ORONO — On Tuesday, Ben Barr thanked the University of Maine men’s hockey team on behalf of himself and the entire coaching staff. They’re all getting their 40 winks every night, sound sleep from head hitting pillow to morning alarm, and that’s due in large part to the effort the Black Bears put in every day.

“I expect them to bring effort and attitude, and they’ve been bringing that every practice since we started,” Barr said after Tuesday’s practice. “That doesn’t mean we go out and win just because we work hard. There’s another level for that, but at least we know we’ll be in the fight with the work ethic I think we’ve established so far.”

The season opens this weekend with a pair of games at Holy Cross. The Black Bears, as Barr put it, are trying to find the program’s soul again.

Go ahead and call this a resetting season for the Black Bears, who followed the 2025 Hockey East championship with an 18-14-3 record last season. A few years ago, when Barr was starting a program rebuild, that would have been a cause for minor jubilation as a positive step.

A Hockey East crown and two straight appearances in the NCAA tournament changed expectations. A season with 18 wins isn’t progress anymore, it’s disappointment.

The 2025-26 season was one of upheaval across college hockey. For the first time, players from the three Canadian major junior leagues and Canadian colleges (U Sports) were NCAA eligible. It turned the recruiting landscape into the wild west. Yeah, this guy can play but is he a fit for our program? Often the question was met with a shrug and the hope that things would work out.

At Maine, the influx of CHL players was a mixed bag. Of the nine players Barr brought in from the CHL or U Sports last season, five have already left via the transfer portal. Good hockey players? Yes. The right fit for Maine’s blue-collar culture? No.

“For three or four years, we were building something. We were trying to do it a certain way. Then the whole world tips upside down as far as the NCAA stuff’s concerned. You have a little bit of a turbulent year as far some of the decisions we make,” said Barr, now in his sixth season as Maine’s head coach.

Barr can take blame for last season’s team culture issues, which reached its nadir in a December home loss to rival New Hampshire, but players know it starts with them. Team captain Owen Fowler knows what kind of team he wants to see on the ice. Fowler wants the Black Bears to use their size to forecheck hard and play gritty hockey, looking to erode the stamina of opponents.

“We’re going to wear teams down a lot. Kind of similar to my first year (that Hockey East title season), where there were definitely a lot of games we won in the third period,” Fowler said.

Maine has 15 newcomers on a 28-player roster. That’s a lot of turnover, Barr admits. Nine of the newcomers are transfers with college hockey experience. They bring a higher maturity level, and that’s a good thing.

If that maturity manifests as players willing to go after rebounds and tipped pucks to score goals, and guys who set screens to get a teammate an open shot, it will be a very good thing. Last season’s top four scorers are gone. Brandon Holt graduated. Josh Nadeau signed a pro contract with Montreal. Justin Poirier and Miguel Marques transferred.

“We have enough good hockey players on this team to go out against anybody. The execution piece is just finding that little bit of extra will. That will be the challenge,” Barr said.

Assistant captain Sully Scholle said he’s done talking about last season. The focus has to be on the now. Assistant captain Max Scott said this season’s team already feels like a tighter-knit group that last year’s ever was. Barr sees that, too, and noted that they care about each other, and that’s been evident for a couple months.

It didn’t take Barr long to lift Maine into college hockey’s upper tier again after more than a decade outside of it. Ups and downs are a given, and Barr noted that camaraderie and a willingness to work hard doesn’t translate into 10 goals a game.

It’s a sturdy foundation, though, and one the Black Bears need. It’s what will help determine if last season was a hiccup, or the start of a trend.