Maine men's hockey prepares for new season

ORONO, Maine (WABI) – Maine men’s hockey is back on the ice preparing for a new season.

Maine hockey fans will miss watching Bradly Nadeau after he went pro, but his brother Josh and a talented returning group of Black Bears and transfers will help to keep lighting the lamp.

“We lost Bradly, a really good player. We’re not going to replace Bradly, but we need to replace him in the aggregate, so to speak. We need everybody to be a little bit better,” said Ben Barr, head coach.

Lynden Breen returns as a captain for the Black Bears. He’s looking forward to seeing the depth of this year’s team.

“We’re just so deep in a sense where there’s guys who were playing last year where it’s going to be tough to get in the lineup. No spot’s promised, even for myself and other guys. It’s a battle every week. Whoever’s putting their best effort in is going to be in the lineup. It’s pretty cool to see. We just have 28 guys who can really play, night in, and night out,” said Breen, graduate forward.

David Breazeale joins Breen wearing the ‘C’ this season. He’s ready to help keep Maine on the rise in Hockey East.

“I think last year we proved a lot to a lot of people, which is exciting. I think for us, we’re just really looking forward to getting out there and making a statement again this year,” said Breazeale, senior defenseman.

“We have a really tight, high-character group of guys. Hopefully we can build on the experience that we had last year. Ultimately, those final two games, we didn’t get the job done. It’s going to take a little bit more from all of us,” said Barr.

The Black Bears will be striving for a deeper run in the Hockey East and NCAA Tournaments.

The first game of the season is Sat. Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. against American International College at Alfond Arena.

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