12 years later, one UMaine men’s hockey team cheers on another heading to the NCAAs

Matt Mangene scored 16 goals and had 18 assists for the last University of Maine men’s hockey team to play in the NCAA Tournament, in 2012. Portland Press Herald 2012 file photo

When Matt Mangene walked into Boston’s TD Garden last Friday for the Hockey East semifinals, it all felt familiar. Now a college hockey scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mangene felt like he was home.

“I got goosebumps walking into the Garden and seeing all the Maine fans,” said Mangene, who played for the University of Maine men’s hockey team for three seasons, from 2009-10 through 2011-12, before turning pro. “I got all emotional seeing it.”

Mangene was a key player on the UMaine team that reached the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Until Sunday night, that was the last Black Bears men’s hockey team squad to earn a spot in the 16-team NCAA Tournament.

Mark Anthoine played on the 2012 UMaine team that made the NCAA Tournament and on the 2014 team that faced Boston University at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer

Maine (23-11-2) received an at large bid as the No. 2 seed in the Springfield, Massachusetts, regional and will take on No. 3 Cornell (21-6-6) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The game will be televised on ESPNNews and streamed on ESPN+. A Maine win would set up a game at 4 p.m. Saturday against top-seeded Denver (28-9-3) or No. 4 UMass (20-13-3) for a spot in the Frozen Four, which will be in St. Paul, Minnesota, on April 11.

With the Black Bears snapping a 12-year tournament drought, members of the 2012 team reflected on what they see in this year’s team as well as their own journey to the NCAAs.

“For whatever reason, we haven’t been able to click (for years),” said Mark Anthoine, a Lewiston native who had 12 goals and seven assists in the 2011-12 season as a sophomore forward at Maine, “but this year they’ve gotten it done.”

From the 2012-13 season until the hiring of Ben Barr as head coach in 2021, UMaine struggled amid increasing competition in college hockey for top recruits. While occasionally getting strong players like goalie Jeremy Swayman, the Hockey East Player of the Year and a Hobey Baker Award finalist in 2020, or forward Devin Shore, who has played for five NHL teams since leaving Maine after the 2014-15 season, the Black Bears didn’t have the depth to compete at the national level.

In the 11 seasons after 2012-13, Maine had a winning record just three times. Circumstances beyond Maine’s control also may have extended its tournament drought. At 18-11-5 in 2020 with Swayman in net, the Black Bears were in contention for an NCAA Tournament spot when it was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

SUCCESS UNDER NEW COACH

The arrival of Barr changed the program’s fortunes. Known as a strong recruiter who landed players who went on to win national championships at Union, Providence and the University of Massachusetts, Barr rebuilt the Black Bears, going from seven wins in his first season two years ago to the success of this season. Barr’s most notable recruits to Maine are brothers Bradly and Josh Nadeau. Bradly was the first-round pick of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes last June and leads the Black Bears with 19 goals and 27 assists, while Josh Nadeau has 18 goals and 27 assists.

Jake Rutt in his office in downtown Portland on Tuesday. Rutt, a member of the 2012 UMaine hockey team that played in the NCAA Tournament, likes what he sees in this year’s team. “They have some high-end talent in net and scoring,” he says. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Jake Rutt grew up in Augusta and Scarborough, and was a freshman defenseman at Maine in 2011-12. Rutt, who now lives in Saco and coached Cape Elizabeth to the 2023 Class B state title, said he sees Maine dictating the tempo in most games this season, forcing opponents to play their gritty style.

“Looking at them from afar, you can see the difference in mindset. Everything they do is with a purpose,” said Rutt, who works in sales for Emburse, an expense management software company. “They have some high-end talent in net and scoring.”

The 2012 Black Bears entered the season with an NCAA Tournament dry spell of their own. From 1999 through 2007, Maine made the tournament in nine straight seasons, including six Frozen Fours, a national title in 1999, and national championship game appearances in 2002 and 2004. Entering the 2011-12 season, the Black Bears hadn’t been to the tournament for four straight years.

