BOSTON – For any young hockey player there are games you strive for, hope for and dream of.

Saturday’s NCAA National Championship game with Denver is one of those dreams come true for the Black Bears.

“Growing up I always wanted to play in a national championship game,” said sophomore forward Derek Damon. “To have it be with Maine and be from Maine, it’s so much more special. To have it in Boston, makes it just incredible. You always dream about this, but you’re not sure it will ever happen. To go out there and work so hard this year and have the team play so well is just incredible.”

It was supposed be a building year of sorts for a young Black Bear squad, but Maine believed in itself and has the chance to secure the third National title in the program’s history.

“It’s exciting,” said sophomore forward Greg Moore. “I’m really happy with how the team’s been playing. (Goaltender) Jimmy (Howard) obviously had a real good game (Thursday). I think everybody’s excited to think we didn’t have to go home.”

For Moore and Damon, both former teammates at St. Dom’s, having the title game in Boston has allowed for friends and family to share the experience.

“It took a lot of tickets but now that everyone’s here, it makes it a whole lot better,” said Damon.

The players got four complimentary tickets and then were allowed to purchase more. Moore had tickets for his parents, grandfather, a friend and his girlfriend.

“I’m definitely using all six on Saturday,” he said.

Having family and friends en masse around the Frozen Four brings a comfort level, a sense of home, while allowing the players to share this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with those closest to them.

“It definitely helps knowing that your family can come and support you,” said Moore. “They’re so close, two hours away. I know everyone else is still watching the game on TV at home. They call me and stuff, it great to have all the support around.”

Hanging by a thread

Whether fans can handle the tension, the Black Bears hope to have one more one-goal victory in their bag of tricks. Maine’s white-knuckle brand of living-on-the-edge hockey has kept the hearts pounding and the blood pressure soaring, but it’s also kept the Black Bears winning.

Maine has won eight straight games by one goal and had 19 games this season decided by the slimmest of margins. UMaine is 15-4 in those games, with three of those four losses by a 1-0 score.

“I think there’s a real calmness about our team now, being in those tough situations,” said UMaine coach Tim Whitehead. “That’s a great trait to have.”

It may be tough on fans and coaches to nail-bite their way through a tense final period, but the Black Bears seem quite comfortable under that pressure.

“It’s never fun to get outshot and see a scoreboard when we’re outshot 41-18, but we are getting used to it,” junior forward Dustin Penner said, referring to Thursday’s game against Boston College. “It’s led to a kind of calmness where if we bide our time and execute on our grade-A chances, we should get the win most of the time and we have.”

Between Maine’s 1.60 goals-against average and the 11 shutouts by Howard and Frank Doyle, the Black Bears have learned to rely on its defense and take care of business in that end first. If they do that, the rest has followed.

“It just comes down to heart,” said sophomore forward Jon Jankus. “We’re playing with tons of heart and just getting the job done.”

Though Maine was outshot against BC and had some defensive lapses, it played its best hockey when it took the lead early in the third and dared the Eagles to beat its defensive front. The Black Bears played disciplined, forechecked effectively and kept the shots limited and the rebounds cleared. BC were limited to eight shots in the final period.

Goaltending legacy

Howard’s stellar play is drawing comparisons with the many outstanding goaltenders that have gone on to greater things through the Maine program. Garth Snow and Mike Dunham have established NHL careers. Howard’s spectacular play this season only raises the question of what could be his future?

“I think it’s too early to say,” said Whitehead. “Those goalies (like Dunham and Snow) had the opportunity to continue on and carry on. Certainly at this point, he’s right up there with Garth Snow and Mike Dunham. We’ve been fortunate. Matt Yeats just made his NHL debut. Mike Morrison made his debut. We’ve had some terrific goalies. Jimmy’s right up there with those guys. Where he goes? I’m very confident that he’ll continue to improve as much as those guys have because he competes so hard. To see him practice, he practices so hard. So it’s not an accident he continues to improve. He’s better this year and he’ll be better next year.”

Rallying cry

The last thing Denver wants to do Saturday is to have to come from behind as it did against Minnesota-Duluth Thursday. The Pioneers fell behind 2-0 in the opening period and had to rally from a pair of two-goal deficits. It wasn’t until a four-goal final period before Denver got untracked. Doing that against the nation’s top defensive club may be a tougher challenge.

“It’s not in the game plan to comeback,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. “(Thursday) kind of symbolized the entire year. There are times we haven’t made it easy for ourselves. But they understand now. They know how to win. There’s a confidence. Yes, there’s going to be peaks and valleys. As long as we stay the course, we can bounce back and do some good things.”

Still, a strong start is an asset for Denver, which is 17-3-2 when striking first. Prior to Thursday, the Pioneers had won five of its last six games, scoring first in each victory. Denver is 9-9-3 when scored on first.

Championship facts

• It just so happens that Denver is the only team in the Frozen Four to have won a National title in Boston. The Pioneers won the championship in 1960, beating Michigan Tech.

• The Pioneers have five NCAA titles (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968 and 1969). Maine won the championship in 1993 and 1999.

• Overall, Denver is 5-3 in championship games, losing in 1963, 1964 and 1973. Maine is 2-2, losing in 1995 and 2002.

• The Black Bears have played the Pioneers 15 times all-time. Maine leads the series 10-5. Denver has lost 10 of the last 11 meetings, including the last meeting in 1999. The only tournament game between the two came in 1995 in the East Regional in Worcester. Maine won 4-2 before advancing to the Final Four where it eventually lost to Boston University, 6-2, in the title game.