The Mariners, the Watchmen, the Wild Blueberries, the Lumberjacks and the Puffins.
One of those five team names will be the one used by Portland’s new professional hockey team when it takes the ice in 2018. The team announced Thursday it has narrowed down its list of potential names after accepting public suggestions from July 20 through Aug. 14.
Portland Hockey LLC announced Thursday it had received about 3,800 suggestions, and revealed its five finalists in an online video featuring Casco Bay Youth Hockey players. Fans can vote on which name they like the best on the website PortlandMaineHockey.com.
“We got just what I was hoping for, and that’s a lot of interest in the new team, and suggestions circling around Maine,” said Adam Goldberg, vice president of business operations for Portland Hockey LLC, in a statement. “We are looking forward to hearing the fans’ thoughts on the top five names as we work towards naming the team next month.”
The person whose name suggestion is ultimately chosen will be given four season tickets to the inaugural season, a jersey signed by the team and participate in the ceremonial puck drop on opening night.
All of the final choices have clear Maine ties, with the Mariners being the name of the professional hockey team that played in Portland from 1977 to 1992.
Lumberjacks has been used twice for pro franchises in the state, the Maine Lumberjacks, based in Bangor, of the Continental Basketball League in 1978-83 and an independent baseball league team, the Bangor Lumberjacks of the Northeast League, in 2003-04.
Comcast Spectacor, the parent company of Spectra and the Philadelphia Flyers, announced in June that it has purchased the Alaska Aces ECHL franchise and will relocate the team to the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. The yet-to-be-named team will begin play with the 2018-2019 season.
The ECHL team will fill a void left when the American Hockey League’s Portland Pirates announced in May 2016 that it was relocating the franchise to Springfield, Massachusetts.
Like the AHL, the ECHL is minor league to the National Hockey League, with most teams serving in part as training grounds for prospects of NHL affiliates. The ECHL was founded as the East Coast Hockey League, but now officially goes by just the acronym after having expanded nationwide.
