ORONO — It began with a quiet conversation with his coach on the bench at Boston College’s Conte Forum before a pregame skate.
Lynden Breen, a freshman just trying to find his way with the University of Maine men’s hockey team, hung on every word from coach Red Gendron. Before you leave Maine, Gendron told Breen, you’ll win a national championship.
“I hold that every day. That’s something I play for every day,” said Breen, now 23 and a fifth-year senior center with the Black Bears.
Breen is the lone holdover from that shortened 2020-21 season, Gendron’s final season before his unexpected death that spring. Breen is the bridge from a bygone era to current head coach Ben Barr, now in his fourth season.
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The 2024-25 season opens Saturday night when Maine hosts American International in what will surely be a raucous and sold-out Alfond Arena. Breen and defenseman David Breazeale were selected team captains for a second straight season. An all-Hockey East selection in 2023, Breen enters the season as the Hockey East active leader in points (102), goals (42), assists (60), faceoff wins (1,157), and shots on goal (362), and is second in shorthanded goals (4).
The Black Bears, who are coming off their first NCAA tournament appearance in a dozen years, have reemerged as a national power. And leading the team is an admittedly shy player from Grand Bay-Westfield, New Brunswick, a small town about the size of Hallowell on the west bank of the Saint John River.
Maine players and coaches say Breen has grown into his role as a leader.
“David (Breazeale), it comes a little more natural to. Breener, he’s just a hockey player that has turned himself into more than that,” Barr said. “What he means to our program and the community, it primarily happened with his play on the ice, and now he’s really grown. Anytime a new coach comes in … it’s never easy on the returners. That first year, you need to have really good people that understand we’re here for the right reasons. (Breen) has always been that way.”
Breen acknowledged being shy when he arrived at Maine in the middle of a pandemic, when social distancing was the norm. Coming out of that shell has not been easy. He is not big into delivering speeches, instead relying on his play to set the tone.
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“Effort and attitude is something we harp on a lot, and that’s something I try to live by every day, not just on Friday and Saturday nights (during games),” Breen said. “It doesn’t all come natural, but the way we do things around here is effort and attitude-based. That’s our identity, and I always try to do that to the best of my ability.”
Breen’s teammates notice. Sophomore forward Josh Nadeau is the team’s leading returning scorer – he had 18 goals and 27 assists in 37 games. Nadeau skated on the wing of Breen’s line for much of last season, and he studied his captain closely.
A young Lynden Breen sits atop a hockey net in his New Brunswick home. Photo courtesy of the Breen family
“Last year when I came in as a freshman, I looked up to him a lot. I tried to copy his game. He’s a skilled player, and he knows how to play both ways,” Nadeau said. “He’s a great player. He has a high IQ. It’s easy to be creative on the ice with him and making good plays.”
HIS BIGGEST FANS
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If Breen doesn’t see himself as a natural leader, those who have known him the longest see it differently. His two older sisters, Jill and Hannah Breen, insist their brother has long had leadership qualities, it just took him time to grow into them. It didn’t begin with that brief interaction with Gendron nearly four years ago. That moment was reinforcement, not the origin.
“It was really apparent at a young age Lynden had leadership skills,” said Jill Breen, his older sister by nine years. “He was always the kid making sure everyone else on the team felt seen. He was coaching younger kids at hockey camps.”
Jill and Hannah teased their brother about family vacations that coincided with hockey tournaments. There was a 10-day trip to Edmonton for a tournament that also included a family visit to the West Edmonton Mall, the largest in Canada. The family pool was converted into a skating rink in the winter, Hannah, now 27, said.
Breen’s life revolved around hockey. That constant banging in the garage of their home in Grand Bay-Westfield? That was just Lynden firing pucks at the old washing machine he used for target practice. He hung cans and bottles from the net he kept in the garage, using them as targets, too. He wanted to shoot as well as NHL star Sidney Crosby, Hannah said. Day after day, Breen dressed for school by pulling on a hockey jersey, his mother, Carole, demanding he change into something more “normal.”
Jill and Hannah say their brother is quiet but competitive. Away from the ice, his hobbies are athletic, things that can help him stay in shape and improve his game, which in turn improves the Black Bears. Playing golf, basketball or pickleball with friends back home he hasn’t seen nearly enough since leaving for prep school at age 15. Meditation and yoga to clear his mind. Zack Bryan or classic R&B are the soundtrack to Breen’s life. A highlight of his summer was Luke Combs’ concert in Bangor.
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The sisters would love to share stories of Lynden being an annoying little brother, but they can’t. They don’t have any.
“We always teased him, but he was a good kid,” Hannah said. “He was patient, caring and he listened.”
University of Maine men’s hockey senior captain Lynden Breen watches a drill during an Oct. 1 practice. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Breen appreciates the sacrifices his sisters made to support him as the family traveled around the continent for hockey tournaments. On his official team bio, Breen lists his hobbies as golf (he represented New Brunswick in junior tournaments as a teenager) and spending time with his sisters. He also enjoys being an uncle to Jill’s young son. Hannah is also expecting a child soon.
