ORONO – While the University of Maine’s football team is causing quite a stir with its No. 3 ranking in the most recent NCAA Division I-AA poll, the team that shares Morse Field with them has also been having a memorable season.

The 8-1 Black Bear field hockey team is ranked No. 21 in the country thanks to their current eight-game winning streak that is the longest in 12th-year head coach Terry Kix’s tenure.

Kix said there have been two primary components behind their success.

“We have tremendous senior leadership. When we need a big play, the seniors rally the troops,” she said. “And during practice, our young players really challenge the older players. That creates depth. And we’ve got so much more balance this year.”

Maine has six players with three or more goals and another with two. They’ve had five different players score game-winners.

“We’re more diverse,” agreed senior midfielder Jen Johnstone. “We don’t rely on just one or two players to score. We have a lot of people who can score.”

Senior forward Tara Bedard of Skowhegan added, “Every weekend, it seems like somebody different comes through. That makes it tough for other teams to scout us.”

The Bears are averaging 3.2 goals per game and their depth has also supplied them with additional confidence.

“Last year, if somebody scored first on us, we’d get frantic,” Bedard said.

That doesn’t happen any more.

“We never let down,” Bedard said.

Johnstone also pointed out that the Bears’ style of play has changed dramatically and that has been beneficial.

“Our passing game has improved so much,” said Johnstone. “When we first came here, the upperclassmen used to dribble too much and we saw that it didn’t work.”

Bedard has paced the Bears with a team-leading 21 points on seven goals and seven assists.

Winslow forward Kristy Ferran has seven goals and an assist and Johnstone has three goals and five assists.

Karyn Magno, Rachael Hilgar and Jay’s Jana Ouellette have also scored three times apiece and Magno also has an assist. Winslow’s Amie Dubois has two goals and two assists.

But individual statistics don’t mean much, according to Bedard and Johnstone.

“I don’t care if I score or not as long as we win,” said Bedard.

The next test for the Bears is a 1 p.m. Sunday game against former longtime Maine assistant Diane Madl and her Providence College Friars.

“It’ll be exciting to play her,” said Johnstone. “She used to help me so much, especially in the spring. She was always willing to work with me [on developing my skills].”

Bedard concurred, saying, “Coach Kix is a defense-oriented coach. Coach Madl helped me so much with my offense.”

Kix said she will have “mixed emotions.

“Diane has been an integral part of our success. But we’re both competitors and we’ll both want to win” said Kix.

Bears picked 4th in Hockey East

The University of Maine’s hockey team has been picked to finish fourth in Hockey East by a vote of the league’s coaches.

Boston University was picked to win the league regular season championship with 61 points and six first-place votes.

New Hampshire was second with 53 points and two first-place votes. Boston College had 51 points and Maine had 48 points and the other first-place vote.

They were followed by Providence (32), Northeastern (31), UMass-Lowell (23), UMass (17) and Merrimack (8).

Maine returns 10 of its top 13 scorers but has to replace both of its goalies and its top two scorers.

The Black Bears finished tied for second last year but were seeded third in the Hockey East tournament a year ago; reached the HE tourney final and lost to Minnesota 4-3 in overtime in the NCAA championship game.

They wound up 26-11-7.

HOCKEY EAST

Preseason Coaches Poll

(First-place votes in parenthesis)

1. Boston University (6) 61 points

2. New Hampshire (2) 53

3. Boston College 51

4. Maine (1) 48

5. Providence 32

6. Northeastern 31

7. UMass-Lowell 23

8. UMass 17

9. Merrimack 8