Is Maine's Revamped Roster Ready to Take On Hockey East? Season Preview

For Maine, few aspects will remain as they were last season. Just over half of the roster is returning, giving the Black Bears the lowest percentage of holdovers in all of Hockey East.

When one sees that kind of turnover in a program like this there are always two sides to the story. On the surface, a team losing its top four point-getters and adding 15 new players is expected to struggle out of the gates. But even when those 15 pickups have comparable talent, there’s no guarantee things will click as well.

A whopping eight transfers landed in Orono during the offseason, a mark very few teams in college hockey can match. The addition of so many players with previous collegiate playing experience will undoubtedly help offset such a drastic amount of roster turnover, but how much?

Headlining the transfer class is forward Tanner Klimpke, who is fresh off an unbelievable season captaining Robert Morris in the AHA. He led the team with 16 goals, 15 assists, 31 points, and 119 shots on goal during his junior season, and hopes to recreate those numbers in his new conference. Sam Alfano from Arizona State will also play an important role coming off seven goals and 11 assists.

Two players arrived within the conference, forward Lee Parks from UMass Lowell and defenseman Alexander Bales from Providence. The defensive core also received a major boost with Ohio State transfer Chris Romaine and Isa Parekh from Bemidji State.

Among the more interesting things to watch will be the competition between goaltenders Albin Boija and Petter Wickstrom Stumer. Boija is the incumbent, but after posting a stellar 2024-25 season (.928 save percentage), last season fell short of the mark (.899). It’s more than likely that the senior will keep the job, but Wickstrom Stumer had a .921 save percentage with Canisius last season and made a historic 72 saves in a 4-3 triumph over Lindenwood in January.

An 18-14-3 overall record and a middling 12-11-1 showing in Hockey East left Maine fifth in the conference, leading to an immediate 5-0 exit against Boston College in the Hockey East tournament. Departing from that team were numerous crucial pieces, most notably forward Josh Nadeau and defenseman Brandon Holt, both of whom have already appeared in the AHL.

Holt impressively led the team in points from the blue line, piling up 26 assists to go with six goals. Nadeau finished right behind him with 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points, and leading scorer Justin Poirier (18 goals, 11 assists) finished one behind him. The bad news for the Black Bears is that Poirier is also gone. He had hip surgery after missing the final eight game s with the Black Bears and then hit the portal to join Penn State.

Forward Miguel Marques also left for Northeastern after a 10-goal, 13-assist freshman season, meaning Owen Fowler (12 goals, 10 assists), who was fifth in points in 2025-26, is the top returning scorer. Maine needs him to step up and play a crucial role in his graduate year, along with senior forward Max Scott (5 goals, 13 assists).

The freshman class is led by an incoming prodigy in Ross Campbell from the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL. The forward averaged just under a point per game with 177 points in his 193 games for the Islanders, and exploded for 28 goals and 39 assists last season. Two other members of the class, defensemen Dru Krebs (Washington, 2022) and Ludvig Lafton (Utah, 2024) were sixth-round NHL draft choices.

Maine could be found smack dab in the middle of almost every statistic across NCAA Division 1 last season. Its primary success was in the scoring department, as it averaged 3.31 goals per game to rank No. 14 in the nation. It will primarily be up to the influx of new players to keep that number high.

The challenge for coach Ben Barr and the Black Bears is clear. With just 47 percent of their goals from a season ago were by players still on the roster, building some continuity will be critical, especially when they’ll be at a disadvantage compared to the rest of Hockey East. It certainly will not be easy to string together wins, especially at the beginning of the season, as an essentially brand-new team desperately searches for chemistry.

The schedule is here 👀

📝: https://t.co/RFMlrkMpP2
🗓️ : https://t.co/Up9cUcvZwv pic.twitter.com/0MAvg9rMhm
— Maine Men’s Ice Hockey (@mainemhockey) June 26, 2026

The School

Location: Orono, Maine
Founded: 1865
Enrollment: 11,500
Nickname: Black Bears
Colors: Maine Blue, Navy Blue, and White
Arena: Harold Alfond Sports Arena (5,125)

The Team

Coach: Ben Barr, 6th season (87-72-20)
2025-26 record: 18-14-3 (12-11-1)
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2025
Last Frozen Four: 2007
Last national championship: 1999
Last conference titles: 1995 regular season; 2025 tournament
Key departures: D Brandon Holt, F Josh Nadeau, F Justin Poirier
Key returning players: F Owen Fowler, F Max Scott, G Albin Boija
Top newcomers: F Tanner Klimpke, F Ross Campbell, D Alexander Bales

This is the fourth story in a series of season and conference previews for the upcoming 2026-27 season. Check out the previous story on New Hampshire.

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