One team is on a roll and wants to keep it going.
Another team is struggling and is desperate to recapture its early-season form.
That is the scenario this weekend when the University of Maine’s fifth-ranked hockey team entertains arch-rival New Hampshire on Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m.
UMaine comes into the series with a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) and with six wins and two ties in its last nine games. Four of those wins were by one goal and the other two were by two including an empty-net goal in each.
UMaine is 18-5-4 overall and 10-3-4 in Hockey East and looking to close in on a second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.
UNH is 11-12-3 and 3-11-2, respectively, and has lost eight of its last nine following a 10-4-3 start. It has lost its last three.
“When it comes to rivalry games, you can toss the records out the window,” said UMaine junior defenseman Brandon Holt. “The games are going to be tight and intense. It doesn’t matter where everybody is in the standings, they are going to come ready to play and we have to be ready. They’re a great team.”
UMaine beat UNH 3-1 in Durham on Nov. 22, snapping a six-game winless streak at the Whittemore Center (0-3-3).
UMaine holds a 73-64-13 edge in the all-time series and has won three of the last four at Alfond Arena including a 5-0 Hockey East quarterfinal win a year ago.
The teams split four games last season with each winning its two home games.
The most memorable game of the rivalry came on April 3, 1999 when they met in the NCAA championship game at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Cal. and UMaine triumphed 3-2 in overtime on Marcus Gustafsson’s goal.
UMaine will be looking to break out of a scoring slump as it has scored only 24 goals in the 11 games since the Christmas break partly due to an anemic power play that has produced just one goal in its last 29 chances over the last nine games.
UNH has had trouble keeping the puck out of its net in its last nine games, surrendering 36 goals.
“The rink will be thumping. It’s going to be a blast. I’m excited,” added UMaine’s Holt, a Grand Forks, North Dakota native whose mother, Teri, will be in attendance.
UMaine senior center and alternate captain Nolan Renwick said it is a weekend “that can turn your season around or you can head the other way.”
“This could be a huge turning point for them so they will probably be the most jacked up they’ve been all season,” said UMaine sophomore goalie Albin Boija. “We are going to have to be on our toes and take it to them. We can’t give them anything.”
UMaine head coach Ben Barr said the Wildcats are a top 20-caliber team.
“Our league has been really difficult this year and they’ve lost a lot of one-goal games,” said Barr, who added that he watched UNH’s 4-2 loss to the nation’s top-ranked Boston College Eagles and noted that UNH was the “better team for long periods of that game.”
“They are fast and skilled and they forecheck really well,” said Barr. “They clog up the neutral zone well. When we played down there, there weren’t a lot of Grade-A [high-percentage] chances for either team. So when you get one, you have to make the most of it.”
UNH coach Mike Souza said he has “great deal of respect” for how Maine is playing.
“They’re playing hard. They are going to finish all of their checks. They are a heavy forechecking team that is getting incredible goaltending,” said Souza. “I like the way their team is constructed. They have been finding ways to win even when they haven’t been scoring. That’s obviously the sign of a great team.”
He noted that they have received great years from Harrison Scott and newcomers Taylor Makar and Charlie Russell.
Souza said the teams have things in common.
“Nationally, both teams are in the top five or six in fewest shots allowed,” said Souza.
Maine is tops at 23.3 shots allowed per game and UNH is fifth at 24.8.
“And if you really get nerded out, you’ll find they are also in the top four or five in body contact every game,” added Souza. “My guess, it’s going to be a real physical series and I believe that’s how both teams like it. And credit to Maine, they don’t take a ton of penalties for how hard they play.”
Senior center Scott continues to lead the Black Bears in scoring with 15 goals and 14 assists. Senior left wing Makar has 13 goals and 10 assists and has a five-game goals streak in which he has scored seven goals, three of which were game-winners and another earned the Black Bears a 3-3 tie at Providence last Friday night.
UMass transfer Makar has already set career-highs in goals, assists and points.
Sophomore center-wing Russell (5 goals and 15 assists) is third followed by defensemen Frank Djurasevic (6 and 13) and Holt (3 and 16).
Boija is 17-5-4 with a 1.61 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. His GAA is second best in the country among goalies at 64 Division I schools and his save percentage is ninth.
UNH Sophomore right wing Ryan Conmy (13 and 12) has paced the Wildcats and senior left wing Robert Cronin has 11 and 10. Cronin’s 11 goals and 21 points are career-highs. Senior left wing Liam Devlin (7 and 14) and junior left wing Cy LeClerc (7 and 13) are the other forwards who have cracked the 20-point plateau.
Senior Alex Gagne (4 and 10) is the top point-producer on the blue line in front of junior goalie and Alaska-Anchorage transfer Jared Whale (11-12-3, 2.66, .890).
