ORONO — That’s what Owen Fowler was looking for when he entered the transfer portal: a place where he could score and bring a packed arena to its feet, as he did in the first period of Friday night’s game against the University of Maine. men’s hockey team against Boston University.

Fowler’s shorthanded goal at 5:12 of the first period ignited the 4,807 fans at Alfond Arena, as well as his teammates, and set the tone for Maine’s 5-2 victory. In the third period, Fowler added an empty-netter to cap the lead.

“It also adds to the fan base and how crazy they come here. It’s so easy to get to a game here at the Alfond,” Fowler said.

Four of Maine’s five goals came from players who joined the program through the transfer portal, and they are off to a 7-2-1 start through 10 games, underscoring a point they often emphasize: The transfer portal has been good to Barr and the Black Bears.

In addition to Fowler’s two goals, sophomore defenseman Frank Djurasevic, who joined the Black Bears after playing at Merrimack last season, and senior center Harrison Scott, who came to Maine last season after playing at Bentley, also scored. Charlie Russell, who came to Maine this season after playing for Clarkson, was seen making an assist.

Six of the players who took the ice for Maine came to Orono through the transfer portal. Scott leads the team with 6 goals and 10 assists. Russell has three goals and nine assists. Taylor Makar, a newcomer to Maine via UMass, has four goals and six assists. Ross Mitton, who joined Maine this season after four seasons at Colgate, has two goals and three assists.

When Maine Coach Ben Barr examines the transfer portal, he first looks for players who will embrace Maine’s culture of doing their best on every shift rather than eye-popping statistics.

“We’re looking for guys who can come in and work hard because that’s what we have here. We have many hardworking workers. Barr said the culture piece is much more important than looking at statistics. “You can see what the guys are doing and watch their videos, but you don’t know them personally. As people, they all adapted.”

That’s what Scott was looking for when he decided to change schools last year.

“I was just coming to an organization with a good culture. Maine was kind of on the rise at the time. Barr had arrived here two years before me and was talking about putting Maine back on the map. “The biggest thing for me was being around like-minded guys,” Scott said. “I just think it’s the persistent players who are going to work hard and do things the right way. A lot of the guys on our team play the 200-meter game. They believe in what we’re doing here.”

Scott’s goal came just before the end of the second period and was Maine’s second goal on a 5-on-3 power play in the final 30 seconds of the period. After the Black Bears’ lead became 3-0 with Thomas Freel’s goal at 19:30, the score became 4-0 with Scott’s goal at the end of the half. Officials inspected the goal to make sure it was clear before sounding the horn. 0.1 seconds left.

“I knew it was before the bell. I didn’t know how close it was. It was definitely a lot closer than I thought. I saw it go in, then I heard the buzzer. “I’m going to be really disappointed if they call it back,” Scott said.

Fowler’s shorthanded goal came at 5:13 of the first period. A turnover in the neutral zone caused the puck to land on Fowler’s stick at the blue line. The youngster skated alone and passed Terriers goalkeeper Max Lacroix from the right circle to take a 1-0 lead.

Fowler added his empty-netter at 18:17 of the third quarter.

“Alfie (assistant coach Alfie Michaud) does a great job with the video and showing us the power plays. “I just read the play and tried to go with it and luckily it was accepted,” he said.

Fowler had 5 goals and 7 assists in 33 games at UMass Lowell in the 2022-23 season, but missed all of last season due to a broken knee. Maine rose to the top of Fowler’s list when he realized he wanted a fresh start at a new school.

“They are a great team. I was looking for a great culture. As soon as I talked to (Maine), I had heard a lot about them and knew some guys were coming. “It was definitely what I was looking for,” he said.

Barr said the success of the transfer portal varies from season to season. This season, it seems like all the new players he brought in are the right candidates for a team looking to build on the success of last season, when Maine qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in a dozen years.

“Obviously we’re lucky with the players we got this year. I think we knew what we were getting. Sometimes you don’t always know. Not just on the ice, but off the ice as well,” Barr said.

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