On Friday night, the University of Maine’s men’s ice hockey team took the ice with a packed Alfond Arena for the first time since March 6, 2020. 19 months later and a lot has changed. Many familiar faces in the lineup have since graduated or moved on to pro hockey, such as Mitchell Fossier, Eduards Tralmaks, J.D. Greenway and most notably Jeremy Swayman. 

Another big change is at the head coaching position. Red Gendron had been UMaine’s men’s ice hockey coach since 2013, but sadly the hockey world lost a great leader when Gendron unexpectedly passed away last spring. He was honored before the puck drop with the UMaine band playing the Stein Song. It was said that one of Gendron’s favorite things was the team singing the Stein Song in the locker room after a win, making it a fitting tribute to the Maine hockey legend.  

Ben Barr filled the vacancy. Barr has had a very successful career as an assistant head coach at UMass Amherst, coached in multiple Frozen Fours and most notably won the National Championship last season with UMass Amherst. Now, Barr is looking to bring a winning culture like the one in Amherst to Orono. 

The game on Friday started off fast and physical. The Black Bears were feeding off the crowd and trying to execute big hits early to give them something to cheer for. The Black Bears were back! The atmosphere was electric, and getting the first goal of the game was crucial for them to ride the wave of emotion at the Alfond. 

Sadly, it was not meant to be. A routine dump into the zone by Sacred Heart sent UMaine third-year goalie Matthew Thiessen behind the net in an attempt to play the puck, but the puck wrapped around the boards and then suddenly took an unexpected bounce. The puck went off the boards and shot out in front of the net. Sacred Heart fourth-year forward Adam Tisdale was the first to the puck, putting it in the empty net and giving Sacred Heart the early 1-0 lead. A real stroke of bad luck for UMaine, and a gift of a goal for Sacred Heart. 

After this critical moment just eight minutes into the game, it felt as though the energy had been sucked out of the building. UMaine’s offense seemed to slow down and Sacred Heart settled into the game and started to control play. 

The second period was uninspiring from the Black Bears, and in the third Sacred Heart dropped back and sat on their lead. UMaine was unable to muster a goal and were outshot by Sacred Heart 34-24. Sacred Heart won the game 1-0, the difference being the abnormal goal in the first period. 

Not many of the Black Bears had a good night, but third-year goalie Matthew Thiessen was great. He stopped 33 of 34 shots, and the one he let in was hardly his fault. It will be interesting to follow the UMaine goaltending situation, which is anything but clear, but Thiessen’s performance on Friday night was promising. 

On Saturday night, the Black Bears were far more successful offensively, but still fell short of picking up their first win. The lines were changed a lot from the night before, as every line combination on the offense side was switched in hopes of finding more goals, and it worked. 

Returns on these changes were not immediate though, and Sacred Heart for the second night in a row struck first. Maine gave up a 2-on-1 opportunity to Sacred Heart and fourth-year forward Austin Magera fired the puck past Thiessen to give Sacred Heart a 1-0 lead around the midpoint of the first period.  

UMaine responded better than the previous night when going down a goal and they were the team that controlled play through the first period. In the second period, we finally saw a Black Bear goal at the Alfond. The scorer is a new face to the lineup, third-year forward and Quinnipiac transfer Matthew Fawcett, who had not yet suited up for UMaine this season. 

Fourth-year defenseman Jakub Sirota made a great effort to keep the puck in the Sacred Heart zone. He followed it up by dropping a well placed pass onto the stick of Fawcett in the slot, where Fawcett sniped the puck into the Sacred Heart net for the first goal. A great moment for Fawcett in his first game in a UMaine sweater. 

“I just wanted to come in, give the team some energy, some life, get in on the forecheck and just do what I can to help win,” Fawcett said after the game. 

The tie was short lived and Sacred Heart regained the lead just seven minutes later. Thiessen made an initial save on a shot from point blank, but fifth-year forward Dakota Raabe was by himself at the back post and Raabe scored off the rebound to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead.

It seemed like the night was going to end badly for the Black Bears when Sacred Heart extended their lead to 3-1. A turnover inside their own zone by UMaine led to Sacred Heart fourth-year forward Nick Boyagian skating into the slot and firing one past Thiessen. With just over 11 minutes left in the game, it seemed as though Maine was heading toward another loss. 

Third-year defenseman Adrien Bisson, less than two minutes later, cut the lead back down to one and gave UMaine a fighting chance with the play of the night. Bisson started a rush from behind his own net, gained entry into the Sacred Heart zone down the left wing and ripped a wrist shot past Sacred Heart third-year goalie Justin Robbins. This goal restored hope that was quickly fading from the Alfond crowd. 

