See a Maine Hockey Game
Maine offers more than just professional hockey, college and high school hockey is a major sport during the winter months. Girls and boys of all ages, play great games throughout Maine, sometimes these games are more exciting than their professional counterparts. Visit a hockey game in Maine, you’ll be glad you did!!
The Maine Black Bears men’s ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Maine. The Black Bears are a member of Hockey East. They play at the Harold Alfond Sports Arena-commonly known as Alfond Arena or “The Alfond”-in Orono, Maine.
17 NCAA Tournament Appearances
11 Frozen Fours
5 Hockey East Championships
2 NCAA Championships
University Maine Black Bears Hockey
The Portland Pirates are a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, serving as the top farm team for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. They play in Portland, Maine, at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks from 1982 to 1993.The Portland Pirates were founded in 1993-94 as an affiliate of the Washington Capitals. The team was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks, who relocated to Maine. The Pirates replaced the void made by the Maine Mariners who departed to become the Providence Bruins a year earlier. The Capitals affiliation ended after 12 seasons in 2005.
The Pirates first season proved to be their most successful one, as they won the Calder Cup with a 43-27-10 record. Their next season they had 104 points, but were upset in the 1st round of the playoffs. In the 1995-96 season, they again reached the Calder Cup Finals, despite a subpar record of 32-34-10, but lost to the Rochester Americans.
Since then, it has been a roller coaster ride for the Pirates. Despite an excellent 100 point season, they were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round in 1999-00. For the first four seasons, they were coached by current Nashville Predators head coach Barry Trotz. They played host to the AHL All-Star Classic in 2003. In the 2006 AHL playoffs, the Pirates went for a thrilling playoff run, only to be defeated by the eventual Calder Cup-winning Hershey Bears in a dramatic seven-game series.
In 2005 the Pirates announced a five year lease extension at the Cumberland County Civic Center, ending speculation that the team might relocate. The Pirates also signed a three year affiliation agreement with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2005, but the Ducks announced on June 3, 2008, that they were affiliating with the Iowa Stars instead of renewing the agreement.
The Sabres era On June 10, 2008, the Pirates and the Buffalo Sabres announced that they had reached a new affiliation agreement, ending several months of speculation. On August 5, 2008, the team announced that Kevin Dineen has been retained as head coach.
On February 10, 2009, the team played in Buffalo at HSBC Arena for the first time before a crowd of 11,144. The Pirates lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Albany River Rats. The Sabres faithfull were pleased with the aggressive play and numerous fights during the game.
2010-2011 Season
The Lewiston Maineiacs are a junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League based in Lewiston, Maine. The team plays its home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée. They are currently the only QMJHL team in the United States. They won the President’s Cup in 2007.
Go To a Home Game!!
From the Maine Turnpike:
Get off at Exit 80, and follow the signs to Pleasant Street. Turn left on Pleasant Street, and continue on for about 1.5 miles. Turn left at Birch Street, and go for about ½ mile and the arena will be on the left.
2010-2011 Season
Follow Maineiacs headlines here
Their franchise was granted for the 1969-70 season. They played in Trois-Rivières, Quebec from 1969 to 1992. They were known as the Ducs from 1969-1973, and as the Draveurs (1973-1992). They moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec in 1992 to become the Faucons (1992-1998) and the Castors (1998-2003). The Castors moved to Lewiston, Maine in 2003.
The Maineiacs clinched the Jean Rougeau Trophy for first overall in the regular season for 2006-07. During the same season, Lewiston increased its annual attendance totals to 94,903 tickets sold. [1] In the playoffs that year, Lewiston went 16-1 to cruise to their first President’s Cup.
After winning the 2007 President’s Cup, the Maineiacs won eligibility to play in the 2007 Memorial Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia. Following an opening win over the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Maineiacs suffered the huge loss with the injury of their captain, Marc-André Cliche, and never really found their scoring touch. They crashed out of the tournament in fourth place after losing consecutive games to the Vancouver Giants, Plymouth Whalers, and the Whalers again in the tie-breaker, scoring only three goals in three games in the process.
On January 25, 2009, it was announced that the Maineiacs were negotiating with the city of Boisbriand, Quebec (a suburb of Montreal) in hopes of relocating the franchise for the 2009–10 season. Under the plan, Mark Just would remain majority owner with 51% of the shares, with former NHL defenseman Joel Bouchard owning the rest. On January 31, the team announced that they had filed their intent to relocate, and had submitted papers to do so to the QMJHL.
In a Jan. 31 media release announcing the move of the Maineiacs franchise, owner Mark Just said that community support for the team was a major consideration. During the six seasons since the team moved from Sherbrooke, Quebec to Lewiston, the Maineiacs never managed to break even. However, on February 2, Farrel Miller, owner of the QMJHL’s Montreal Junior Hockey Club, issued a statement that his team would fight the Maineiacs move to Boisbriand on territorial grounds.
- The Montreal Junior Hockey Club has communicated to the QMJHL that it will retain, without modification, its exclusive geographic territory that it acquired in connection with its 2008 Franchise Agreement with the QMJHL. On January 21st, 2009, the Montreal Junior Hockey Club communicated to the Governors of the QMJHL that (i) it has chosen to retain its exclusive territory without modification and (ii) that it is not seeking any financial compensation in connection with this issue.
After several weeks of negotiations with a number of Canadian cities (most notably Fredericton, New Brunswick), Maineiacs Head Coach Don Macadam announced on March 24, 2009 that the Maineiacs would be remaining in Lewiston.