The Black Bears returned some of the top offensive players in Hockey East in 2011-12, and they had outstanding seasons. Senior Spencer Abbott was Hockey East Player of the Year and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award after scoring 21 goals and 41 assists for 62 points. Brian Flynn scored 18 goals and 30 assists. Joey Diamond (25 goals, 22 assists) and Mangene (16 goals, 18 assists) also were strong scoring threats.

Still, Maine’s offseason loses left a lot of questions. Gone were scorers like Gustav Nyquist, a Hobey Baker finalist in 2011, as well as forwards Robby Dee and Tanner House, and all-Hockey East defenseman Josh Van Dyk.

“We were supposed to be down that year, but because we had a close-knit group, we thought we could be pretty good,” Mangene said.

ROUGH START IN 2011-12

The season didn’t start well for the Black Bears. A five-game winless streak dropped Maine’s record to 3-7-1 after 11 games. Following a two-game sweep by UMass Lowell at Alfond Arena in mid-November, the Black Bears held a players-only meeting, said Anthoine, where they refocused. After a tie with UMass in the next game extended the winless streak to five, Maine got hot, going 13-2-1 over the next 16 games to climb back into the NCAA Tournament picture.

“It was that buying in. That’s the question for any hockey team, any team in general,” said Brice O’Connor, a sophomore defenseman in 2011-12 who lives in Falmouth and works in commercial real estate with the Boulos Company. “If you don’t buy in, jell as a team, and work together, you won’t go anywhere. It took us a while to do that.”

UMaine’s Brice O’Connor checks an opponent into the boards during a 2010 game in Portland. O’Connor played for the 2012 Maine team that made the NCAA Tournament. “If you don’t buy in, jell as a team, and work together, you won’t go anywhere,” he says. “It took us a while to do that.” Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

The Black Bears finished the regular season in fourth place in Hockey East, setting up a quarterfinals best-of-three series against Merrimack, a team they lost to twice and tied once in the regular season. Maine took the first game of the series at Alfond, 2-1, with the Warriors sending it to a deciding game with a 5-2 win in Game 2. Maine took the third game, 2-1, the winning goal coming on O’Connor’s putback of Nick Pryor’s shot.

“I remember hammering it home and piling up behind the net with my teammates, and the roar of the Alfond going crazy,” O’Connor said. “I couldn’t even hear my teammates standing next to me.”

The week before, O’Connor had scored the game-winner in a 1-0 win over New Hampshire to clinch home ice for Maine in the Hockey East quarterfinals.

“Being at home was so big for us,” said Anthoine, who now works in employee benefits with BGA Financial. “We have the best fans in the country.”

Maine beat Boston University 5-3 in the conference semifinals, scoring four power play goals on six opportunities. The Black Bears fell to Boston College in the championship game, 4-1, but received an at-large bid to the NCAAs. As the No. 3 seed at the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Massachusetts, Maine’s season ended with a 5-2 loss to defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

‘THE RIDE WE WENT ON’

“For me, it was just the ride we went on, getting hot to get to the tournament,” Mangene said.

Mangene now makes his living evaluating college hockey players. In Maine, he sees a team well-positioned to win in a tough tournament atmosphere.

“I’ve seen all 63 (Division I) teams play, and they’ve got a lot of talent. They’ve got three solid lines. Their defensemen play it simple. The goalies (Albin Boija and Victor Ostman), you can count on both of them,” Mangene said. “They do the little things right. With the bracket they have, they can make a run.”

Mangene expects to be in Springfield for at least the regional final. O’Connor said he’s looking into going to Thursday’s game. Anthoine will be traveling, but will be watching the game, as will Rutt back home in Maine. All feel like this year’s tournament appearance is the start of a return to perennial strength for the Black Bears.

“It’s an amazing opportunity from a recruiting standpoint,” Anthoine said.