Editor's note: ESPN.com's David Albright had total access to the UMass-Lowell hockey team as it traveled to and from a weekend series at Maine.

ORONO, Maine — Even though it's more than 100 miles up Interstate 95 until you reach the Canadian border, the vast nothingness makes it feel like you're already in another country. Low-level clouds and a steady stream of snow flurries greet daybreak on the final Friday in February.

The NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament gets under way in four weeks. If the pairings were announced today, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks would be preparing for their first postseason appearance in the national tournament since 1996.

But four regular-season games remain, followed by the Hockey East Tournament, and that leaves plenty of room for UML to play itself right out of the second season. The first obstacle is only a mile away at Alfond Arena, where the River Hawks haven't won since 2001 — meaning no one who will play this weekend for UML has been a part of a victory here.

Maine (11-5-4) has a three-point lead over the River Hawks (10-7-3) in Hockey East play entering Friday's play, but a UML sweep of the two weekend games would move it past the Black Bears and into fourth place.

Feb. 25 — 8:46 a.m.
The itinerary says breakfast doesn't start until 9 a.m., but that doesn't stop one group of players after another from showing up early in search of food. The morning spread will consist of scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs, ham, french toast, bagels, cereal, fruit and juice.

	The River Hawks' breakfast includes eggs, ham and french toast.

Most of the players are quiet, with sleep still in their eyes, and dressed in their team-issued sweats. The lone exception is junior defenseman Kim Brandvold, who arrives wearing a brown mock turtleneck and sits down to read the paper before joining the food line. Brandvold, who hails from Oslo, Norway, is the lone European on a UML team that has players from eight states (Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Wisconsin) and four Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec).

Coach Blaise MacDonald shows up with a couple of packets of instant oatmeal in hand a few minutes after the first group of players arrives. He quickly tells the players to be on the bus at 9:20 before he examines the Hockey East standings. "I can't remember the race at the top being this close this late," he says to assistants Kenny Rausch, Chris MacKenzie and Bob Ware. Only three points separate New Hampshire (32), Boston University (31) and Boston College (29) at the top of the league.

Feb. 25 — 10:04 a.m.
The morning skate officially starts four minutes later than scheduled, but it will end before the 11 a.m. off time, so it's not an issue.

MacDonald tells the players to get a good feel for the boards and the glass — especially the three skaters and two goalies who have never been on the Alfond ice. He then moves on to taking long slap shots at tonight's starting goalie, John Yaros. Rausch spends some time with the other two goalies, while Ware works on faceoffs with the centermen and MacKenzie talks up the defensemen gathered at the north end of the rink.

When they leave the ice, the talk among the players is more about the impending atmosphere at the night's game than it is about the second-rate dressing rooms.

"If you don't like playing here, you shouldn't be playing college hockey," junior center Elias Godoy says. And that comes from a player who is carrying the baggage of a missed breakaway in overtime at this rink during his freshman season.

Feb. 25 — 10:59 a.m.

	Scott Amos makes sure UML's skates are sharp.

Equipment manager Scott Amos fires up the traveling Blademaster skate sharpener to begin working on the 10 pairs of skates that are sitting on a table and the floor in the narrow hallway outside the UML dressing rooms.

Amos and assistant Shaun Phelan were at Alfond until 11:40 p.m. Thursday, finishing the unpacking of the gear and getting everything set up for the team's arrival this morning. And because the equipment guys made the trip to Maine in a separate vehicle, they get to make the morning Dunkin' Donuts run for coffee and tea for the coaching staff.

"It takes a lot of time to do this job right, but in the end we're still getting paid to watch hockey," Amos says. "It's the greatest job in the world."

While Amos handles the skate sharpening, several players use the time before the bus leaves to work on their sticks. Godoy and junior center Ben Walter, who are tied for the team lead with 34 points, use a hand saw to shorten the butt end of their sticks and then proceed to file the ends further to get the feel just right.

A minute before boarding the bus back to the hotel, junior right winger Bobby Robins tells a group of UML parents who have driven up for the weekend series, "Wait until you see this place tonight, the atmosphere is going to be awesome."

The bus leaves the arena at 11:17 a.m. for the five-minute drive back to the hotel. But MacDonald has other plans. Instead of taking the bus, he begins what turns out to be a 49-minute run through campus, what passes for downtown Orono and then back to the hotel. The coach, who has completed five Boston Marathons, always finds the time for his daily ritual, which he hasn't missed this season since he began keeping track on Sept. 15.

Feb. 25 — 1:51 p.m.
It's another early arrival in Conference Room C for the pregame meal. Same spread as Thursday's dinner. The only difference is that injured junior Brad King, who has driven up from a doctor's appointment in Boston earlier this morning, joins the team for the rest of the weekend.

King is here, in part, because his parents made earlier plans to travel from Calgary, Alberta, to spend the weekend watching their son play against Maine. Everything changed on Feb. 4 when King collided with a Boston University player near center ice and struggled to make it to the bench.

"I thought I had the wind knocked out of me," King says. In reality, he fractured his kidney, lacerated his spleen and wound up in the hospital for a week — where the initial diagnosis included talk of removing his kidney with the hope of saving his spleen. With everything still intact, King expects to make a full recovery in time for next season, but now all he can do is watch and offer support to his teammates.