Momentum was on UMaine’s side. With time dwindling down and the score 3-2 in favor of Sacred Heart, another new transfer introduced themselves to the Black Bear faithful. Fourth-year forward Adam Dawe made a nice move to get past a defender, which set himself up for a shot on net. Robbins saved the shot, but fifth-year transfer Kennan Suthers was backdoor to put in the rebound and ignite the Alfond Arena. 

“Yeah, it felt great, it’s been awhile since I was able to score, and kind of forgot what the feeling felt like, so it was nice to get it back,” Suthers said after the game. “It was a big goal, I just wish we could’ve closed it out.” 

After Suthers’ goal, the game was tied 3-3 with less than four minutes to go in the third period. UMaine pressed and pushed plays, looking for another goal, but the final four minutes of the third and the five minute overtime period were not enough to determine a winner. The game ended in a 3-3 draw. 

Coach Barr was happier with his team’s effort on Saturday, but he knows they have more to give. “I told the guys you gave yourselves a tie tonight playing probably as hard as we’ve played all year, the only way that we’re going to get better is to play even harder,” Barr said.  “This is a special place, special fans, the students are unbelievable. I think they respect hard work too, so I think they probably respected the effort the guys gave tonight. That’s what we’re really keying in on this year.” 

UMaine will open up Hockey East play next weekend on the road at Northeastern, then they will come back home to face UConn in Orono at the Alfond Arena on Nov. 5 and 6. 

Last year the University of Maine women’s hockey team did not play a single home game due to the pandemic. On Oct. 2, 2021, the Black Bears played a game at the Alfond Arena for the first time in 595 days. 

“That was unbelievable. The crowd was awesome. I thought the energy was awesome. Obviously we gave them an entertaining game in the wrong way,” said UMaine’s head coach Richard Reichenbach after the game.

Sadly the result on opening night went the “wrong way” as Reichenbach put it. Saint Anselm picked up the 3-2 victory despite being outshot 54-19 by UMaine. 

The game started out about as badly as it could have for the Black Bears: 22 seconds into the game Saint Anselm scored. Fourth-year Saint Anselm forward Erin Meyers deflected a shot past UMaine fifth-year goalie Loryn Porter to immediately put UMaine down 1-0 on the scoreboard. 

Despite this early goal against, UMaine responded well and outplayed Saint Anselm for a majority of the first period. However, late in the first period, Saint Anselm scored again. Fourth-year forward Kelly Golini picked up a rebound in front of UMaine’s net and put it past a sprawling Porter. 

At the first intermission UMaine was down 2-0. A late first period penalty by Saint Anselm meant UMaine started the second period on the power play. A theme of the night was the Black Bears’ struggles on the power play. Saint Anselm took seven penalties and UMaine was unable to score a single power play goal. 

“I thought our powerplay was just, we were slow to move things,” Reichenbach stressed post game. “I mean I think the biggest thing for us was just doing things at a little bit quicker pace.” 

No goals were scored in the second period, but UMaine looked the far more dangerous team and it felt as if goals were inevitable for the Black Bears. 

Fourth-year forward Ally Johnson scored UMaine’s first goal of the game early in the third period. First-year forward Mira Seregély shot a puck toward the net, then Johnson deflected the shot into the back of the net and cut Saint Anselm’s lead to 2-1 with over 16 minutes left in the game. Fourth-year defenseman Ida Press and Seregély picked up assists on the play.

Shortly after cutting Saint Anselm’s lead to one, UMaine fifth-year forward Jen Costa took a body checking penalty, one of three UMaine had in the third period. It took four seconds on the power play for Saint Anselm to capitalize. 

Saint Anselm won the face-off after the penalty in the UMaine zone, immediately putting the puck on Porter. Porter saved the initial shot, but gave up a rebound that Saint Anselm third-year forward Devin Porazinski picked up and put past Porter to give Saint Anselm a 3-1 lead. 

UMaine’s leading scorer last year was third-year forward Ida Kuoppala, and when UMaine needed a goal their star forward stepped up. With just over 10 minutes left in the third period, Kuoppala found the puck in the slot and went top shelf to beat third-year Saint Anselm goalie Allie Kelley. This was Kuoppala’s first goal of the young season. 

UMaine looked dangerous in the final 10 minutes, but a few penalties against UMaine and Kelley making some crucial saves stopped them from being able to tie the game. Saint Anselm’s defense let up a lot of shots for Kelley to stop, but Kelley was up to it. Kelley stopped 52 shots in the contest and made some big saves throughout the game. Kelley received the first star of the game for her performance. 

It was not a good result for UMaine, but it meant a lot to the team to have a game at the Alfond Arena for the first time in a while. “It was nice on so many different levels to not have to travel, and play at home, and have friends, family and fans in the stands,” said Reichenbach. “It was something the players have been talking about for a while.”  