“My sister and I, we’re not big sports fans,” Jill said. “Whether or not we’re hockey fans, we’re Lynden fans.”
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MOVING OUT AND UP
When he was 15, Lynden moved out of the house and enrolled at the New Hampton School in New Hampshire, where he played hockey for one year before moving on to the Central Illinois Flying Aces of the USHL, the junior league that produces a large number of players on collegiate hockey rosters. The Flying Aces folded after Breen’s one season, in 2018-19. The Fargo Force had the first choice in the dispersal draft to reassign the Flying Aces’ players. Breen was the obvious choice, said former Fargo coach Pierre-Paul Lamoureux.
“All the information, the scouting report, talking to coaches, Lynden’s work ethic, his character, and desire to win, it was all there,” he said. “His play backed that up. We knew what we were getting.”
Jill Breen thinks leaving home at a young age accelerated her brother’s maturation process and refined his leadership qualities. In 2017, Breen made one of the most difficult decisions of his life, turning down a chance to play for the hometown St. John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Breen was selected in the fifth round. At the draft, Breen pulled on a Sea Dogs jersey and posed for pictures. He had already committed to Maine and knew signing with St. John would eliminate the chance to play NCAA hockey. Players at the major junior level are ineligible for the NCAA because the leagues include players who have signed NHL contracts.
“You’re so young and there’s so many hard decisions. I was already committed here before I got drafted. It was a 50/50 chance that I would’ve went there. A lot of thought went into that, and a lot of stress. For a 16-year old to make that decision, it’s never easy,” Breen said. “There’s no regrets in this decision.”
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University of Maine men’s hockey senior captain Lynden Breen skates with the puck during an Oct. 1 practice in Orono. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Breen was among Maine’s top three scorers in each of his first four seasons. He will be a key player on the Black Bears’ attack this season. Last season, Breen had a career-high 347 faceoff wins. As a junior in the 2022-23 season, Breen led the nation with four shorthanded goals. At 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, Breen’s style of play isn’t dependent on overpowering opponents, although he does not shy away from physical contact.
“He’s so fast and so direct. He drives defensemen back with his speed,” said Lamoureux, now a scout for the NHL’s Calgary Flames. “There’s no cheat to his game. He’s a good two-way player.”
CHASING THE PREDICTION
Gendron’s recruiting pitch made it easier to turn down the hometown team and choose the USHL college route instead of major junior hockey. Breen said he and his parents, Kevin and Carole Breen, felt a connection to Gendron right away. That Orono is just a three-hour drive from home was a plus.
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“Coach Red, he was so family-oriented. He just made you feel welcome right away. He made you understand there is more to it than just hockey. He led me in the right direction, especially as a freshman,” Breen said. “We only played around 15 games, but he gave me a lot of ownership. That’s a big part of why I gained some leadership qualities.”
When this season is over, Breen hopes to sign a pro contract and continue his hockey career. First, there’s a final college season to play and continue helping the Black Bears improve. Then there’s Gendron’s prediction. Breen would love to make it come true.
“This is the last kick at it for me, and I want to go out one way and one way only,” Breen said. “That’s a big reason why I came back, to have one more year of development and one more year of leadership. I don’t think there’s a better place to get better and stronger in college hockey than with Coach Barr.”
Erik Stevenson was fouled making a 3-pointer and completed the four-point play with 3.5 seconds left to lift the Capital City Go-Go to a 96-93 win over the Maine Celtics on Sunday at the Portland Expo.
Stevenson finished with 36 points for Capital City. Ruben Nembhard Jr. added 13 points. 14 rebounds and seven assists, while Michael Foster Jr. had 14 points.
Ron Harper Jr. had 21 points and six rebounds for the Celtics. JD Davison added 11 points and 10 assists, while Baylor Scheierman finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Drew Peterson scored 18 for Maine.
This story was originally published in December 2022.
Jerry Galusha and his best friend, Doug Cooke, share a friendship that dates back to 1984, when they were living in Rangeley and were introduced by mutual friends.
Over the years, they have often gone fishing or deer hunting, activities they both have enjoyed immensely.
“The relationship that we have is just unbelievable,” Galusha said. “We’ve had some really amazing adventures.”
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This fall, Galusha was confronted with a heart-wrenching task. He would take Cooke into the woods, one last time, in search of a big buck.
The difference was that this time they would not be walking the tote roads and trails together. Instead, Galusha would be carrying Cooke’s cremains in his backpack.
Cooke died on Sept. 5 at age 61 after a long struggle with renal failure. Galusha said after 40 years of dialysis or living with a transplanted kidney, Cooke opted to cease treatment and enter hospice care when his third transplant failed.
Doctors had originally told Cooke he would be lucky to celebrate his 30th birthday. Thus, he tried all his life to avoid getting too emotionally attached to people. He seldom asked anyone for favors.
Cooke and Galusha hadn’t seen each other much in recent years as Galusha focused on raising a family. But in late August, Cooke left a voicemail for Galusha explaining that he planned to enter hospice care.
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Cooke told Galusha he didn’t need to do anything, but wanted him to know. He did not want to become a burden to anyone else.
