Men’s hockey

MAINE vs. NORTHEASTERN

Time, site: Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m.; Alfond Arena, Orono

Records: Maine 13-8-5 (8-3-3 Hockey East); NU 9-12-3 (5-7-2 HE)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 37-34-14, NU 4-2 on 11/12/04

Key players: Maine – C Derek Damon (11 goals, 11 assists), C Jon Jankus (7 & 12), RW Greg Moore (11 & 5), LW Mike Hamilton (3 & 12), C Michel Leveille (7 & 5), D Troy Barnes (1 & 11), G Jimmy Howard (12-8-5, 2.08 GAA, .912 save percentage); NU – C Jason Guerriero (11 & 20), LW Mike Morris (11 & 12), LW Brian Swiniarski (10 & 6), RW Jared Mudryk (6 & 5), D Donny Grover (2 & 8), D Tim Judy (2 & 5), G Keni Gibson (9-11-3, 2.61, .913)

Outlook: Maine is 8-0-2 in the last 10 meetings between the two at Alfond Arena. After an uncharacteristic 3-4 start at Alfond, Maine has gone 5-0-2 since then. The line of Morris-Guerreiro-Mudryk is one of the league’s best and the Bears will have to find a way to neutralize them. The crafty Guerreiro is Hockey East’s third-leading scorer. The Huskies are a good forechecking team and Maine will have to play well in the defensive zone. The Huskies will need to keep their shifts short and protect the puck. Maine can quickly generate odd-man rushes through transition. Both goalies are top-notch, so creating traffic and getting to the net front will be imperative. Moore has a four-game goal-scoring streak. Special teams will be another key. NU beat Merrimack 4-3 on Monday.