Harvard hockey fans, meet the Maine Black Bears.

An introduction is certainly in order here, as the last time Harvard and Maine met in this fair Commonwealth—as they will on Saturday at the Worcester Centrum—Scott Fusco ’86 scored the game-winning goal.

As rich as the college hockey traditions are at the two schools, it’s truly amazing that their last matchup was in 1994. And that was just the sixth overall.

So number seven is on Saturday. It’ll be lucky for someone.

What are the chances that it will be Harvard? Well, better than some may think. I had the chance to speak with three coaches during the week—Dartmouth’s Bob Gaudet, Northeastern’s Bruce Crowder, and UMass-Lowell’s Blaise MacDonald—who have gone up against both the Crimson and Black Bears this season.

They seemed to think that the teams match up well with one another. Let’s break things down to find out why.

Forwards

MacDonald, whose team lost in each of its three tries against the Black Bears this season, said that Maine had four main strengths. He mentioned “offensive threats” as one of them.

No surprise there.

The Black Bears boasted three of Hockey East’s top six scorers this season, each collecting 30 points in league play: Senior forward Niko Dimitrakos, senior defenseman and captain Peter Metcalf, and junior forward Martin Kariya.

But Maine’s most dangerous player might be sophomore Colin Shields, who leads the team with 28 goals overall.

In short, the Harvard defense is going to have to be every bit as sharp as it was against Cornell in the ECAC championship game if it hopes to keep this group in check.

Dimitrakos, a second-team All-Hockey East selection, is a dynamic player who leads Maine in scoring with 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points overall.

The Somerville native has a tendency to play well in big games. He demonstrated that by scoring four goals and assisting on three others in a two-game series with No. 5 Boston University, who awaits the winner of Saturday’s game.

For Kariya, playing hockey for the Black Bears has become somewhat of a filial obligation. His brothers Paul and Steve each won national championships at Maine, in 1993 and 1999, respectively.