AUBURN, Maine — Central Maine Community College will start a men’s ice hockey program next fall and will begin play in the 2016-17 season, school President Scott E. Knapp announced Thursday.
The team plans to compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, an organization of over 415 college- and university-affiliated programs.
“As I’ve seen firsthand, CM has been a place that can attract great athletes and help them channel that work ethic into the classroom and career preparation,” Auburn Mayor Jonathan LaBonte said in a news release. “The addition of ice hockey not only creates expanded opportunities for young people to earn the CM experience, but it adds to the growing importance of the Norway Savings Bank Arena as an anchor in our community.”
The CM Mustangs will play an independent schedule for the first season. Some of the teams identified as possible opponents include those from Tufts University, Bryant University, the Coast Guard Academy, Bates College, the University of Southern Maine, the University of New England, Dartmouth, Thomas College and Southern New Hampshire University.
All practices and home games will be played at the Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn.
“Bringing ice hockey to CM is the next logical step to increasing athletic opportunities for our students,” Knapp said. “As everybody knows, Lewiston-Auburn is a hotbed for hockey and with a new arena located less than a mile from campus, this is another opportunity for CM to showcase its athletic program.”
The top priority now is to hire a coach who can recruit quality student athletes and build the program from the ground up, according to CMCC athletic director Dave Gonyea.
“The hockey coach will spend the first year recruiting and making sure the team will be ready to go when the 2016-17 season starts next October,” he said.
Recalling that CMCC had a hockey team back in the 1990s, Knapp observed that the time seemed right to bring hockey back.
“One big reason for that is the presence of a first-rate facility so close to our campus,” he said. “Secondly, we know that a significant number of high school varsity hockey players in Maine have been unable to find opportunities to play at the collegiate level. We expect that many such students will find Central Maine Community College to be an attractive option.”
Those interested in learning more about hockey at CMCC may contact Gonyea at 755-5251 or dgonyea@cmcc.edu.