After this loss the team’s record stands at 0-3. The team will travel to Long Island University for a two game series where they will be looking to pick up their first win of the season. 

On Saturday afternoon, the University of Maine football team beat Merrimack College to pick up their first win of the season. “It was sloppy,” said UMaine Head Coach Nick Charlton in the postgame press conference. Nevertheless, a win is a win, and Coach Charlton stressed the importance of getting the first win. “We felt like we just needed to get one,” he said.

One possible reason for UMaine’s “sloppy” play was the absence of third-year quarterback Joe Fagnano, who suffered a right ankle sprain against James Madison University last week. He will miss the next few games. Second-year quarterback Derek Robertson stepped up for his first career start at the collegiate level. 

Robertson showed that he was capable of managing a game at the college level. UMaine went with a run-heavy approach, with 36 rushing attempts compared to only 23 passing attempts. Robertson did not turn the ball over, and he threw for 141 yards and one touchdown. 

The game started out with UMaine’s defense forcing a fumble on Merrimack’s first drive. Second-year linebacker Xavier Nurse jarred the ball loose at midfield, and UMaine recovered the ball. Robertson then led the UMaine offense into the red zone. Fourth-year running back Elijah Barnwell finished the drive off by punching in a 2-yard touchdown run. 

Merrimack then fumbled again on their second drive, this time forced by UMaine second-year defensive back Shakur Smalls. The Black Bears also capitalized on this turnover, this time with a field goal by fifth-year kicker Jonny Messina. UMaine led 10-0 after the first quarter. 

Merrimack responded with a good offensive drive, led by second-year receiver Jacari Carter. On the day, Carter totaled a game high 18 receptions, four of which came on this drive. First-year running back Victor Dawson then scored for Merrimack on a 1-yard rush to make the score 10-6. 

Merrimack failed to take momentum, though, as UMaine fourth-year defensive back Rich Carr blocked the extra point attempt which first-year defensive back Kolubah Pewee Jr. returned 75 yards for a 2-point conversion. This made the score 12-6 in favor of UMaine.  

Merrimack remained in the fight despite these mistakes and forced UMaine to punt on the following drive. A good punt return by Merrimack resulted in their drive starting in UMaine territory. Carter would get his first touchdown reception to give Merrimack their only lead of the day, 13-12, around the halfway point of the second quarter. 

A 51-yard kickoff return by fourth-year receiver Devin Young set up UMaine for a drive that would stall out, but a second field goal by Messina restored the Black Bears’ lead, 15-12. UMaine then forced a three-and-out, and a bad punt by Merrimack led to a good field position. UMaine drove down the field and second-year running back Freddie Brock made two back-to-back positive plays, the second a short run resulting in a touchdown to give UMaine a commanding 22-12 lead. 

Merrimack quickly struck back with a 54-yard kickoff return that set up a 5-play drive, resulting in Carter’s second receiving touchdown of the day. This touchdown would make the score 22-20, UMaine leading at the half. 

UMaine’s offense would strike early in the second half. Robertson would find an uncovered Brock down field for a 59-yard touchdown pass to put UMaine up 29-20, Brock’s second touchdown of the day. 

On the next drive, first-year UMaine defensive back Abdul Stewart intercepted fifth-year Merrimack quarterback Westin Elliott in the red zone, returning the ball 27-yards. 

After a UMaine punt, Merrimack marched down the field and scored a touchdown to cap off a drive that started from their own 29. This cut the UMaine lead down to three, but Merrimack would make another costly mistake. For the second time in the game, Carr blocked an extra point. “All week in practice we really emphasized, like that, we go hard enough we can block a field goal,” said Carr. This time Carr returned the blocked kick himself for another UMaine 2-point conversion, extending the Black Bears’ lead to five. 

Merrimack – down by five late in the fourth quarter with time dwindling – had to get a touchdown to win. Starting from their own 26, Merrimack drove the ball into UMaine’s red zone. Despite Merrimack being first and goal from the nine yard line, the black bear defense stopped them on four consecutive plays to give possession back to UMaine. “We executed when it mattered,” Coach Charlton said in the postgame press conference.

Two first downs sealed the victory for UMaine, with the final score 31-26. “At the end of the day you can’t make those types of mistakes and win on the road against a good program,” said Dan Curran, Merrimack’s head coach. UMaine definitely benefited from the mistakes Merrimack made on routine plays. 

A win is a win, but UMaine knows that there is room for improvement going forward. UMaine’s record is now 1-2 and their next game will be on the road next Saturday at Northern Illinois University. Their next home game will be on Oct. 9 against Elon University. 

