Gary Thorne had never broadcast a hockey game before he took over the play-by-play gig for the University of Maine’s hockey team in its infancy. The Black Bears made their debut in the 1977-78 season, spending their first two seasons in ECAC Division II before moving up to ECAC Division I.
“I had followed the Bruins all my life. I was a hockey fan. But hockey was the last sport I did as a broadcaster. So I did the same as I would with any other sport. It’s all about reading and research. There isn’t a magic formula,” said Thorne, an Old Town native who will be inducted into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame on Friday night and is currently handling television play-by-play chores for the Baltimore Orioles games on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.
“You create a familiarity with the teams. You talk to broadcasters, writers and coaches so when it comes time for the game, you have a better feel for the teams,” said Thorne, who graduated from UMaine with a business degree in 1970 before receiving a law degree from the University of Southern Maine and a doctorate in law from Georgetown University in 1976.
His broadcasting resume is remarkable as it includes over 30 years of handling play-by-play chores for the MLB, the NHL, NCAA basketball and the Olympics.
The Old Town High School hall of famer said the university had a profound influence on his career.
“If I hadn’t done University of Maine games, I never would have met [former Providence College coach] Lou Lamoriello and if I hadn’t met Lou Lamoriello, I never would have done New Jersey Devils games and if I hadn’t done the Devils, I never would have done ESPN,” Thorne explained.
After coaching Providence College, Lamoriello became the school’s athletic director and the commissioner of Hockey East before moving on to become the general manager of the New Jersey Devils in 1987.
He is currently the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Black Bears went 15-12 in their first season under head coach Jack Semler and barely missed the playoffs. They went 25-8-1 and were the top seed the next season. In 1979-80, in their first season in Division I, they went a respectable 15-16-1 and missed the playoffs on the last day of the regular season. The following year produced a 23-11 mark and a playoff bid.
Thorne said that first class, which included all freshmen and senior Dan Sweeney, was special and created a rock-solid foundation for the future.
“Maine fans had to be convinced a hockey program would work in Orono,” Thorne said. “There were a lot of doubters when the program first started.
“To establish a program that was not only competitive but was a winning one the first few years was important. It created a fan base to grow from. And that first group of guys, the Conns [Gary] and the Tortorellas [Jimmy and John], was an exceptional group. They left a lasting legacy. The love affair between the fans and the program really did start with them,” Thorne said.
“They were the underdogs in virtually every game, especially in Division I, but they played as hard as humanly possible and the fans loved it,” he added.
There were memorable games and some that weren’t.
“I remember going to Clarkson and St. Lawrence one year and I think Maine gave up 21 goals in the two games. There was a siren blaring at one rink [when a home team goal was scored] and a bell at the other. After the two games, I had a headache,” Thorne said with a chuckle, referring to the 1983-84 season when UMaine lost 11-1 to St. Lawrence and 12-1 top Clarkson.
A fond memory occurred in 1981-82 when UMaine beat Vermont 6-5 in overtime.
“Billy Demianiuk got the game-winner. It was a real good Vermont team and no one expected Maine to win. I still remember their reaction. It was like they had won a championship…the excitement. They had done something nobody thought they could do,” Thorne recalled.
Thorne is looking forward to the induction, especially because he will be going in with the school’s first national championship team, the 1992-93 club that went 42-1-2.
“It’s going to be really fun. Obviously, it’s a great honor,” Thorne said. “It was completely unexpected because I’m going in for my broadcast work rather than having been a player there.
“And to go in with the first national championship team makes it even more special,” he added.