:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29325687/me_bu_dewkett18.0.jpg)
Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine hockey team hosts Providence College on Friday night for the first of two games on the weekend between the Hockey East foes battling for playoff positioning.
The Black Bears took just one of four points on the road at Northeastern last weekend, a disappointing result considering the continued trend of being unable to hold on to games late in regulation.
Maine could finish as high as second and as low as seventh while Providence could move up to second, but also could fall as far as eighth.
Tonight marks the second time South Portland, Maine native Jon Gillies returns to his home state as a collegiate. The Calgary Flames prospect stopped 28 of 30 shots in a 2-2 tie in the only matchup between the schools in Orono last season.
Providence had been skidding, at 0-4-1 over its past five games, entering last weekend, but the Friars got back on track with a weekend sweep of Massachusetts. Nate Leaman's program has made it to the TD Garden for the Hockey East semifinals in each of his first two seasons at the helm.
PROVIDENCE
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Nick Saracino | Ross Mauermann | Shane Luke |
| Stefan Demopoulos | Mark Jankowski | Trevor Mingoia |
| Brandon Tanev | Noel Acciari | Derek Army |
| Steven McParland | Kevin Rooney | Drew Brown |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Kyle McKenzie | Steven Shamanski |
| Tom Parisi | Kevin Hart |
| John Gilmour | Anthony Florentino |
| Goaltenders |
| Jon Gillies |
| Nick Ellis |
MAINE
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Mark Anthoine | Devin Shore | Ryan Lomberg |
| Connor Leen | Cam Brown |
Andrew Cerretani |
| Brian Morgan | Steven Swavely | Blaine Byron |
| Will Merchant | Jon Swavely | Brady Campbell |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Ben Hutton | Brice O'Connor |
| Jake Rutt | Conor Riley |
| Eric Schurhamer | Dan Renouf |
| Goaltenders |
| Martin Ouellette |
| Dan Sullivan |
| Matt Strickrott |
Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.