Opening night was bittersweet for the University of Maine Black Bears. UMaine welcomed fans back to the Alfond Stadium for the first time since 2019. The energy was felt all throughout the venue, and it was comforting to see fans back in a loud stadium on campus. 

Sadly, the University of Delaware would crash the party and jump out to a 17-0 lead by the beginning of the second quarter. UMaine would not go quietly, unlike last year when Delaware beat Maine 37-0. Third-year quarterback Joe Fagano would get the offense going in the second quarter, leading UMaine on a six play 75-yard drive. The drive was capped off by a 28-yard touchdown pass to second-year receiver Michael Monios, cutting the Delaware lead to 10. 

A wild sequence would see UMaine score two touchdowns in 1:05 of gametime. On the first play of a drive, Umaine scored on a 59-yard touchdown pass from Joe Fagano to fourth-year receiver Zavier Scott. UMaine’s defense felt the momentum and followed it with a three and out defensive stop. Delaware would elect to punt. Maine blocked the punt and second-year receiver Montigo Moss would return the blocked punt for a touchdown, putting UMaine up 21-17. A last-second field goal would make it 24 unanswered points for UMaine, and at halftime UMaine surprisingly had a 24-17 lead. 

Delaware would prove why they were ranked fifth in the FCS rankings heading into the season. UMaine was kept off the scoresheet the entire second half. Meanwhile, Delaware’s offense would help them gradually pull away with two touchdowns and a field goal in the second half. The final score would be 34-24 in favor of Delaware. 

Joe Fagano passed for 305 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Zavier Scott would lead UMaine with 73 receiving yards, with 59 of the yards coming on the touchdown in the second quarter. UMaine’s leading rusher was third-year running back Elijah Barnwell, who totaled 37 yards. 

UMaine’s opponent in the second game of the season would be another highly ranked opponent. James Madison University came into this past weekend’s competition ranked third in FCS. 

UMaine would never find their footing, and James Madison blew them out 55-7. The result felt like it was never in question. James Madison would enter halftime up 24-0 and never took their foot off the pedal, putting up 31 more points in the second half. They totaled 517 yards on the day compared to the 194 yards from UMaine.

Joe Fagano would leave the game in the first half with an injury and never returned. Second-year quarterback Derek Robertson would take over running the offense in his first career game for UMaine. A tough test for a young quarterback against one of the best FCS teams in the nation. Robertson would throw his first college career touchdown on a 22-yard pass to fifth-year receiver Andre Miller. It was the single silver lining in an otherwise forgettable performance. 

Derek Robertson would lead UMaine with 88 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. Andre Miller would lead the team in receiving yards with 41. Elijah Barnwell again would lead the team in rushing yards with 57 yards on 16 carries. 

A rough 0-2 start for UMaine, but James Madison and Delaware are arguably the two best opponents Maine will face this regular season. UMaine’s next game will be on Saturday, Sept. 11 at noon, where they will host Merrimack College at the Alfond Stadium. Merrimack will be another tough test. Merrimack has started the season 2-0, with wins over Saint Anselm and Holy Cross. Both of their wins have been by double digits. 

The University of Maine’s former All-Star goalie Jeremy Swayman had his first career opportunity to start in the NHL on Tuesday, April 6. The Boston Bruins were dealing with an injury to starting goaltender Tuukka Rask and backup goalie Jaroslav Halak went on the COVID-19 protocol list. Swayman was called up to the big leagues and because the Bruins were on the second game of a back-to-back he would get the start. Swayman seized the moment and led the Bruins to a 4-2 victory. Swayman recorded 40 saves, 23 of which came in the second period. His heroics kept the Bruins in a game that easily could have gotten out of hand.

Swayman made his professional debut earlier this year on Feb. 4 for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League — the league situated under the NHL.

Throughout his time at UMaine, Swayman racked up an impressive 0.939 save percentage, and a 2.07 goals against average for the Black Bears. He has managed to carry this momentum to his professional career.

In his first career start, Swayman stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced en route to a  4-1 victory against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Swayman won the first seven games he started.

Swayman’s first shutout came on March 10 against the same team he picked up his first win against, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

In the AHL Swayman has an 8-1 record, a 0.933 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.89, which are quite outstanding numbers for a rookie in a competitive league. Swayman ranks third in the AHL in goals against average, fourth in wins, and second in save percentage. The fact that he is in the top four in all of the major goalie stats is quite amazing considering he is a rookie, but as UMaine fans know, Swayman iswas a special talent and it’s not too surprising to see him have this level of success.

Swayman’s performance in his first game with the Boston Bruins was good enough to earn him a second straight start, and on Thursday, April 8, Swayman took the net for the Bruins again. Swayman helped the Bruins to another 4-2 victory, where the only time the Capitals were able to beat Swayman came on a two-man advantage powerplay. Both came within 20 seconds of each other on the same powerplay, with the first one coming on a one time slap shot by Alexander Ovechkin and the second being another one timer from T.J. Oshie.

