ORONO — Throughout the preseason, University of Maine men’s hockey coach Ben Barr repeatedly said this is the deepest team he’s had since taking over the Black Bears in 2021. If game one is an indication, Barr was exactly right.

The third line of center Nolan Renwick and wings Taylor Makar and Ross Mitton were the stars in Maine’s 6-0 win over American International College in front of a sold-out Alfond Arena crowd of 5,043.

“I thought for the first game it got better as it went along. For two, two and a half periods I thought we limited their chances and the guys worked really hard,” Barr said. “We’re going to have to do that for 60 minutes, not 45 or 50, going forward.”

Makar scored a pair of goals on his only two shots and assisted on a goal. Renwick scored a pair of third-period goals and assisted on two others, while Mitton picked up three assists. Makar was playing his first game for Maine after transferring from UMass, while Mitton made his Black Bear debut after previously playing at Colgate.

“I think we’re just all older guys, and it’s easy to talk to one another. We want to be a line that’s tough to play against,” said Makar.

The line of Reniwick, Makar, and Mitton has skated together for just a few weeks, Renwick said.

“We found an instant connection. Those are two easy guys to play with. They’re big, fast, strong players. It was a real treat to play with them,” he said.

AIC Coach Eric Lang came away impressed with Maine’s depth.

“They come at you in waves, and they’re well-coached. They have great structure. They don’t beat themselves. They take care of the puck,” Lang said. “We’ve been in here a bunch over the years, but this looks like one of the better versions of their team. Deeper, faster, stronger, more up and down the lineup.”

Maine took a 1-0 lead just 1:34 into the game when Makar scored on his first shift and first shot with the Black Bears. He took a pass at center ice from Renwick, skated past a pair of AIC defenders and lifted a shot above the right shoulder of goalie Chase Clark.

The Black Bears made it 2-0 early in the second period, and again it was Makar, chasing down a loose puck in the circle and slipping it past Clark at 4:24 of the period. On both his goals, Makar acknowledged the loud crowd.

“It’s so fun to play here. I’ve been here on the other side, and it’s so intimidating,” Makar, who had four goals all of last season at UMass, said. “I feel like a true Black Bear now.”

Harrison Scott’s goal at 13:48 of the second gave Maine a 3-0 lead through two periods. Lang swapped out Clark, who was cramping, and inserted Adam Manji in net. Manji gave up a pair of goals, both on Renwick one-timers, in the first 3:54 of the third. Renwick scored two goals in 25 games last season, and said refining his one-timer was a point of emphasis in the offseason.

“It was watching a guy like Brad Nadeau. He’s a pretty special talent,” said Renwick, referring to his former teammate who signed with the Carolina Hurricanes last spring. “His ability to get his one-time off fast and he capitalized on a lot of shots like that. It was just repetition, repetition.”

Thomas Freel added a power-play goal at 9:24 when Maine had a 5-minute advantage after Casey McDonald was given a major penalty and game misconduct for grabbing a Maine player’s facemask.

“They’re very good. A tough place to play. We kind of thought we had to get through the first five minutes, and their first shot on goal goes in,” Lang said.

The Black Bears outshot AIC, 32-17. Albin Boija wasn’t tested much until late in the third period, and earned the third shutout of his career.

During the game, Maine honored the 1999 national championship-winning team. A number of players from the team were on hand, and Grant Standbrook, an assistant coach with both Maine national title teams, took part in the ceremonial pregame puck drop.