University of Maine freshman left wing Justin Poirier was brought to Orono to help fill the goal-scoring void left by the departure of players who scored 64 of the 124 goals produced by the Black Bears last season.
So far, so good.
The nineteen-year-old Poirier, who scored 94 goals in 126 regular season games over his last two seasons in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, had a hat trick in his UMaine debut on Friday night to lead the Black Bears to a 5-2 victory over Holy Cross at a sold out Alfond Arena.
UMaine has now won four straight home openers.
Holy Cross fell to 0-2.
UMaine outshot reigning Atlantic Hockey America regular season champ Holy Cross 35-20.
The two teams will conclude their series on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
The Black Bears built a 4-0 lead as sophomore