Swayman had been so impressive in his first two starts that the Bruins decided to ride with Swayman since he had the hot hand. In his third start on Saturday, April 10, Swayman came back down to earth a bit and suffered his first career NHL loss. A few rookie mistakes by Swayman had a direct part in two of the three goals against the Bruins. Swayman allowed three goals on the 23 shots. At UMaine, fans rarely saw Swayman struggle, but we should keep in mind he is going to have some rough starts as a young goalie in the best hockey league in the world.

After three career NHL starts, Swayman sits with a 2-1 record. He has a spectacular 0.929 save percentage and a solid 2.35 goals against average. These stats are spectacular for a 22-year-old goalie in his first few starts. Swayman is ahead of schedule in development, and his play thus far will make the Bruins management’s decisions on who their two goalies will be on the club come next season very interesting. Jaroslav Halak’s contract is up at the end of the season, and Swayman may make him expendable.

With Swayman’s great start, along with the Bruins’ goalie issues, it is possible Swayman may make a few more starts for the Boston Bruins in the next few games. When Halak and Rask come back Swayman will most likely return to play with the Providence Bruins and continue to develop.

Seeing Swayman play at the highest level this past week has been very exciting for UMaine fans. Just over a year ago, he was starting for UMaine at the Alfond Arena, and now he is making waves at one the biggest clubs in the NHL. Swayman’s play has planted him firmly as the leading candidate to be the Bruins goalie of the future, and the future may be sooner than we had expected.

The University of Maine’s women’s soccer team is not off to a great start. Through the team’s first five games, the Black Bears have yet to pick up a win, and have only scored a total of one goal.

Their season started on Feb. 21 when the Black Bears took to the road to play their first game at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. Maine outshot Merrimack 8-5 in shots on goal, but sadly never hit the back of the net. Merrimack, however, was able to score twice. Merrimack was led by third-year midfielder Rebecca Harty who tallied a goal and an assist for the Warriors. The final score was 2-0 in favor of Merrimack.

Maine would then travel to Albany, New York to take on the University of Albany on February 27. Again the Black Bears were shut out, this time being out shot 8-2 in shots on target. Twin sisters Jada and Jasmine Colbert scored the goals for Albany. Jasmine Colbert, a third-year forward would score in the first half, and Jada Colbert, a third-year midfielder, would score late in the second. Albany went on to win this contest 2-0.

In Maine’s third game of their season they battled with their arch rivals: the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. It seemed as though the game would end in a 0-0 draw when neither team had scored in the first 90 minutes of regulation time. New Hampshire was heavily outshooting Maine 16-4 in shot attempts in the game. They finally got one to go in well into stoppage time of the second half. The goal came from University of New Hampshire fourth-year forward Francesca Picicci. This game was an especially tough defeat for the Black Bears, who were so close to picking up their first point in the standings, against their biggest rivals no less.

Maine finally got their first goal and point of the season in their fourth game of the spring. Both came in their home opener at the Mahaney Diamond in Orono on March 14. Maine tied the New Jersey Institute of Technology 1-1. NJIT scored in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. Maine’s first goal of the season did not come until the second half. Third-year midfielder Hannah Bamford was determined to even the score, and got a ball in the net in the 71st minute of the game, tying the game up 1-1. The scoreline would stand for the rest of the contest, the only game of the season that has not ended in a loss for the Black Bears so far.

Maine’s fifth game of the year was played on the road in Lowell, Massachusetts against the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Lowell went on to win the game 2-0, the fourth time Maine has been shutout in their five games. Lowell was led by first-year forward Marrissa Saucedo who produced a goal and an assist in the first half.

Maine’s record sits at 0-4-1. Maine has three games remaining in their season; a road game at Stony Brook University on March 27, a home game against the University of Vermont on April 4 and a home game against the University of Hartford on April 10. Hopefully the Black Bears can find their scoring ways and breakout of this offensive slump in this truncated season.

Last year, the University of Maine softball season was shut down within the first two weeks of opening day due to the pandemic. On March 1, 2020 the Maine softball team ended up playing their last game of the 2020 season. Now, over a year later the team gets to step back onto the diamond to play ball.

Their first series of the season was set to take place in West Point, New York against Army University on March 6 and 7, but sadly that series was canceled. Maine’s opening day was pushed back and the wait for softball would last another week. Shortly after the weekend that would have been the opening week of their season, it was announced that Maine would travel to Andover, Massachusetts to take on Merrimack College on Saturday, March 13 for a double header.

