MAINE vs. MIDDLEBURY

Time, site: Saturday, 3 p.m.; Middlebury, Vt.

Records: Maine 1-0, Middlebury 0-0

Key players: Maine – LW Alison Lorenz (3 goals & 0 assists), RW Jamie Shofield (0 & 2), D Christina Hedges, G Amy Oliver (1-0, 2.00 goals-against average, .931 save percentage); Middlebury (last year’s stats) – F Sylvia Ryan (26 & 22), D Catherine Pullins (11 & 19), F Christa McDougall (16 & 16), G Beth Denoncourt (7-2, 1.73 GAA)

Outlook: Middlebury won the ECAC Alliance Championship for the second consecutive year last year by earning a 10-1 win over Maine in the semifinals and a 10-0 win over Bowdoin in the championship game. So the Panthers will present a sizeable test for the Bears. While Middlebury is young, it returns high-scoring forwards in ECAC Alliance first-team sophomores Ryan and Pullins. The Bears may have an advantage in being better rested for their 3 p.m. game. Friday night, the Panthers will first face a rematch of last year’s Alliance Championship game against Bowdoin.

MAINE vs. VERMONT

Time, site: Sunday, 1 p.m.; Burlington, Vt.

Records: Maine 1-0; Vermont 2-0

Key players: Vermont – F Alle Knowles (1 & 1), D Betsy Ammel (1 & 1), F Jessica Fraumeni (1 & 1), G Nicole Stern (2-0, 1.20, .875)

Outlook: The Catamounts have started the season on a winning note, but Vermont, which is still a club sport, is younger than Maine. Ten of the Bears’ 20 players are upperclassmen, while the Catamounts return only six upperclassmen from last year’s team that finished fifth in the ECAC Alliance West with a 5-9-1 mark. In the two teams’ only meeting last year, Vermont lost to Maine, which finished 8-4-2 in the ECAC Alliance.