Men’s college hockey

MAINE vs. MERRIMACK

Time, site: 7 p.m., Friday, Saturday, Lawler Arena, No. Andover, Mass.

Records: Maine 21-10-1 (14-8-1 Hockey East); Merrimack 5-20-5 (2-16-5 HE)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 48-8-5, Maine 3-1 on Nov. 4, 2005

Key players: Maine – RW Greg Moore (22 goals, 11 assists), LW Josh Soares (12 & 18), C Derek Damon (12 & 16), C Michel Leveille (11 & 15), D Bret Tyler (5 & 12), D Mike Lundin (2 & 12), G Ben Bishop (14-6-1, 2.23 goals-against average, .908 save percentage) Merrimack – C Rob Ricci (7 & 13), RW Matt Johnson (14 & 5), C Mike Alexiou (2 & 11), D Bryan Schmidt (4 & 8), LW Brent Gough (1 & 9), G Patrick Watson (1-7-3, 2.69, .920), G Jim Healey (4-13-2, 3.55, .889)

Outlook: Maine is 7-1-1 in its last eight games while Merrimack is 1-13-5 over its last 19 games. Maine has won the last four meetings at Lawler Arena. This won’t be an easy series for the Bears. In their first meeting in Orono in November, Merrimack squandered four breakaways in Maine’s 3-1 win. Merrimack has a win and a tie at home vs. UNH. Bishop has allowed only one goal in five of his last seven starts. Johnson has 11 power play goals for the Warriors. Moore has a league-leading 17 goals in Hockey East play and has seven and six in his last nine games. Schmidt is one of the nation’s best defensemen, and freshmen Ricci and Watson lead a productive group of underclassmen.

College baseball

MAINE vs. No. 19 MISSISSIPPI

Time, site: 3 p.m. Friday; 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, Oxford, Miss.

Records: Maine 0-0; Mississippi 3-1

Series, last meeting: Ole Miss leads 1-0, Mississippi 5-0 on 6/03/05

Top hitters – Maine (2005 statistics): 3B Curt Smith (.343, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 10 SB), 1B Joel Barrett (.340, 7 HR, 43 RBI), CF Joe Hough (.336, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 21 SB), LF Ryan Quintal (.335, 7 HR, 49 RBI), DH Matt McGraw (.291, 2 HR, 15 RBI); Ole Miss: 2B Justin Henry (.444, 3 RBI), CF Alex Presley (.444, 1 HR, 9 RBI), LF Cody Overbeck (.429, 2 HR, 3 RBI), SS Zack Cozart (.412, 3 RBI), 3B Chris Coghlan (.357, 3 RBI)

Possible Pitching Matchups

Maine Black Bears Mississippi Rebels

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Troy Martin 4.02 8-2 42 LH Tommy Baumgartner 0.00 1-0 4

LH Nolan Boike 8.53 0-1 11 RH Nick Hetlund 0.00 1-0 4

RH Pat Moran 0.00 0-0 0 LH Garrett White 0.00 0-0 5

Outlook: The Bears open this season on the same field where last season ended in the NCAA tourney against a Top-20 Rebels squad. UMaine makes its debut under new coach Steve Trimper with several key veterans and a few newcomers. Ole Miss, coming off Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Samford, lost six of its top pitchers to graduation and the pros. The Rebels have some high-level talent in the likes of Henry, Presley, Cozart and Coghlan. The Bears must adjust quickly to being outdoors and can’t afford many mistakes against Ole Miss. UMaine pitchers Moran, out of Hampden Academy, and Boike will be thrown into the fire after earning starts with their off-season efforts.