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Dave Wilson

Maine (11-12-3) at New Hampshire (12-8-4)

WHEN: 7:30 tonight and 7 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Whittemore Center, Durham, N.H. (tonight); Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, N.H. (Saturday)

TV/RADIO: NESN (Friday)/WLOB-AM (1310)

MAINE: The Black Bears will try to build on their first win since December, a 2-1 victory Sunday over Massachusetts on a last-minute goal by defenseman Jeff Dimmen. They're still struggling to create offense in front of the goal; of their 29 shots against UMass, only four came from in front of the crease. Maine Coach Tim Whitehead praised his team's third-period poise in the win over UMass, but it's a trend that needs to continue for the Black Bears, who have lost four third-period leads this season.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: The last time UNH met Maine, the Wildcats rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Black Bears 5-4 on Jan. 4 in Orono. At the time, the Wildcats were playing without power forward James van Riemsdyk (nine goals, 18 assists) and defenseman Blake Kessel, who were representing the U.S. at the World Junior Championships. Van Riemsdyk and Kessel are back, but senior captain Joe Charlebois was ruled academically ineligible last month, ending his career at UNH. While Maine is fighting for a Hockey East playoff spot, the Wildcats are fighting for home-ice advantage in the playoffs, and they enter the weekend with momentum after a 3-2 win over No. 7 Vermont last Friday.

– Rachel Lenzi

The stakes are high if you're a goaltender, as you're the final line of defense for your hockey team. Thus, the habitual behavior of a goalie in the moments before a game: They're a little tense, very quiet, and usually don't want to be bothered.

University of Maine goalie Dave Wilson tried that approach. It didn't work. Instead, he went back to what worked for him since he began playing in goal 12 years ago.

"Almost all goalies, I've found, are more focused and more serious about the game, especially right before it," Wilson said. "I've found my way is just to relax. If I overthink things, that's when I get in trouble."

Wilson goes with the flow. He's been doing it since he was 12 years old, when he volunteered to play the position, shifting from defense to goalie after his team's starting goalie got injured.

"This season, of all the seasons I've been at Maine, I've planned to play every game," said Wilson, who made just four starts before Christmas. "If I've been on the bench, I've been ready to play. Each game, I've prepared the same way."

Wilson has started four of Maine's last five games and appears to have emerged as the Black Bears' top goalie heading into this weekend's two-game series at No. 11 New Hampshire. Wilson, a junior from Caledon, Ontario, was named Hockey East's defensive player of the week after making 35 saves in a 3-2 loss against UMass-Lowell last Friday, then 21 saves in a 2-1 win over Massachusetts on Sunday.

In nine games this season, Wilson is 3-5 with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. For much of the first half of the season, he was the backup for Scott Darling, a freshman.

"This whole season, both goalies have been doing a great job," Maine defenseman Will O'Neill said. "When a goalie gets a shot like Dave Wilson gets, it's the same way. We rallied around Scott and we'll rally around Dave."

Still, the door is apparently open for either goalie to play.

"We decide who is in goal after the Thursday practice, but having said that, we're very excited about Dave's performance and his improvement," Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said.

"On the flip side of that, Scott has practiced very well since the Boston College weekend (Jan. 24-25) and he's champing at the bit to get back in. You shouldn't be surprised to see him, either. But the team has rallied in front of David very well over the last couple weeks. He's sharpened his game and has given us every opportunity to compete."

With 10 games left in the regular season and a Hockey East playoff berth at stake – Maine currently is holding down the final spot – Wilson and the Black Bears realize that points are at a premium, especially after the team went winless in January.

"Our team goals are the same as what we had in January, but obviously we want more wins," Wilson said. "The biggest thing is to play our game and focus more on the things we need to do in practice, goal-scoring and defense.

"We've had some good games but not the outcomes we've wanted, but still, we've performed well. But we're going to build off January and get some momentum."

O'Neill, who centered Maine's third line in Sunday's win over Massachusetts, agreed.

"We have to focus on what we can do, and that's competing every shift," O'Neill said.

"We're going to come in with the attitude that we're going to outwork and outplay teams. That's the way we're going to get our two points. If we don't have that intensity, it will be a struggle. But everyone's committed to this."

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:

rlenzi@pressherald.com