The first game of the double header saw the UMaine team shutout, and the Black Bears were limited to only one hit in the game. The lone hit for Maine was a single from third-year utility player Keely Clark in the top of the third inning. Clark got on base later in the game when she was walked by Merrimack fourth-year pitcher Bry Michitson. Michitson played a complete game, struck out eight batters and did not let another player on base besides Clark the whole game. Merrimack picked up the 3-0 win on the back of Michitson’s spectacular outing. Fourth-year utility player Abigail Amato would hit a solo homerun in the third inning for Merrimack for the lone homerun of the game.

The second game of the double header saw the same result with Merrimack winning 3-2, but Maine was able to demonstrate its offensive skills. Maine’s first run of the season came in the fourth inning off the bat of Caitlyn Fallon. The second-year pitcher from Warwick, Rhode Island would single up the middle and drive in fourth-year centerfielder Shanna Scribner to cut Merrimack’s lead to 2-1. Merrimack would extend their lead to 3-1 in the sixth inning due to a defensive error by Maine. Maine’s second run of the season came in the final inning of the game when third-year player Brianna Neely scored on an error by Merrimack.

The next day Maine traveled to Fairfield, Connecticut to take on Sacred Heart University where they would compete in another double header that resulted in two higher scoring affairs. In the first game of the day, Maine picked up their first victory of the season on the back of third-year shortstop Kelby Drews’ four run-batted-in (RBI) performance. Maine heated up in the third inning when Fallon and Drews hit back-to-back home runs to give Maine a 3-2 lead. Drews would then hit a two-run home run in the fifth to extend Maines lead to 5-2. Scriber would get involved in the scoring, driving in a two-run triple shortly after Drews’ second home run to make the lead 7-2. Drews would get her fourth RBI in the seventh and final inning on a double to centerfield to make the final score 8-2. Fourth-year pitcher Kyleigh O’Donnell picked up the win while pitching a complete game with seven strikeouts and only allowing one hit.

The final game of the weekend saw the script of the first game flipped. Sacred Heart jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the fifth inning and looked as though they had the game completely in control. Maine refused to go down without a fight. An explosive sixth inning saw fFourth-year cCatcher Makayla Livingston hit a two-run homer to cut Sacred Hearts’ lead to 6-2. Using momentum from Livingstons home run, the Black Bears were able to get two runners in scoring position with their next two batters. Fourth-year right fielder Maddie Kimble hit a single, followed by third-year infielder Amanda MacBurnie hitting a double that advanced Kimble to third base. Third-year outfielder Emma Larke would come up to the plate and hit both in with a single. This cut the lead down by two more, making the score 6-4. Sacred Heart would respond to Maine’s offense with offense of their own. They would also have a four-run sixth inning. The nail in the coffin for Maine came on a three-run home run by third-year catcher Alyssa Gonzalez of Sacred Heart. Gonzalez’s home run increased their lead to 10-4, which would end up being the final score.

After the first weekend of play, Maine’s record stands at 1-3. Maine’s’ next games will be played on the road against Fordham University. They will play three games versus Fordham on the weekend of March 20-21. Maine’s first home series will not come until April when they take on the University of Hartford on April 10-11.

In a unique season that does not foresee the University of Maine’s baseball team traveling outside of the Northeast, the Black Bears are off to a strong start. Last year before the season was shut down due to the pandemic, the Maine baseball team was a miserable 1-12. Now a year later, the Black Bears appear to be a more competitive group.

Maine’s opening weekend premiered in North Andover, Massachusetts at Merrimack College for a four game series with two double headers on March 6 and 7. Maine went on to win three of those four games, and outscored Merrimack 27-17 over the course of the four games. The first two games saw great pitching performances for Maine.

Third-year pitcher Nicholas Sinacola had 11 strikeouts and only let up one run in the opening game of the season for the Black Bears, en route to a 9-2 victory. The second game, which happened on the same day, saw first-year pitcher Noah Lewis follow in Sinacola’s footsteps. Lewis only let up one run in six innings of play with five strikeouts. Fifth-year pitcher Matthew Pushard would relieve Lewis and strikeout three of the four batters he would face to seal the 4-1 victory for Maine.

The third game, and first of the day two of games, saw the Maine offense struggle to build momentum. The Black Bears totaled six hits, but none came within the same inning, and Maine was shutout by a Merrimack team that benefitted early in the first inning from a bases loaded walk, and an error that put Merrimack up 2-0 early. A three-run sixth inning, which saw the lone home run of the game, put Merrimack up 5-0. Despite Maine having one more hit than Merrimack, they lost 5-0.

