ORONO, Maine — There will be no shortage of high-intensity action in Orono this weekend as the University of Maine men's ice hockey and women's basketball teams host big games on the court and the ice.
For the fifth time in eight seasons, the women's basketball team clinched the America East regular season championship after beating Albany in the last game of the regular season.
The Black Bears will host No. 8 University of Massachusetts-Lowell Friday at 5 p.m. in the conference quarterfinal round.
Maine picked up even more regular-season hardware this season. Amy Vachon was named the conference's coach of the year for the fifth time. This season, Vachon became the sixth America East coach to win more than 100 conference games, according to UMaine athletics.
"First, it’s not just me, I have an amazing staff and they’ve been through every single one of these [awards] with me," Vachon said after practice Thursday. “The regular season is tough, winning a regular-season championship means a lot."
Graduate student Anne Simon added more accolades to her impressive resume after being named the conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in her career. Simon was also named to the America East All-Conference First Team.
"I feel blessed, I’m honored, it wouldn’t be possible without [my] teammates," Simon said.
Adrianna Smith was also named to the All-Conference First Team for the second consecutive season.
Vachon didn't spend long reflecting on the regular season that was, knowing that the big focus for the Black Bears was returning to the NCAA Tournament.
"To be honest with you, it’s nice to be recognized by your peers, but the reality is, nothing matters except for this tournament coming up," Vachon added. "We’d give every single one of these awards back if we can win that championship."
UMaine's men's basketball team is the 6-seed in the America East tournament and will face Bryant on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Meanwhile, the men's hockey team will play two games at the Alfond this weekend to close out the regular season. The Black Bears host UMass-Amherst on Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. Both games are part of a senior weekend celebration.
Maine is looking to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Hockey East tournament which begins next week. The top five seeds in this year's tournament will advance to the quarterfinal round which will be played on Saturday, March 16.
"We can make some memories here, the guys want that, they want that for each other," head coach Ben Barr said this week.
While this team isn't looking past UMass this weekend, the Black Bears are the No. 9 ranked team in the nation and looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
According to UMaine athletics, this is the first time the team has spent 15 straight weeks as a nationally ranked top-ten team for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
The Black Bears enter Friday's game with a 20-10-2 record, improving each season under Barr. Maine finished 15-16-5 last year and lost to Vermont in the opening round of the Hockey East tournament. In Barr's first year in Orono, the team finished with a 7-22-4 mark.
Part of the team's success this season is due to the Nadeau brothers. Bradly and Josh, both freshmen, lead Maine in points with 39 each. Bradly has 16 goals and 23 assists and Josh has scored 15 times and recorded 24 assists so far this season.
The Nadeaus are from St. Francois-de-Madawaska, right across Maine's border with Canada. Bradly was selected in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2023 NHL draft becoming the first Black Bear to be drafted in the first round since 1999.
Bradly said going to UMaine with his brother made the transition to college easier. It also helps that friends and family can make the, relatively, short drive south to Orono on game days.
"I had expectations when I got here, but they’ve been exceeded by a lot," Bradley said this week. "The fans have been great this year, and having them every home game helps our performance giving us energy, it's been amazing."
The UMaine women's hockey team lost 2-1 to Merrimack in the opening round of their Hockey East tournament last month.