Two home games against Boston University, two at Boston College, and a season-ending series at UMass.

Just two wins among those six and the University of Maine’s hockey team would be either hosting a Hockey East quarterfinal series this weekend or it would know it had already clinched an NCAA Tournament bid regardless of what happened in the quarterfinals.

But the Black Bears lost all six and now they will need to win a difficult best-of-three quarterfinal series at UMass to earn a ninth consecutive berth to the NCAA Tournament.

“There’s nothing we can do about our missed opportunities,” said Maine senior left wing Brent Shepheard. “Hopefully, we learned from them. This is another opportunity in front of us.

“There’s no secret formula or magic potion. The bottom line is if we win, we move on [to the Hockey East semis and NCAA Tournament]. If we lose, we’re probably done for the year. If that isn’t a wakeup call to give us a sense or urgency in our game and our approach to the weekend, maybe we don’t deserve to move on,” he added.

Senior center and captain Michel Leveille said, “This is it. No more X’s and O’s. We’ve just got to bring it.”

Maine senior left wing and assistant captain Josh Soares said the team wants to keep the tradition going.

“It’s something this program has a lot of pride in. We have a lot of pride in ourselves.

“We know a lot of people are doubting us right now. But we know what we can do. We did it early in the season [going 8-0-1 in their first nine games],” Soares added. “We have to work hard and do all the little things right. If we do that, we’ll be a team that has to be reckoned with.”

Freshman backup goalie Dave Wilson will again get the nod as Ben Bishop continues to rehabilitate his groin pull.

Wilson is fully aware of the Maine tradition of success.

“We see it every day on the walls in the workout room and we just want to continue the tradition, especially for our seniors,” said Wilson.

UMass senior left wing and leading scorer Chris Capraro knows Maine will be ready.

“They have a great team and an established program. We’re going to have to bring our A game,” said Capraro.

Wilson made 52 saves in the 3-1, 5-3 losses last weekend and said he feels “comfortable” now that he has some experience and familiarity with the Minutemen and the rink.

“I feel like I’m ready for it. So is the team. We’ve practiced hard all week. I’ve seen a lot of improvement the last two weeks,” said Wilson.

Wilson called the Minutemen “very opportunistic.

“They capitalize on their opportunities down low. They work the puck around real well and see the ice well coming into the zone. I’ve got to watch out for cross-ice passes and I’ve got to watch down low when they’re working the puck around. I’ve got to make sure I’m watching for people in the slot,” said Wilson.

UMass coach Don Cahoon thought Wilson played well.

“He did a good job,” said Cahoon. “The goals we got seemed like pretty good chances. There’s no question Ben Bishop is a quality goaltender but who’s to say if he would have been able to make those saves.”

Shepheard said the goals weren’t Wilson’s fault.

“They were defensive errors,” he said. “They scored a couple of back-door tap-ins when we didn’t pick up our guys. It wouldn’t have mattered who was in net. We’re confident he’ll play well again.”

Wilson will be opposed by sophomore Jon Quick, who has the nation’s seventh best save percentage (.926) and 10th best goals-against average (2.22).

Capraro said Maine has a lot of “great offensive players” and the Minutemen will have to stay out of the penalty box since Maine has the nation’s best power play (25.2 percent).

Maine senior right wing Keith Johnson said UMass has an excellent transition game so “we’ve got to get back on defense as a five-man unit.”