PORTLAND — After practice Friday at the Cumberland County Civic Center, the University of Maine hockey team headed to the Family Ice Center in Falmouth for a little goodwill.

First, the Maine players and coaches gave a clinic for Casco Bay Youth Hockey players, and then they participated in a public skate for an hour, signing autographs, posing for photographs and just hanging around.

The public relations end tonight when the Black Bears (3-6-2) conclude their annual trip to Portland with a 7 p.m. game at the Civic Center against Clarkson (7-4-3).

“We love playing in Portland,” Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. “We seem to win there every year. It’s a special game for us. The crowd is great. I think it energizes the players.”

Indeed, Maine is 11-0-3 in its past 14 games at the Civic Center, including two exhibition victories over the U.S 18-under team.

The Black Bears could use some energy tonight. They are sliding on a five-game winless streak (0-4-1).

“We played pretty well in our last game, but not well enough to win,” Whitehead said of last week’s 2-2 tie at Massachusetts. “So we still have another step to take.”

Another positive sign, Whitehead hopes, is the play of goalie Dan Sullivan. He was yanked in a 5-1 loss to Boston College on Nov. 4, and then gave up four goals in the third period two weeks ago, losing to UMass-Lowell 4-3.

Against Massachusetts, Sullivan made 33 saves.

“That was a good step,” Whitehead said.

Maine also needs to improve in special teams and staying out of the penalty box. The Black Bears rank third in the league in penalty minutes and have allowed 13 goals on 60 power plays (78.3 percent penalty kill).

On its own power play, Maine is only at 18.4 percent (9-of-49).

Maine continues to get a majority of its scoring from the top line of Brian FLynn (5 goals/10 assists), Spencer Abbott (5/8) and Joey Diamond (6/5).

Clarkson has played Maine only once in the past 11 years but will play the Black Bears twice this season. Besides tonight, the Knights will meet Maine in the Florida College Classic on Dec. 29 in Estero, Fla., near Fort Myers.

Maine also faced the Knights in 1999, in an NCAA regional final in Worcester, Mass. Steve Kariya scored three goals and added three assists in a 7-2 win, sending the Black Bears to the Frozen Four, which they won.

This year’s Clarkson’s team has a couple of Boston Bruins draft picks among its leaders — senior forward Nick Tremblay (sixth round, 2008) and Ben Sexton (seventh round, 2009).

Clarkson goalie Paul Karpowich, a seventh-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2008, has a 1.76 goals-against average.