March 23, 2003
BLACK BEARS TO FACE MICHIGAN IN NCAA OPENER

ORONO, Maine -- For the University of Maine men's ice hockey team, the
road to Buffalo and the Frozen Four will go through Michigan.

The Black Bears (24-9-5), number two seed in the Midwest Region, will
face third-seeded University of Michigan (28-9-3) on Saturday, March
29, at 3:30 p.m. (EST) at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., in the
first round of the 2003 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

The winner will face either Colorado College (29-6-5) or Wayne State
(21-16-2) on Sunday, March 30, at 3:00 p.m. Colorado College is the top
seed in the Midwest Region and the second seed nationally, while Wayne
State is the Midwest's fourth seed.

The Midwest Regional champion will advance to the 2003 NCAA Men's
Frozen Four, which will be held April 10 and 12 at HSBC Arena in
Buffalo, N.Y.

This will be UMaine's fifth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, and
13th appearance overall.

Maine will be facing the Wolverines for the seventh time in program
history, with the series evenly divided at 3-3-0. All three Black Bear
victories in the series have come in the NCAA Tournament, including the
last Maine win over Michigan - a 5-2 victory in the second round of the
2000 East Regional in Albany, N.Y. This will be the first time the two
teams have faced each other at Yost Ice Arena.

The Black Bears were one of four Hockey East teams selected for the
NCAA Tournament.

New Hampshire (25-7-6) was named the fourth seed nationally, and the
top seed in the Northeast Regional played at the Centrum Centre in
Worcester, Mass. The Wildcats will face St. Cloud State (17-15-5) in
the first round, with a possible matchup against Northeast second seed
Boston University (24-13-3) awaiting in the regional final. The
Terriers will face Harvard (22-9-2) in their first round contest in
Worcester.

Boston College (23-10-4), the second seed in the East Region, will face
Ohio State (25-12-5) in a first round game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center
in Providence, R.I.