Maine Black Bear Hockey Dominates Hockey East Tournament, Advances To NCAA

I think it's safe to say that Maine Black Bear Hockey is officially back, and this state is ready to continue this beautiful ride.

Last season, Maine hockey reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in over 10 years, so there was certainly a lot of excitement entering this season. And let's just say the boys from Orono came through in a big way.

The University of Maine Hockey Team is the 2025 Hockey East Champion

For the first time since 2004, the Black Bears won the Hockey East Conference Tournament. Maine defeated UConn 5-2 in the final, in front of thousands of rowdy Black Bear fans at the TD Garden in Boston. It was a long time coming for the program that had spent over a decade trying to recapture its blue-blood identity.

This is exciting news for the Black Bears, who finished with an impressive 24-7-6 record, including the Hockey East Championship. This is the best record for the Black Bears since the 2005-2006 season — nearly 20 years ago.

It's also the second consecutive year Head Coach Ben Barr has led his team to more than 20 wins. It's truly incredible what Barr has done with this program in just four years. This one's a keeper, folks.

Maine will be a Top Seed for the Upcoming NCAA Hockey Tournament

Maine is one of four No. 1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA tournament and will compete in the Allentown Regional. Its first game will be against Big Ten foe Penn State, with the winner facing the winner of the game between UConn and Quinnipiac. This regional is absolutely stacked with talent. It's truly four programs that could all make a case for being Frozen Four-bound.

This was a regular season that the Maine program had been waiting for—a season that proves Maine once again belongs in the conversation with the rest of the major programs in college hockey. Barr was a very popular hire when it was made a few years ago. It was expected he would turn the once-proud program around. However, I'm not sure anyone knew it would be this quick.

It's certainly helped that Barr and his staff were able to put together a seriously talented roster, including goalie Albin Boija, who finished the season as an All-Hockey East Second Team selection, and defenseman Brandon Holt, a Third Team selection and runner-up for the conference's Best Defensive Defenseman award. Plus, the offensive firepower that features Josh Nadeau, Harrison Scott, and Taylor Makar—three players who all have double-digit goal totals for the year.

That's just naming a few of the many players who have made a positive impact on their team and the UMaine community. This team is a special one, and the entire country will see it on display when the Allentown Regional drops the puck.

Maine Black Bear Hockey Kicks off its Road to the Frozen Four on Friday, March 28

Maine and Penn State square off this Friday, March 28, at 8:30 p.m. If you can't make it to Allentown, don't worry, the game will be televised on ESPN2.

READ MORE: Yes, UMaine Amazingly Used to Have a Real Black Bear Mascot

Good luck to the Black Bears. It's wonderful to see them back where they belong. It seems like this new era of Black Bear hockey is going to work out quite well.