Bemidji State.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD. . .
• Move Maine to 2-4-0 on the season.
• Give Maine their first win against Minnesota all time.
• Be the first ranked win for the Black Bears since Dec. 30, 2025 where they defeated #15 Brown.
SERIES HISTORY vs #3 MINNESOTA
• Maine holds an overall record of 0-1-0 in the all-time series with Minnesota.
• This is the first meeting between the two programs since the 2006-07 season where Minnesota took a 5-2 victory at Ridder Arena.
ABOUT #3 MINNESOTA
• Minnesota opened the season sweeping Bemidji State.
• Minnesota returns their second leading goal scorer Bella Fanale who tallied 20 goals for the Golden Gophers in her sophomore campaign. Fanale sits at a tie for the team high in goals this seaosn with two.
• Minnesota finished the 2025-26 season 26-12-1 and 18-9-1 in WCHA play.
• Minnesota fell to Ohio State in the WCHA Finals last season and received an At-Large bid into the NCAA Tournament, falling to Northeastern in the opening round.
SERIES HISTORY vs BEMIDJI STATE
• Maine holds an overall record of 4-2-1 in the all-time series with Bemidji State.
• The first match up between the two programs was back in the 2000-01 season where the swept the series in Orono.
•This is the first time these two teams have matched up in 14 years with the last match up coming back in the 2012-13 season where Maine took the match up in a shootout.
ABOUT BEMIDJI STATE
• Bemidji State opened the season dropping both games to #3 Minnesota.
• Bemidji State returns their leading goal scorer Hailey Armstrong who tallied 16 goals for the Beavers in her junior campaign. Armstrong currently has one goal on the season.
• Bemidji State finished the 2025-26 season 6-27-3 and 3-24-1 in WCHA play.
SERIES RECAP
• Maine went 1-1-0 against RV St. Lawrence
• Maine had three separate goal scorers and had eight separate players tally a point. Maine had three players have a multi-point game in the series opener.
• Gracie Hanson tallied three assists in the series opener, the first time a Black Bear has had three assists in a game since Anna Zikova who did so in 2018.
• Kiia Lahtinen averaged 21.5 saves in the two contests against the Saints
• Alex Gettens captured his first career win on Thursday in the series opener
UP NEXT
• The Black Bears will stay on the road as they will face Rensselaer in Troy, NY on Oct 16 and Oct. 17.
-UMaine-
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