Last weekend, the Boston University women’s ice hockey team (8-2, 6-6-1 Hockey East) beat rival Boston College, marking the first time in program history the Terriers have beaten both the Eagles and a nationally ranked opponent.

But over the past two weeks, BU has been putting something together that has the chance to make an even bigger impact on program history.

Before the Terriers’ overtime win at the University of Connecticut on Jan. 11, their postseason chances looked bleak. They sat in fifth place, seven points out of the fourth and final playoff spot.

Now, just 15 days later, the Terriers are knocking on the door of the Hockey East elites, sitting two points behind fourth-place UConn with a stretch of pivotal conference games remaining.

One of those important games comes this Saturday against the University of Maine (7-13-2, 2-8-2) at cozy Walter Brown Arena.

Although the Black Bears have struggled this season – including a 1-7 skid to open the season — they are not a team to be taken lightly: Especially considering that just two weeks ago, the Terriers were sitting a mere two points ahead of them in the standings, instead of two points behind UConn.

“You’ve got to keep putting points together in this business,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “We have a chance as an underdog or a dark horse to catch up to UConn or Providence. It’s amazing how we can put ourselves in good shape by not focusing on picking out games we should win, but just by focusing on collecting points.”

One Terrier who should garner some extra attention from the Black Bears is junior defenseman Julie Poulin who was lured away from Maine this summer after spending two seasons with the team.

“She’ll have some extra enthusiasm and excitement to play against some of her old teammates, without a doubt,” Durocher said. “Her challenge will be to not get too excited and just play her game.”

Poulin, who finished last season ranked sixth in the nation for points per game for defensemen, has already netted two goals and racked up eight assists this season to lead all Terrier defensemen with 10 points.

The Black Bears have gone through some changes themselves since the last time the teams met on Feb. 19, 2006. Former assistant coach and Maine graduate Lauren Steblen, who was named interim head coach this summer after former coach Guy Perron vacated the post, was given the permanent head coaching position.

Despite their dismal spot in the standings, the Black Bears fought second place Providence College in overtime last Sunday before finally succumbing to the Friars, 3-2.

“We’re both pretty similar teams,” Durocher said. “They’re a team that hasn’t gotten over the hump much this season and lost some close games, so they’re probably down a bit in their confidence but they’ve still got some talented players.”

The talented players Durocher’s referring to are senior defenseman Kelly Law and fellow seniors, forwards Brigitte Laflamme and Vanessa Vani. The trio has combined for 51 of Maine’s 165 points on the season, and if you add sophomore forward Robyn Law – Kelly’s sister – into the mix, she brings 18 points of her own.

“They’re a very good team and we’ll have our hands full with them,” Durocher added.

Maine also brings solid goaltending to the table with sophomore netminder Genevieve Turgeon, who is sporting a .901 save percentage this season.

As for who will be between the pipes for the Terriers, it looks to be a game-time decision. Melissa Haber has had the hot hand as of late with four wins in a row, including a win against BC last Friday, but she got the day off Saturday as the Terriers were downed by BC, 6-0, with Allyse Wilcox in net.

“We’ve got a good situation going here where both goalies are solid out there,” Durocher said.

The Terriers have waited all week to get back on the ice after being toppled last Saturday, and it will be important for them to find the same momentum they had earlier in the second half of the season.

“Hopefully there was a lesson to be learned [from Saturday],” Durocher said. “We have to crumble [that game] up and throw it in the basket and hopefully we come to play [this weekend].”