Sunday’s 4-2 loss to Bentley University at Cross Insurance Arena was a lesson Ben Barr knew his University of Maine men’s hockey team had to learn sooner or later this season. Unfortunately for the Black Bears, it’s a lesson that can only come the hard way, with a loss.

“I can’t fault the effort of the team. We’re only as good as our weakest link on any given night, and that was the story of our team tonight,” Barr said after the loss, which dropped the Black Bears to 12-3-2 on the season. “Good teams play hard, and they execute too, and that didn’t happen at times tonight. …We’re trying to get everyone to the level of a championship team, and we’re not there yet. Even though we won some games at the start, we weren’t there yet and we’re still not.”

Bentley’s first goal came just 1:42 into the game, when Oliver Salo scored on a rebound after a Maine turnover in front of goalie Albin Boija. The Falcons’ second goal came early in the second period, an Ethan Leyh goal off a faceoff just nine seconds into a power play. Down 2-0, Maine had to do something it hasn’t had to do most of the season: play catch-up.

“We started out slow. At the end of the day, we just beat ourselves. That’s kind of how it’s going to go from here on out … we’re just going to learn from this,” said Harrison Scott, who scored both of Maine’s goals, one on a power play and one shorthanded.

Maine was 1 for 6 on the power play, a contrast to how the first half of the season went. Maine entered Sunday’s game ranked third in the nation in power play percentage, converting 20 of 71 chances. Conversely, Bentley’s penalty kill was middle of the pack, tied for 28th nationally (9 goals allowed on 49 power plays).

In the first period, the Black Bears experienced one of the oddest reversals of fortune you’ll ever see. With Bentley’s Oskar Bakkevig assessed a five minute major and game misconduct at 12:10 of the period for a hit from behind, Maine had five minutes in which to collect as many goals as they could with the man advantage.

With 1:48 left on the long power play, it looked like the Black Bears had broken through with a goal by Brandon Holt. The horn sounded, the arena lights came down, and the Black Bears and their fans began celebrating what appeared to be the tying goal. None of them paid any attention to the official standing directly behind the net waving his arms frantically, the signal for no goal.

A video review overturned the call on the ice. Goal, Maine, and the celebration resumed. But wait, a plot twist! Bentley coach Andy Jones asked for a review for goalie interference. Again, the officials played it back in slow motion. Again, they reversed the call. There was goalie interference. No goal.

Barr said he’d seen the replay and Scott was leaning slightly on Bentley goalie Connor Hasley. The call could’ve gone either way, Barr said.

“I don’t think we had the extra juice to get to the net and get to rebounds. A lot of pucks went in there, and that kid (Hasley) played really well,” Barr said.

The remainder of the five minute advantage ticked away with Maine unable to take advantage and slip a shot past Hasley. The whole thing was reminiscent of a sequence in the first round of the NCAA tournament last March, in which the Black Bears had a five minute power play after a major penalty to Cornell. Despite maintaining a constant buzz around the Cornell net, like it did Sunday against the Falcons, Maine couldn’t break through with a goal, and lost the game 3-1, ending their season.

Sunday’s squander doesn’t come with the finality of that game in March, but it is a reminder the Black Bears have to play better as the schedule is about to get Chuck Norris-tough. Next weekend, defending national champion Denver comes to Orono for a pair of games at Alfond Arena that end Maine’s non-conference schedule. After that, it’s 15 straight Hockey East games, beginning with a pair at UMass Lowell on Jan. 10-11.

Maine had a chance to tie it with 20 seconds left and with Boija on the bench for an extra attacker, but Josh Nadeau’s shot rang the post. Just an inch off, said Scott, but…

“We’ve got to win the game earlier,” Scott said.

When the chance is there to make a play, half the team is struggling to make it right now, Barr said. That has to change.

“We’re swimming upstream the whole game,” Barr said. “They’re great kids. They care. They work extremely hard. The motivation is, can we all get to the level of Harrison Scott and Thomas Freel? Can we all get to that level of, I want to be that person instead of give the puck to somebody else because I don’t want it… If we don’t, it won’t be our only disappointment.”