The fourth and final game of the opening series saw a dramatic comeback for the Black Bears. Going into the final inning of the game, Maine was down 9-6 to Merrimack. The ninth started out with Maine getting two runners on base with their first two batters. This was followed by second-year infielder Connor Goodman singling to right center and driving in a run to drop the Merrimack lead to two. With two men on base and one out, first-year infielder Jake Rainess hit a bomb to left field that left the park and put Maine up 10-9. Maine would go on to put up four more runs in the ninth inning, followed by fifth-year pitcher Dillon Stimpson striking out the side in the ninth inning to seal the 14-9 win for Maine.

Leaving the opening weekend with a record of 3-1 was a good start, but their next game would be their toughest test of the season. On Tuesday, March 9, Maine traveled to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to take on the nationally-ranked Boston College Eagles. Maine got off to a great start with a solo home run by first-year infielder Quinn McDaniel in the top of the first inning, but Boston College would respond with a solo home run of their own in the bottom of the first. Boston College and Maine traded runs with each other throughout the game until the seventh inning, where Boston College pulled away. With the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh, Boston College hit back-to-back home runs that allowed them to take an 8-5 lead. This was followed by another home run in the eighth that extended their lead and culminated in a final score of 10-5. A good effort by Maine, but the Boston College offense proved to be too much to handle for the Black Bears.

The Black Bears then traveled to West Hartford, Connecticut to take on Wagner College in a three-game series with a double header on March 13, and a single game on March 14. In the first game of the series, Sinacola threw a gem of a game. Throughout seven innings of pitching, he struck out 12 batters and only surrendered one run, and advanced his personal record to 2-0 on the season. He has only let up two runs against in 12.2 innings pitched, and has an astonishing 23 strikeouts in his two starts. The Black Bears scored five runs, all coming in the sixth inning. Rainess’s grand slam proved to be the difference in the game, and the score ended with a 5-1 win for UMaine.

The second game saw Wagner College pick up a 6-2 victory over Maine. Maine out hit Wagner, but they had trouble stringing together hits for runs. Wagner College scored two runs in the first inning, and three in the eighth. These two surges by Wagner proved to be the difference.

In the third game, Maine’s offense heated up, and they put up double digit runs for the second time this season. Rainess again would do damage and hit a three-run home run to give Maine a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning. Fourth-year infielder Sean Lawlor hit a double that drove in three runs in the same inning, and Maine went from trailing 1-0 to up 6-1. Maine would add another run in the sixth, and then exploded again for five runs in the eighth to extend their lead to 12-1. Wagner scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth but it wasn’t enough to take the lead, and Maine won the game 12-3.

The performances this weekend by Sinacola and Rainess were good enough for them to pick up weekly awards. Sinacola took home America East Pitcher of the week, and Rainess was awarded America East Rookie of the week.

Maine’s next series was scheduled to be at Stony Brook for games on March 20 and 21, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns within the Stony Brook team. The Black Bears’ next series will be their home opener on March 27 and 28. They will take on the University of Maryland Baltimore County on the Black Bears’ home turf in Orono. The Black Bears will look to build on their strong start against an undefeated UMBC team that has scored 13 or more runs in all five of their games thus far, but with the performances we have seen already, there is hope for a triumphant performance on the home turf.

The University of Maine women’s basketball team went into its title game Friday evening with significant momentum. Having just beaten the University of Albany by 20 points in the semifinals, the team entered this game with a dominant 17-2 record. However, the Black Bears understood that Stony Brook, one of the two teams to beat UMaine in the regular season, would be a challenge. UMaine played two very close games against the Seawolves in February, splitting the weekend with one win and one loss for each team. This title game grudge match would be in Orono to determine the champions of the America East Conference and who would receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

A tight first quarter made it seem as though the game would come down to the wire. Towards the end of the first quarter and early in the second quarter, UMaine went on a run for 10 unanswered points to take their biggest lead of the night at 31-20. The Black Bears would maintain the lead until the end of the first half, when Stony Brook would go on a run of their own, outscoring the Black Bears 19-2. This run extended into the third quarter, and saw Maine go scoreless for over seven minutes of play.

Stony Brook’s’ lead would be its biggest at 6 points in the third quarter, but Maine was able to cut the lead down to 2 going into the fourth, setting the stage for a dramatic ending. Stony Brook had a 5-point lead late in the quarter until UMaine went on a 10-4 run led by fifth-year guard and America East Conference Player of the Year Blanca Millan. The Black Bears were able to cut the lead back down to 1 with 2:33 left in the game. Stony Brook would respond with 5 straight points, and a score of 60-56. Millan would score a bucket to put the Black Bears down 2 with 31 seconds left.

