ORONO – The University of Maine’s hockey team, 26-11-2, will be making its eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend as it will face ECAC Hockey League tournament champion Harvard University, 21-11-2, at the East Regional in Albany, N.Y. on Saturday at 3 p.m.

It is the second longest current string of NCAA appearances behind the University of Michigan’s 16 consecutive berths.

But the Black Bears’ 4-1 loss to Boston College in their Hockey East semifinal on Friday night made it a seat-squirming weekend for the Bears as they were very much on the NCAA bubble.

The University of North Dakota secured the bid for Maine by beating St. Cloud State 5-3 in the WCHA championship game. St. Cloud was behind Maine in the PairWise Rankings but a third win in three nights at the WCHA tourney would have earned the Huskies the automatic bid and probably would have kept the Bears out.

“That was the impression most of us were under,” said Maine junior defenseman Mike Lundin. “I was checking the score every 10 minutes.”

Maine junior left wing Josh Soares said it was “pretty nerve-wracking.

“We turned it on in the second period and North Dakota was leading 4-1. That was a pretty good feeling,” added Soares.

Senior right wing and captain Greg Moore didn’t want to subject himself to the tense ordeal.

“I waited until midnight to check the score to see if [North Dakota] had won. We’re fortunate enough to be in the tournament and now we have a chance to win the national championship. We’re excited about the weekend,” said Moore.

“If we hadn’t gotten in, we wouldn’t have had a chance to redeem ourselves [after the BC loss] and that would have been disappointing for sure,” Maine senior center Michel Leveille added.

Harvard is the second seed and Maine is the third seed. In the noon opener, top seed Michigan State, 24-11-8, meets No. 4 New Hampshire, 20-12-7. The two winners will play Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Pepsi Arena.

It will be the third time in five years that the Bears and Crimson have met in the NCAA Tournament.

Maine beat Harvard 4-3 in overtime in Worcester, Mass. during the 2001-2002 season and, two years later, rallied from a 4-1 deficit with four third-period goals to stun Harvard 5-4 in Albany.

Maine reached the NCAA championship game both years.

“They’re going to be a very tough opponent,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “They’re really playing well and so are we. It will be a great hockey game.”

Maine senior center Derek Damon said Harvard is “playing well and scoring a lot of goals right now. They’re peaking at the right time. We’re excited to be in this tournament. It has been a fun ride with this team this year and we still have a ways to go.”

Harvard, coached by alum and former NHLer Ted Donato, has won four straight and seven of its last eight. It has scored 27 goals in its four-game streak thanks to a power play that has connected on 10 of its 23 opportunities.

Maine’s loss to BC snapped the Bears’ 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2).

Whitehead and his players said they’re pleased to be staying in the east.

“It’s an extra bonus for us,”

said Whitehead. “We’ll get to play in front of our friends, families and our fans. That means a lot to our team.”

Damon added, “We have good memories of Albany from two years ago.”

Maine sophomore right wing Rob Bellamy likes the location.

“Albany is only an hour from my house [in Westfield, Mass.] so, hopefully, there will be a lot of people there,” he said.

“The only thing is my sister [UNH freshman defenseman Kacey Bellamy] is playing in the Frozen Four at Mariucci Arena [in Minneapolis]. They’ll have to figure out who is going where,” Bellamy added

Whitehead said he is “very proud” of his team’s accomplishment and its stretch run along with the eighth straight tourney appearance.

“To be consistent on an elite level is a real benchmark for a program,” said Whitehead.