While preseason practices are vital to early-season team building in high school sports, it can be difficult to gauge where a team is at by merely holding scrimmages in practice.
Fortunately, that’s what preseason tournaments are for, and 13 high school hockey teams — nine varsity and four junior varsity — throughout the state will get a chance for some preseason game action this weekend.
Bangor’s John Bapst High School will host its Ice Hockey Faceoff Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Sawyer Arena.
The event will feature 17 games over the course of two days.
Participating varsity teams include Bangor, Brewer, Camden Hills of Rockport, Hampden Academy, Houlton-Hodgdon, John Bapst, Old Town-Orono, Presque Isle and Yarmouth.
In addition, junior varsity squads from Bangor, John Bapst and Old Town-Orono will participate.
“It’s designed for coaches to look at kids and to get an idea of what they have,” said tournament director Todd Massey, a member of John Bapst’s hockey boosters.
While Massey would not disclose how much money the tournament has raised for the program over the years, he said the tourney is one of the program’s biggest fundraisers.
“Everything we do is fundraising for ice time,” said Massey, whose daughter, Kayla, is a junior defenseman for the Crusaders.
Bangor is the lone Class A school participating in the tournament.
Friday night’s schedule features four games, with the marquee contest coming between rivals Bangor and Brewer at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday features a full slate of contests beginning at 7:30 a.m., with the last game scheduled to face off at 9:40 p.m.
The tournament will also give plenty of Class B North teams a chance to face off, with Camden Hills taking on John Bapst on Friday, and a slew of Class B matchups on Saturday featuring Presque Isle and Brewer, Houlton and John Bapst, Hampden and Camden Hills and Houlton and Hampden.
Presque Isle and John Bapst will also play against Class B South entry Yarmouth on Saturday.
“It’s always a good time,” Massey said, “especially to get out there and watch the teams play and see where everybody’s at.”
Massey said the tournament is in its ninth year, and it has been held at Sawyer Arena the “last six or seven years” after a few years of playing it at Brewer’s Penobscot Ice Arena.
“This is a great thing, it’s been going nine years and we look forward every year to be doing this,” he said.
Massey noted it’s also a great chance for junior varsity teams to get some valuable games in.
Follow Ryan McLaughlin on Twitter at @rmclaughlin23.
