For the University of Maine men’s hockey seniors, Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., has not been a favorable venue.

The seniors will be gunning for their first berth in the Florida College Classic championship game when they take on Western Michigan on Friday at 4:05 p.m.

The tournament features three teams ranked among the top 12 in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online.com/CSTV poll.

Maine, 10-3-2, is ranked fifth; New Hampshire, 13-2-1 overall, unbeaten in its last 12 (11-0-1), and winner of nine straight, is No. 2; and Cornell, 8-3-1, is ranked 12th. New Hampshire and Cornell square off at 7:35.

“It’s got to be one of the best tournaments in the country. UNH is ahead of us [in the polls] and Cornell and Western Michigan are fabulous teams, too,” said Maine junior defenseman Bret Tyler.

Maine senior right wing Keith Johnson said he remembered looking at the schedule at the outset of the season and “thinking to myself, ‘Wow, this is going to be a great tournament. No matter how we do in the opening game, we know we’re going to play another tough team the next day.”

This will be Maine’s seventh consecutive appearance in the tournament but the Bear seniors hadn’t won a game in it until they beat Northeastern 4-2 in the consolation game last year.

They had lost their previous five tourney games although one was decided by a shootout so it went in the books as a tie.

“I don’t know why we struggle so much down there,” said senior defenseman and assistant captain Mike Lundin. “Maybe we try to do too much, skill-wise. Too much passing and stuff. The ice is always a little choppy.

“It would definitely help us if we keep the game simple. Chip pucks [around people] and just outwork the other team,” said Lundin.

Senior right wing Keith Johnson agreed, saying, “The ice is soft. If you try to make the perfect play on that type of playing surface, you aren’t going to be successful.”

Maine coach Tim Whitehead said his team will have to play smart hockey.

“You don’t want to try to make a play when it’s not there. You don’t want to force something. You want to chip it in and chip it out. You don’t want to be a backchecking team,” said Whitehead.

Whitehead meant if his players try to be too creative and turn the puck over, that will fuel Western Michigan’s transition game, requiring his players to backcheck rather than go on the attack.

He also said his team will have to be disciplined.

“I expect it to be a tightly-officiated tournament,” said Whitehead. “We’ve got to get in good defensive position in order to stay out of the penalty box.”

Maine senior center and captain Michel Leveille said the fact they had a practice at Bangor’s Sawyer Arena on Wednesday and another at Germain Arena Thursday will be beneficial.

“We weren’t rushing around to get there [like we have in the past]. That should pay off for us,” said Leveille.