Well, the blog is back in action after a few days off, and the Black Bears are preparing to face Merrimack at 2 p.m. at Lawler Arena here in North Andover.

The Black Bears (7-5-1, 4-4-1 Hockey East) have lost their past two games - a 3-2 loss at Vermont on Nov. 29 and a 3-2 loss in overtime Friday at Northeastern.

Freshman goalie Scott Darling was named Hockey East's Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month, finishing November with a 4-1-1 record, a 1.32 goals-against average and a .951 saves percentage. Darling is currently fifth in the nation in goaltending leaders with a record of 5-3-1, a goals-against average of 1.43 and a saves percentage of .942.

Merrimack (4-7-3, 2-6-2) plays its first game since Nov. 29, a 4-3 upset of No. 15 New Hampshire.

New Hampshire defeated UMass-Lowell 3-2 last night to sweep the season series from the River Hawks. (Yeah, can you believe it, this weekend marks the completion of one series?) Maine and Merrimack will conclude the season series this afternoon; Maine won and tied in the last meeting Nov. 21-22 at Alfond Arena.

Scratches for this afternoon's game for Maine:

Ryan Hegarty, defense
Theo Andersson, forward
Nick Payson, forward
David de Kastrozza, forward
Glenn Belmore, forward
Robby Dee, forward

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