With 31 seconds left, the Black Bears had a chance to tie or take the lead. UMaine fifth-year forward Fanny Wadling would create a turnover and a 3-point opportunity for fourth-year guard Dor Saar, that the latter would unfortunately miss. Millan, displaying trademark tenacity, picked up a clutch offensive rebound, but her layup attempt would not fall. Stony Brook third-year guard Anastasia Warren got the defensive rebound off the missed layup, got fouled and hit two free throws to win the game for Stony Brook with a score of 64-60. This win earned Stony Brook their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

Warren essentially willed the Seawolves to their first title. She tallied 31 points on 11 of 18 shots from the field, along with 9 rebounds. Her clutch play at the end also sealed the game for Stony Brook, and she was the player of the game without a doubt. Only one other player on the team scored more than 5 points, and that was third-year guard Asiah Dingle who had 20 points on 10 of 16 shots from the field. UMaine struggled to defend Stony Brook’s’ dynamic duo throughout the game. They hit 21 of Stony Brook’s 27 made field goals in the game.

The Black Bears were led in scoring by Blanca Millan who had 20 points, while shooting eight for 15 from the field. She also had a team high seven rebounds. She was doing it all, and made some key buckets for her team down the stretch, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter. She ends her career a two-time America East Player of the Year, a two-time America East Defender of the Year, a two-time America East Champion and No. 5 on the all time scoring list for the University of Maine — a true legend of the program.

On Wednesday night in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team lost 7-2 to rivals the University of New Hampshire. The game was close, until the third period when UNH put their foot on the gas pedal and Maine just could not keep up. This season was not pretty for the Black Bears, who finished with a record of 3-11-2. UMaine’s defense and goaltending was inconsistent all year, and UNH exposed that in this playoff game.

On the bright side, this was UMaine’s first home game all season. The UMaine men, like the women, played all of their regular season games on the road. Unlike the women’s team, the men’s team was lucky enough to host a playoff game at the Alfond Sports Arena. Fans were not allowed to attend, and sadly the home ice advantage was not noticeable at all with how things played out on the ice.

The lone goal of the first period was for UNH. Second-year defender Kalle Eriksson found the back of the net for the Wildcats on a shot from the blueline through traffic. UMaine first-year goalie Victor Ostman had a great first period, stopping 18 of 19 shots, but he was unable to track the shot from Eriksson. UNH went into the first intermission up 1-0.

The start of the second period was chaos. Each team would score twice within the first six minutes of the period. UNH would open the scoring in the second period with a scrappy net front power play goal by fourth-year forward Eric MacAdams, after an interference penalty by UMaine fourth-year defender Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi. Maine would strike right back, just 46 seconds after the UNH goal. It came at 4-on-4 play after both teams took roughing minors. Second-year defender Adrien Bisson would take advantage of the extra space, walk in and snipe one past UNH fourth-year goalie Mike Robinson to make the score 2-1.

The Wildcats responded with another goal just 35 seconds later, still at 4-on-4. Similar to the goal by Bisson, UNH’s third-year forward Jackson Pierson walked into empty space and sniped one past Ostman. UMaine would respond quickly again:, less than two minutes later first-year forward Lynden Breen would cut the deficit back down to one with another snipe. These four goals were all of marksman-like quality, and came within a little less than three minutes of each other.

The real dagger for UMaine came halfway through the second period. UMaine would go on the powerplay after UNH’s Eriksson took a penalty for holding. Just 16 seconds into the powerplay, the Wildcats third-year forward Tyler Ward was awarded a breakaway after a UMaine turnover and Ward beat Ostman to put UNH up 4-2. From this point on the UNH Wildcats took control, and left UMaine in the dust.

UNH started the third period with a goal in the first minute of the period by third-year forward Filip Engaras to go up 5-2. Engaras hit a bullet of a one-timer from point blank, Ostman had no time to react to this shot. UMaine struggled to respond, and eventually pulled their goalie fairly early to try and get a goal. This tactic did not work, and UNH was able to score on the empty net to seal the deal with four minutes left in the game. UNH added a seventh goal on a powerplay in the dying minutes of the game. The final score ended up being UNH 7, UMaine 2.

This loss against archrivals UNH was a hard finale to an underwhelming season for the Black Bears, which may just be a season to forget. Fans knew it was going to be a tough season after losing graduating captain Mitch Fossier and Richter-award-winning goalie Jeremy Swayman, who left after his third year to play professionally with the Boston Bruins organization. However, few could have imagined that the season would pan out this way, and the string of losses for the Black Bears left fans and teammates alike wanting.

As head coach Red Gendron’s contract is set to expire in June, the future of the Black Bears is uncertain. Many fans have expressed concern over the fact that Gendron was unable to maintain the team’s prior momentum, as the Black Bears haven’t made the Hockey East semifinals since 2012. Despite Gendron’s uneasy relationship with fans, UMaine’s inability to host games with spectators and a stadium that needs some tender loving care, the Black Bears can only move forward and train for success in the 2021-22 season.