Maine men's hockey earns a top seed in NCAA tournament

Mar. 23—ORONO — Shortly after 3 p.m. on Sunday, when the University of Maine men's hockey team saw who and where it will open the NCAA tournament on Friday, the Black Bears didn't flinch. To a man, they stayed in their seats. No applause, not even a polite golf clap. The Black Bears look at their upcoming visit to Allentown, Pennsylvania, as a business trip.

Maine (24-7-6), ranked No. 3 in the PairWise rankings used by the NCAA to determine and seed the tournament field, earned the top seed in the Allentown regional, and will face No. 4 Penn State (20-13-4), the host team for the region. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. Friday, and the game will be televised on ESPN 2.

"We're just going to take care of our business. Go down there and keep doing what we're doing. Trusting the process, keep playing Black Bear hockey," said Harrison Scott, Maine's leading scorer with 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points.

The other side of the Allentown bracket features a pair of teams the Black Bears are familiar with. UConn, which Maine defeated 5-2 Friday to win the Hockey East title, will take on Quinnipiac, a team Maine beat twice in a pair of one-goal games at Alfond Arena in October. A win in the Allentown regional tournament sends Maine to the Frozen Four in St. Louis, April 10-12.

Penn State finished the regular season in fifth place in the Big Ten, and fell to Ohio State in the conference semifinals last week. Maine coach Ben Barr said he needs to study up on the Nittany Lions.

"Obviously a really good team. I haven't watched them play. We're playing basically a home game for them, so it should be a really good challenge. It should be fun," Barr said.

Penn State is Maine's first Big Ten opponent in almost a decade. On Oct. 9, 2015, the Black Bears skated to a 3-3 season opening tie against Michigan State at Portland's Cross Arena. Maine did play Notre Dame, currently a member of the Big Ten, when the Fighting Irish competed in Hockey East.

"I don't know much about them. I don't think we've played a Big Ten team since I've been at this school. You know, I've got buddies that are in the Big Ten, and you have conversations," said Lynden Breen, one of Maine's captains. "You know that they have a lot of talent. From what I've heard, they have a lot of firepower up front and they're not scared to make plays. We play a lot of teams in Hockey East that play the same way."

After going 12 years between NCAA tournament appearances, this is Maine's second straight trip to the tournament. The Black Bears have been in the top five in the PairWise throughout most of the second half of the season, so the team knew it had a spot locked up even before winning the automatic bid that comes with the Hockey East championship. With that in mind, Barr didn't spend much time speculating about where and when his team would play.

Playing a host team that will certainly have a strong fan following doesn't concern the Black Bears. Barr pointed to Denver's run to the national title last season, which began with a double overtime win over host UMass in Springfield, Mass.

"Honestly, I didn't think about any of it. I fell asleep early (Saturday) night. This time of year, you just go play wherever you go play," Barr said. "Denver won last year, and they had to come out to Springfield as the number one overall seed. This time of year, go play your game."

Like Breen, senior Nolan Renwick, who scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to beat Northeastern in the Hockey East semifinals Thursday, has not faced a Big Ten team in his career. Renwick said he's excited for the opportunity. Last season, in which Maine lost its final two games, first in the Hockey East semifinals to Boston University, then in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Cornell, was a chance to learn, he said.

"Last year, we were pretty raw in those moments. You could see it, especially in that (Hockey East) semifinal game last year when we lost in the Garden, and the first regional game. We didn't know what to expect and it didn't go our way," Renwick said. "This year, especially our veteran guys, we knew how to handle the pressure and the expectations that come in those moments. Those experiences, especially those last two games in the Garden, those experiences are going to help us a lot in this first regional game."

Maine is one of six teams from Hockey East to make the field of 16 teams, the most by any conference in the tournament. Along with the Black Bears and UConn in Allentown, Boston College and Providence will head to Manchester, N.H. Boston College will face Bentley in the first round, while the Friars will take on Denver. UMass will head to Fargo, North Dakota, for a first round game against Minnesota. Boston University will play Ohio State in Toledo, Ohio.

Copy the Story Link

Topics

Maine men's hockey has enjoyed success as a No. 1 seed in NCAA tournament

Mar. 24—The University of Maine is making its 20th appearance in the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament. This is the eighth time the Black Bears earned a No. 1 seed, although the first six ...
Yahoo Sports - 22h
Can Maine men's hockey win it all? Bears inch closer to goal

Mar. 21—One step closer. By reaching the Hockey East championship game, that's what the University of Maine men's ice hockey team is. Just one step closer. The Black Bears entered the Hockey East ...
Yahoo Sports - 3d
Transfer comes up big for Maine men's hockey

Mar. 20—The University of Maine men's hockey team was bolstered by a handful of transfer players this season. The lone defenseman in the group is Frank Djurasevic, who not only has been a strong ...
Yahoo Sports - 4d
BC men are NCA hockey tourney's top seed, will play in Manchester

Mar. 23—Boston College is the overall top seed for the NCAA men's Div. I hockey tournament and will play close to home at SNHU Arena in Manchester. The Eagles (26-7-2) will face Atlantic Hockey ...
Yahoo Sports - 1d
Not this year, but maybe soon for Maine men's basketball

Mar. 15—ORONO — There will be another NCAA men's basketball tournament without the University of Maine. This time, though, the thought of that doesn't come with shoulder shrugs of resignation. This ...
Yahoo Sports - Mar. 15
Where are the Troy Trojans from? Here’s what you need to know about this No. 14-seeded NCAA tournament team

Troy University will return to the men’s NCAA tournament when the No. 14 seed plays No. 3 Kentucky at 7:10 p.m. Friday at Fiserv Forum.
Yahoo Sports - 6d
Improved defensive play a key to Maine's hockey success

Mar. 19—ORONO — As good as the defensive statistics have been throughout the season, the University of Maine men's hockey team knows its defense has been a season-long work in progress. "Obviously, ...
Yahoo Sports - 5d
MSU hockey get No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament, will face Cornell on Thursday

See who, when and where Michigan State hockey will open the NCAA Tournament this week
Yahoo Sports - 1d
Who will Penn State face in NCAA Hockey Tournament?

The Nittany Lions will hope to embrace Allentown for a little home ice advantage in the NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament.
Yahoo Sports - 2d

Maine men's hockey earns a top seed in NCAA tournament

Topics

Related

Maine men's hockey has enjoyed success as a No. 1 seed in NCAA tournament

Can Maine men's hockey win it all? Bears inch closer to goal

Transfer comes up big for Maine men's hockey

BC men are NCA hockey tourney's top seed, will play in Manchester

Not this year, but maybe soon for Maine men's basketball

Where are the Troy Trojans from? Here’s what you need to know about this No. 14-seeded NCAA tournament team

Improved defensive play a key to Maine's hockey success

MSU hockey get No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament, will face Cornell on Thursday

Who will Penn State face in NCAA Hockey Tournament?

More from Yahoo Sports

Swiatek gets extra security after harassment

Raiders sign former Panthers veteran starting TE

Bengals show more pre-draft interest in notable name

Naji Marshall's 22 leads Mavericks to 120-101 rout of Nets in Anthony Davis' return

Miami WR potentially tanks draft stock at pro day

More in Sports

NWSL condemns alleged abuse of Pride's Banda

Blatter, Platini cleared in FIFA corruption case

Ronaldo: Penalty miss? Knew Portugal would win

Balogun returns with hat trick in Monaco friendly

Güler, Szoboszlai continue feud: 'This guy a joke'