University of Maine left wing Patricia Gagnon will make her college debut against the nation’s No. 1 team when the Black Bears entertain the University of New Hampshire tonight and Saturday afternoon.

Gagnon, a sophomore, was ineligible during the first semester because she didn’t have enough transferrable credits to meet NCAA standards for first-year students.

She has met those requirements and will be on a line with Brigitte Laflamme and Sonia Corriveau, her linemates for two years at Limoilou College in Quebec.

“They’re going to be tough games, but I like tough games. I prefer to play tough games,” said the 5-foot-3 Gagnon, who was Limoilou’s MVP for three seasons.

“I’m pretty excited to play this weekend. My parents [Dyane Royer, Yvan Gagnon] are coming down,” said Gagnon, who hails from Mont-Joli, Quebec.

Gagnon said she and her linemates did pretty well at Limoilou and have a lot in common.

“We speak French, we are friends, and we like to play together. It’s easier with them. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have good games,” said Gagnon.

She said they had productive practices this week.

“We talk about our game at the apartment because we live together and we always talk about hockey. We’ll be ready,” said Gagnon, who will also play on the first power-play unit.

Maine coach Guy Perron said Gagnon will bring “some smarts and poise to that line. She will give us more offensive production. And you can see the spark in her eyes playing with Brigitte and Sonia. They’re happy together.”

The Bears’ last game was Dec. 10 while UNH has played four games in the new year.

Maine returned to practice this week.

“It will be a big challenge for us this week, especially with the layoff,” said Perron. “But the girls are mentally fresh. We gave them a [workout] program and they came back in very good shape.”

Perron has stressed fundamentals in practice and made sure the goalies have been getting “200, 300, 400 shots a day.”

Junior defenseman Kelly Law said, “We can’t go out there and think about how long we’ve been off the ice. We’ve just got to go out and play. As the game goes on, we’ll get our timing back.”