University of Maine athletics plans to submit a bid to host an NCAA hockey regional in Portland.
“That’s the plan. The earliest we could host one would be 2017-18,” said UMaine athletic director Karlton Creech.
UMaine hosted the Ice Breaker Tournament in Portland on Oct. 9-10. Creech and Will Biberstein, associate athletic director for internal operations, felt the event was a success and that it gives them something to build upon for a regional bid.
“It’s a competitive process. Just because we decide to put a bid in doesn’t mean we’ll get the regional,” said Creech. “We put a good foot forward with the Ice Breaker and got a lot of great feedback. We want to continue our partnerships in the Portland area.
“I think we’ll have the same kind of support for a regional,” he added.
“We learned a tremendous amount from the Ice Breaker Tournament,” said Biberstein. “We’ll recap what we learned from it, review the requirements to host a regional, and evaluate it to see if we feel like we could put together a winning bid and provide the student-athletes with the right environment here in Portland.”
Creech said in addition to having a first-class facility, “it is a great area to host host a multi-team event like a regional. You’ve got hotels, the proximity to downtown and the Portland jetport.”
The next step will be to meet with “all the constituent groups” that would be involved in such a venture, such as the City of Portland, the Portland Chamber of Commerce, the Maine Sports Commission, Global Spectrum, which manages the arena, and Cross Insurance Arena General Manager Matthew Herpich.
If all systems are a go, then they would draw up the proposal.
Biberstein said Herpich and his staff did an exceptional job at the Ice Breaker.
This would be the second time Maine has submitted a regional bid.
It did so in 2003 for a 2005 regional, but there were several issues that played a role in the bid being denied, including inadequate locker rooms.
The facility recently underwent a $33 million renovation, which has made it much more regional friendly including the addition of locker rooms.
There are 6,733 permanent seats in the facility.
“The arena is ready [for a regional],” said Creech.
Maine drew 5,007 for its Ice Breaker Tournament game against Michigan State and 5,187 for its matchup against North Dakota.
“Our goal is to be a leader in college hockey and hosting a regional would be part of it,” said Creech.
He said the bid would include some kind of financial guarantee that would be paid to the NCAA.
Michigan State coach Tom Anastos and North Dakota coach Brad Berry both said the Cross Insurance Arena would be a good venue for a regional.
“They’ve upgraded the facility, and it’s an outstanding venue,” said Berry. “It’s a great hockey area with a strong tradition in minor league hockey.”
The Portland Pirates, who began as the Maine Mariners, have been an American Hockey League franchise since 1977-78, the same year the University of Maine started its varsity program.
Berry noted that UMaine’s program has been well-supported in Portland.
One thing that should help UMaine with its bid is the fact that even if it doesn’t qualify for the tournament, the NCAA could slot the University of New Hampshire into the regional if the Wildcats qualify. Orono is 137 miles from Portland while Durham, New Hampshire, is just 62.9 miles.
That would give the NCAA two schools who have solid fan bases as possible regional teams, which likely would ensure at least one night of healthy attendance figures.
The regional sites for the 2016-17 season were announced by the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee on Sept. 30, so the 2017-18 sites would probably be announced next September.
The 2016-17 regionals will be held in Providence, Manchester, New Hampshire, Cincinnati and Fargo, North Dakota. The Frozen Four will be in Chicago.
This season’s regionals will be held in Worcester, Massachusetts, Albany, Cincinnati and St. Paul, Minnesota, with the Frozen Four being held in Tampa.
Maine and the Cross Insurance Arena will split the revenue from the ticket sales and concessions from the Ice Breaker 50-50.
The other three teams in the tourney, Lake Superior State, Michigan State and North Dakota, each received a $15,000 appearance fee and had their hotel rooms paid for.
Guite earns promotion
Ben Guite has been promoted from assistant coach to associate head coach of the UMaine men’s hockey team.
The former Black Bears player and NHL veteran is in his third season with the program as are head coach Red Gendron and associate head coach Jay Leach.
Guite played on Maine’s 1998-99 national championship team.
“He has been an incredible coach for us,” said Creech. “He’s great on the road as a recruiter, and he has a lot of knowledge about the game.”
Creech said Guite won’t receive a pay raise.
In a press release, Gendron said, “Ben has demonstrated excellence as a recruiter and as a coach. He has earned this promotion and will no doubt continue his exceptional work on behalf of Maine hockey.”
Guite said in the release that, “It’s been a great learning experience working with Red, Jay and our players for the past two years, and I couldn’t be more excited to expand my role with the team. I want to thank Karlton Creech and Red for giving me the opportunity to continue growing our program and bringing it back to where it belongs, at the top.”
“I’m really happy for him,” said Maine captain Steven Swavely. “He does a lot of work for the team … with video, scouting and teaching.”
“He does so much for our team, way more than we know or the media knows,” added alternate captain Cam Brown. “He knows so much about the game. He’s fresh off a pro career. Anything he says really correlates with us.”