Mixed feelings poured from Orono last weekend after a weekend split with a pair of Hockey East foes.

“There were some good things all weekend, even in the loss to Merrimack,” Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. “Obviously we’re disappointed with Friday’s result, but we’re not going to win a lot of games by scoring one goal.”

Maine dropped its first game of the season that night, 2-1, to the Warriors.

The Black Bears rebounded with a 6-3 win over Northeastern on Sunday to escape the weekend at 1-1.

“I thought we bounced back well,” Whitehead said. “We were able to pour 40 shots on net in that one. A lot of the shots from the outside that were missing on Friday were on target Sunday. It was a good end to the weekend.”

Brian Flynn led the way with five points — a goal and four assists — in the two games. As expected, both of the Bears’ goalies saw a full game between the pipes. Despite allowing one less goal, Martin Ouellette was tagged with the loss, while Dan Dullivan scooped up the win Sunday.

“I stand by what I said earlier this season,” Whitehead said. “I stand by those guys. Both of them have prepared themselves for a stronger season this year, and we’ll continue to give both of them opportunities.”

The next test for Maine is a big one. The Black Bears will visit No. 6 North Dakota this weekend for a pair of non-conference games, the back end of a home-and-home with the WCHA powerhouse.

“They’re a really talented program. They have 15 guys drafted to the NHL on that squad, including several in the top three rounds,” Whitehead said.

And if the Bears thought they might sneak up on North Dakota?

“They just lost one to Boston College, and we swept them last year,” Whitehead said. “I don’t think they’re going to take us lightly at all. They’re going to be very physical, and they like to put a lot of pressure on the power play and on the PK. We’re going to have to be disciplined.”

With a full roster available to him, Whitehead said Thursday he may elect to rotate a few guys into the lineup for Saturday’s second game that may sit out Friday, just to keep some of his players fresh.

“Everyone is ready to go and everyone is available,” Whitehead said. “If we need to make changes, we have the guys to do that.”

The puck drops for the first game of the two-game set at 8:30 p.m. Friday, and at 8 p.m. Saturday.