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UMaine '26-'27: The Bridge On the River Stillwater

The defensive effort last night was on point and would win them games against most teams in the country. They locked Colgate down completely after that first period. Team is really buying into that consistent effort. Road game against BU will be different animal but I feel good about this team coming away with a split at Agganis.

The results of both special teams units have been promising as well. PP is sitting 13th at 27% and PK is sitting in 7th with a ~95% rate. Good to see as those have been areas that have held this team back a bit over the last few seasons, but especially last season. Should be noted that ~40% of Maine's total scoring has come on the PP thus far. Bit of a red flag so would be nice to see this team start to figure it out at 5x5.

The combined goaltending of Boija/PWS has this team at 1.50 GAA and .931 SV%. Very refreshing compared to what we got from the tandem last year. Regarding Boija, it's nice to see his even strength SV% back to where it was his first couple years and kind of makes last season's .899% look like an unfortunate black mark on his resume. His next win will tie him with Howard and Swayman for sixth in career wins by a Maine goalie with 47.

I like to give Scholle a lot of shit because I think he's mis-cast as a C, but he went 13/17 in the dot last night (was at 42% coming into the game) so gotta give him his flowers as that puck possession game really helped Maine last night.
 
I still think that getting a win at Agganis will be a tall order. BU has split their first 2 HE series vs. UVM and UConn......but they also seem to play better as team than recent Terrier squads. Also.....BU is always up for Maine for some reason. Maine commitment to D should definitely give them a chance both nights though.
 
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umhockey91 said:
I still think that getting a win at Agganis will be a tall order. BU has split their first 2 AE series vs. UVM and UConn......but they also seem to play better as team than recent Terrier squads. Also.....BU is always up for Maine for some reason. Maine commitment to D should definitely give them a chance both nights though.
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This team has the best D Core in the Ben Barr Era so far. Everyones commitment to Barr's defensive structure is going to counter high-skilled offenses like BU well. Giving up 5 goals in 2 games against quinnipiac who put up 16 the 2 nights prior is a good sign. BU is a great test for this team and I feel fairly confident that they will win at least 1 in Agganis as long as they can score more than 3 goals.
 
McGoverners said:
Poirier left for way more money in what is considered a stronger conference right now. It's an unfortunate but reasonable decision.

Miguel Marques left for a lesser program within the conference that doesn't have home games this year. That one rubs me the wrong way.
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I thought that Marques was a cruiser; I don't miss him at all.
 
What did Tipsy say few years ago? "You can be bad, or you can be boring, but you can't be both bad and boring." Truer words were never spoken.

Maine plays a fairly boring style of hockey, let's face it, but seems to me that that style suits the roster. Certainly not a bad team,

I'm optimistic that this style could work. I've loved the effort, and the attention to detail.
 
The thing about this team, offensively, is that I dont think there is going to be a player that when their on the ice you sit up and pay attention because something good is likely going to happen.
Its chasing, dumping and grinding which easily allows your attention to wander a bit from the game. Certain players do make the game more entertaining.
 
umhockey91 said:
I still think that getting a win at Agganis will be a tall order. BU has split their first 2 HE series vs. UVM and UConn......but they also seem to play better as team than recent Terrier squads. Also.....BU is always up for Maine for some reason. Maine commitment to D should definitely give them a chance both nights though.
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The rivalry with New Hampshire is driven by the media and the marketing departments. The true rival has always been Boston University and probably always will, despite efforts to change that. The cast of characters has changed but that feeling whenever the teams square off has not.
 
ticapnews said:
The rivalry with New Hampshire is driven by the media and the marketing departments. The true rival has always been Boston University and probably always will, despite efforts to change that. The cast of characters has changed but that feeling whenever the teams square off has not.
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Yep, we had a few spirited games against UHN over the years but the real rivalry, the hatefest, always was with BU (pu) . One year I remember the bar scene at one of the hotels in Boston after the first night of two when the whole bar broke out in BU SUCKS BU SUCKS. The guests at the hotel must have wondered WTF is this all about. The animosity ran thick.
 
ticapnews said:
The rivalry with New Hampshire is driven by the media and the marketing departments. The true rival has always been Boston University and probably always will, despite efforts to change that. The cast of characters has changed but that feeling whenever the teams square off has not.
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I feel the same way about UNH/BU yet BU's true rival is BC not UNH or UMO.
 
ticapnews said:
The rivalry with New Hampshire is driven by the media and the marketing departments. The true rival has always been Boston University and probably always will, despite efforts to change that. The cast of characters has changed but that feeling whenever the teams square off has not.
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Driven by the idiotic "Musket" football game. It will be quite the battle this year.....they both suck bigly.
 
I wholeheartedly disagree that BU is a bigger rival RIGHT NOW than UNH. I trust y'all about the Walsh/Parker years, but that was generations ago. There is much more animosity between Maine and UNH these days. You can even see it here on these boards.
 
McGoverners said:
I wholeheartedly disagree that BU is a bigger rival RIGHT NOW than UNH. I trust y'all about the Walsh/Parker years, but that was generations ago. There is much more animosity between Maine and UNH these days. You can even see it here on these boards.
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I agree that as far as modern casual fans go.....UNH is the bigger rival. Much of it is driven by the natural state boundary and political, socio and economic rivalry that has always existed. From a hockey standpoint......1999 sort of cemented this as THE rivalry. I mean think about it.....Maine beat UNH for a National Championship! 😂

Outside of ice hockey though......the whole marketing driven rivalry thing is a bit "meh".
 
McGoverners said:
I wholeheartedly disagree that BU is a bigger rival RIGHT NOW than UNH. I trust y'all about the Walsh/Parker years, but that was generations ago. There is much more animosity between Maine and UNH these days. You can even see it here on these boards.
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Agree to disagree. Yeah sure the kids at orientation are told to hate UNH, And there’s animosity when we come out in droves to break up their whiteout in Durham. But honestly I pity UNH more than I hate them. It hasn’t been the same since Umile left.
 
umhockey91 said:
I agree that as far as modern casual fans go.....UNH is the bigger rival. Much of it is driven by the natural state boundary and political, socio and economic rivalry that has always existed. From a hockey standpoint......1999 sort of cemented this as THE rivalry. I mean think about it.....Maine beat UNH for a National Championship! 😂

Outside of ice hockey though......the whole marketing driven rivalry thing is a bit "meh".
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And BU defeated an exhausted Maine team to win the 1995 national championship.

The feeling just isn't there for UNH. They're more like an annoying little brother than a true rival.
 
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