Best hockey rivalry: #4

For a rivalry that started less than 50 years ago, the antagonism between Maine and New Hampshire is one for the ages. The Black Bears only achieved D1 status in 1979, but in very short order, they rose to the top of the NCAA and began giving the Wildcats hell up and down 1-295 S. Throughout the early 90s, Maine won 18 of 19 matchups between the two schools, and claimed its first NCAA Championship in 1993. However, due to NCAA penalties for previous invalid players, the team was ineligible for postseason tournaments and struggled through the middle portion of the 90s. New Hampshire didn't find much success during that time, either. 

In Nov. 1997, the rivalry took a violent turn when Black Bear forward Ben Guité hammered Wildcat Mark Mowers into the glass during a brutal 7-0 drubbing in Durham. Mowers was knocked unconscious from the hit. UNH fan Greg Ambrose recalled “teammate Tom Nolan, rushing over, saying ‘Mark, you okay, you okay’ and waving frantically for the trainers to get on the ice.” 

The rivalry undoubtedly reached its peak in 1999 with the NCAA Championship. It’s rare that rivals of this caliber get to play each other in a national title game, and UNH and Maine did not disappoint. Hilariously, despite the fact that the teams are a mere 200 miles apart, the game was played on the other side of the country in Anaheim as that was where the NCAA title game was held that year. 

If you’ve never watched the highlights of this game, you have missed out on some truly incredible hockey — and drama. Guité continued to haunt the Wildcats, opening the scoring with 4:13 to go in the first period as he fired the puck past goaltender Ty Conklin while falling down. New Hampshire had actually killed off a two-man advantage shortly before that, but took another penalty, leading to Guité’s goal. The spotlight on Conklin lying in the exact pose of every dead man in a murder mystery movie portrays the exact vibe of what a goalie is truly feeling after allowing a goal in a big game. He’d experience it again in the second period when Niko Dimitrakos was left all alone in front of the net and rocketed it by him before Conklin could even get set. 

Then: drama. With six minutes remaining in the second, it appeared Maine had taken a 3-0 lead right after killing a penalty on Dan Kerluke, who scored straight out of the box. But teammate Jason Vitorino skated through Conklin’s crease, negating the goal. Shortly after, UNH found its game as Darren Haydar knocked in a shorthanded goal to bring them within one. In the third period, Mike Souza would tie it, sending the game to overtime, much to the chagrin of the Black Bears. 

Both goaltenders were tremendous in OT, but the Wildcats’ defense faltered ten minutes in. Maine center Cory Larose intercepted a poor pass from a UNH player and slid a pass to Marcus Gustafsson. Gustafsson fired a one-timer at Conklin, who blocked it but couldn’t secure the rebound. Gustafsson didn’t miss the second time, securing Maine its second national championship. To this day, the Wildcats have still not won a national title, giving rise to the moniker “University of No Hardware.” 

The Border Battle was entrenched after that game — hard for it not to be with how dramatic it was. Three years later, it would flare again in the postseason, with the Wildcats defeating the Black Bears to claim their first Hockey East title before being obliterated, 7-2, by Maine in the Frozen Four. Perhaps New Hampshire found some solace in the Black Bears’ defeat at the hands of the Golden Gophers of Minnesota in overtime, but it likely wasn’t much comfort. A few years later at Frozen Fenway, Maine again lost a two-goal lead only to defeat the Wildcats in overtime with a goal from Bryan Flynn. 

Each year, those games are circled on everyone’s calendar. At UNH, they host “White out the Whit” when Maine comes to town (The Whit being the Wildcats’ home arena, the Whittemore Center Arena. There’s also the ever-present expectation of UNH throwing a fish onto the ice whenever the Wildcats score their first goal, a tradition which began in the 70s and was primarily carried out by fraternity Zeta Chi. When the fraternity was kicked off campus, the athletic department took up the banner and is now responsible for the fish-throwing each game. The Cat Pack also has a wide variety of chants. 

Up in Orono, the Maine-iacs are known for making the Alfond as loud as possible, adhering to the school’s song to “sing ‘til the rafters ring.” Fans queue for hours in subzero temperatures to secure their tickets to games against New Hampshire. One fan told me the line for a 6 p.m. puck drop against the Wildcats typically begins around 10 a.m. In January. In Maine. Dedication, to say the least. Black Bears fans may throw snowballs at fans who dare to wear Wildcat jerseys in Orono, and they’ll certainly boo the opposition as loud as they can. Maine’s administration has cracked down on fans chanting swear words (you’ll generally be removed by security), but the section is as loud as ever and chants just as much. 

This rivalry hasn’t faded in 50 years and it’s unlikely to do so anytime soon.