“His body was telling him that he’s had enough,” Galusha said. “He couldn’t golf. He couldn’t play his guitar. He hadn’t been hunting in years.”
The late Doug Cooke of Rangeley is shown with a buck he shot many years ago. Cooke’s best friend, Jerry Galusha, is honoring Cooke’s last wishes by taking his ashes on hunting and fishing excursions. Credit: Courtesy of Jerry Galusha
Galusha couldn’t let it end like that. In spite of Cooke’s reluctance to have his old friend see him in such poor health, he went to visit him.
But as Cooke faced his own mortality, he asked one favor of Galusha.
“He said, ‘Promise me one thing, could you please, just one time, take me in to Upper Dam to go fishing before you dump my ashes?’” Galusha said.
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The dam separates Mooselookmeguntic (Cupsuptic) Lake and Richardson Lake north of Rangeley. It was a favorite spot of theirs, one Cooke introduced to Galusha, who grew up in New York.
“He really loved the wilderness and Rangeley,” Galusha said of Cooke, who was a Vermont native.
Galusha immediately said yes but, knowing how much Cooke also enjoyed hunting, he didn’t feel as though the fishing trip was enough to adequately honor his friend.
“I said, I’m going to take you for the whole deer season, every time I go,” Galusha said. “He looked at me and started crying and said, ‘That would be so awesome.’
“It was hard. We cried and hugged each other,” he said.
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When Galusha went deer hunting near his home in Rangeley during the third week of November — a week the two buddies often spent together over the years — he tried his best to make it like old times.
Galusha spared no effort. He carried the cardboard urn containing Cooke’s cremains inside a camouflage can, which was wrapped with a photo showing Cooke posing with a nice buck he had harvested many years earlier.
He also packed Cooke’s blaze orange hat and vest, along with his grunt tube, compass, doe bleat can, deer scents and a set of rattling antlers.
Galusha chronicled the events of each hunting day by posting to Cooke’s Facebook page, complete with observations, recollections and photos.
Lots of deer were seen and there was one encounter with a buck, but after missing initially, Galusha refused to take a bad shot as the deer was partially obscured by undergrowth.
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“I just did what Doug would have done. He’s not going to shoot and I wasn’t going to shoot,” Galusha said.
He spoke reverently about Cooke’s resilience through the years in the face of his constant battle with health problems, which included not only kidney failure, dialysis and transplants, but four hip replacements and, eventually, a heart attack.
Jerry Galusha carried the cremains of his best friend, Doug Cooke, along with several items of Cooke’s hunting gear, on hunts this fall. Credit: Courtesy of Jerry Galusha
The arrival of muzzleloader season provided one more week to hunt. On Friday, Dec. 2, Galusha walked more than 3 miles along a gated road to an area where he had seen deer a week earlier.
That got him off the beaten track, away from other potential hunters, something Cooke would have appreciated.
“He wasn’t afraid to go do stuff,” Galusha said. “It might take us a little bit longer, but he didn’t care.”
Galusha, who still often refers to Cooke in the present tense, said he vocalized some of his reflections while in the woods. He saw eagles, which he thought might be Cooke keeping an eye on him.
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“I talked to him a lot,” Galusha said, who also enjoyed telling the handful of hunters he encountered that he was not out alone, rather with his friend.
He then explained the story of his promise to Cooke and reverently removed the urn from his pack to show them.
When Galusha finally saw the buck, it wasn’t quite close enough. He uses one of Cooke’s favorite tactics to coax the deer closer.
Galusha tried the grunt tube, and then the doe bleat can, but the deer didn’t seem to hear it. Then, he blew harder on the grunt tube and finally got the buck’s attention.
“I irked one right in, that’s what Doug would say,” said Galusha, recalling Cooke’s affection for using the alternating calls.
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The spikehorn turned and walked directly at Galusha, who shot it.
“I cried,” he said of the moment, recalling that Cooke had been there when he shot his first antlered deer, also a spikehorn.
During the long drag back to his truck, Galusha had plenty of time to think about how much Cooke would have enjoyed the hunt — and watching him make the drag.
At one point, a crew of loggers had approached.
“I was pointing to the sky saying, ‘We got it done,’ shaking my hand,” Galusha said. “A guy came up behind me and said, ‘You all set?’ and I’m like, yup.”
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Cooke and Galusha had lived together for 10 years at one point, but they also had gone long periods without talking with each other. Even so, whenever they were reunited it was as if they had never been apart.
The last few visits were difficult. Cooke’s health was failing, but Galusha just wanted to be there for his buddy.
“It was emotional,” said Galusha, who was present when Cooke died. “I held his hand to his last breath.”
Next spring, hopefully when the fish are biting and the bugs aren’t, Galusha will grant Cooke — who he described as a fabulous fisherman — his final wish by taking him fishing at Upper Dam, just like they used to do.
“I’m thinking maybe around his birthday [July 19]. It might be sooner, depending on how buggy it is,” said Galusha, who expects to make more than one excursion with Cooke.
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Galusha said he will know when it’s time to say goodbye.
“I really don’t want to let him go, but I promised him I would, so I will,” he said.
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