Feb. 25 — 4:20 p.m.
Coach MacDonald is 10 minutes early for the special teams meeting. He is wearing black pants, a white shirt, a burgundy-and-blue rep tie and a gray jacket. King is watching video of Maine with assistant Bob Ware, who will run the meeting.

	Leading scorers Ben Walter and Elias Godoy work on perfecting their hockey sticks.

Following the power play and penalty-kill discussions, the head coach takes off his jacket to address the team. He goes over the line combinations and then settles in for an 11-minute speech that hammers home what will dictate success in the game.

"The differences are the rink, the crowd and just being on the road," MacDonald says. "The elements change a little and it's a factor here. We want to dictate the pace and style of the game.

"It really comes down to taking care of the puck," MacDonald continues, raising for emphasis. "Teams that play haphazardly with the puck against these guys pay the price. And once again, guys, will has to beat skill. It's a skill, but it's more of a will. We're looking for road-warrior mentality and ugly play ... and take care of the puck ... 29 guys, one heartbeat."

Feb. 25 — 5:39 p.m.
Strength and conditioning coach Ed Mantie arrives from Boston to lead the team through off-ice warm-ups. One of the UML staples is a drill with a tennis ball that focuses on eye-hand coordination between two players. Only the equipment guys forgot to pack the balls for the trip, so Amos makes a run into town and finds what quite possibly are the last five cans of tennis balls in Orono. The pregame continues according to plan.

The team takes the ice at 6:29 for a 15-minute warm-up. "This is the worst part, the hurry up and wait," MacDonald says. Because he can't sit still he spends his time cleaning up the dressing room and pacing the hallway while an ironic song — Chevelle's "Vitamin R" (as in Ritalin) — blares over the Alfond sound system.

Feb. 25 — 6:48 p.m.
MacDonald enters the dressing room to address his players. After leading the team in prayer and going over the Maine keys one more time, he ratchets up the emotional tenor of his speech.

"These are special moments, great moments, and they are not to be taken lightly," MacDonald says. "Go out with a sense of pride. These guys are still wondering who the [expletive] we are. These guys have never seen our 'A' game."

Feb. 25 — 9:18 p.m.
... and they wouldn't Friday night.

	Maine's Alfond Arena has been a house of horrors for the River Hawks.

UMass-Lowell's four penalties and 14-2 shot deficit in the first period help Maine establish its will over the River Hawks. A late goal with 27 seconds left in the opening 20 minutes is enough as the Black Bears post a 2-0 win.

The victory gives Maine a five-point lead over UML for fourth place in Hockey East. A tie or a win on Saturday night is all the Black Bears need to secure the fourth and final home-ice advantage for the conference playoffs.

After the game, Coach MacDonald tries to remain upbeat and keep the loss in perspective.

"I would give us a C grade today, maybe a C-minus," MacDonald says. "That's a good thing because we're going to play a lot better tomorrow night. But here's the deal, guys: We had little Matty in the locker room last week, that little kid with cancer. When you feel down and frustrated, we all know people that are going through some tough times and have crosses to bear, but this is supposed to be fun, fellas.

"We're a better hockey team for playing that game, and I can guarantee you that it's going to go a long way in our development," MacDonald says. "I never for one second thought we were going to lose that game, and I know you guys didn't either ... but you wanted to win it all in one shift and it wasn't going to happen that way. In the critical analysis, our playmakers didn't make enough plays."

Rather than fight the exiting sellout crowd of 5,641, MacDonald opts to keep the team at Alfond for stretching, deep-tissue massage and postgame refueling. Mantie and massage therapist Andy Atherton take care of the first two items, while Gatorade protein shakes, Powerade and Pat's Pizza are in abundant supply for the refueling.

Feb. 25 — 10:30 p.m.
Back at the hotel, there's a bigger problem brewing than the 2-0 loss. Junior left wing Andrew Martin, whose 31 points are good for third on the team, caught an elbow in the jaw — the UML coaches call it a cheap shot — from Maine's Brent Shepheard late in the second period.

Martin played the third period but is now clearly experiencing after-effects from the hit. Team trainer Artie Poitras hands out ice bags to players in the hotel lobby. He stops Martin and spends several minutes with him assessing how he's feeling. Martin heads up to his room and Poitras gives an update to the coaching staff.

"The most important thing is for the kids to be honest with me," Poitras says. "I'm going to do whatever I can to get them on the ice if they're physically able — but the brain is the one body part they haven't figured out how to replace."

Atherton sets up his traveling massage table in Conference Room C for any players who still need a leg massage. Juniors Mark Pandolfo and Danny O'Brien are the only ones who show up for the late-night session that will help their muscles recover for Saturday's game.

O'Brien, a team captain along with Martin, is sure that his linemate will be on the ice Saturday night. "He's our ironman," O'Brien says. "He hasn't missed a game in his career [107 games], and I think the only way he'll sit out tomorrow night is if he's cross-eyed."

Atherton departs at 11:38 p.m.

One game. One loss. One injury. Even another deafeningly quiet night in the middle of nowhere won't help Blaise MacDonald secure a second night of uninterrupted sleep.

Thursday: Heading home

David Albright is a senior editor at ESPN.com and can be reached at david.albright@espn3.com.