Sunday night was a special occasion for University of Maine hockey fans and players alike. And not just because the Black Bears won 7-2.
It was also the annual Skate with the Bears night, a longtime annual tradition where fans can lace up their skates (or keep their shoes on) and head out onto the Alfond Arena ice for a postgame meet-and-great with the players.
The event may not be new, but the novelty certainly hasn’t worn off for the hockey fans and players who get to experience the excitement.
“It’s crazy. It’s awesome that we can do this,” said young fan Birgen Fogler from Exeter. “And it’s awesome that we get the players’ signatures, and just how many fans there are down here.”
Fogler was attending the skate-around for the fourth or fifth time, and was most excited to meet players Owen Fowler and Max Scott.
Scott, a transfer from Brown University, didn’t think he’d ever signed that many autographs before and said he was “a little bit overwhelmed” by the support on Sunday evening.
“But it’s been really fun so far,” Scott added.
Black Bears alternate captain Frank Djurasevic said the opportunity to connect with fans meant a lot, especially after an up-and-down first half of the season as UMaine tries to make its third straight NCAA tournament appearance.
“Obviously, we’ve got a great fan base here. All the kids, all the families come out and support us every night, which is awesome,” Djurasevic said. “To get to spend some time with them here after an up-and-down first half, and to still see them all here every night — really special thing for us.
It’s support that the Black Bears don’t take for granted, Djurasevic said.
“We’re really grateful to have such support, such a great fan base up here in Maine, and we wouldn’t want it any other way,” Djurasevic added.
And the fans felt similar.
Another young fan from Hampden, Cayson Keen, said it was “really cool, and really fun” to be on the ice, which wasn’t as slippery as he thought it would be.
“Cayson loves the interaction with the players. It’s so cool,” said his mother, Cassandra Keen. “It kind of brings it down to Earth… not just seeing them on the ice, but real interactions make it so cool.”
Several youth hockey coaches were also in attendance with their families. Quinn Paradis coaches for both the Maine Jr. Black Bears youth program and Twin City Titans cooperative high school team.
“This is awesome for the hockey community to do this,” Paradis said Sunday night. “They’ve done a big event every year, and it’s good to see the kids out here, because this is where the foundation is built for the area.”
Mark Kent of Orono, another Jr. Black Bear coach, said his family has been joining the event for the past eight years. He has three daughters ages 11, 8 and 6 who all play hockey.
“It’s gotten bigger every year,” Kent said. “This is incredible, all these fans out here.”
The skaters included his 8-year-old daughter Maisie, who was also most excited to meet Fowler and happily reported that she got a signature from every player who joined the event.
“They’ve been skating on this ice since they were three, four years old,” Mark Kent added. “So it gets better every year. The team’s getting absolutely incredible.”
Of all the lines snaking around the ice to meet and get autographs from different players, none compared to the queue for goalie Albin Boija. It was a line that Will Prescott and his stepson Leighton Decker of Ellsworth were still planning to wait in.
“I’ve been a fan my whole life, and now I’m taking the kids and getting them involved,” Prescott said. “I used to come with my dad, and now I’m doing it with my kids.”
He had never made it down on the ice as a kid, but always wanted to. And now that he made it, the players were thrilled to have the fans there, too.
“It’s just fantastic. It just shows how much it means to be a Black Bear and to be a part of this community,” said junior defenseman Bodie Nobes. “It’s just a wonderful thing.”
And it wasn’t the only behind the scenes access that fans got over the weekend, with UScellular hosting members of the Penquis Substance Affect Youth Program for a tour of the game-day technology at Alfond Arena. That included a chance to control the scoreboard, survey the student section and hear from several team officials.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Jon Shields, the play-by-play voice of UMaine hockey, who led the tour. “We get to do a lot of cool stuff here at the University of Maine, especially with the capital campaign and all the improvements we’ve made. It’s fun to show people behind the scenes, especially some of these young men and women — get a chance to see what’s behind the doors of Alfond Arena.”
There were a lot of those chances for UMaine hockey fans this weekend. And the players were also reveling in the chance to show the fans their appreciation.
Senior defenseman Brandon Chabrier called it an “unreal” experience Sunday night, and he was enjoying every moment of it.
“This is my fourth year here, and it gets better and better every year,” Chabrier said.