Maine’s D-III men’s hockey teams face off in new tournament

All four of Maine’s Division III men’s hockey teams will play for a championship in the first Lobster Pot Tournament after their holiday break.

“Anytime there’s a trophy at play, it makes things a lot more interesting,” Bowdoin coach Ben Guite said.

The tournament will take place Jan. 2-3 at Falmouth Ice Center in Falmouth. The first day, Colby and the University of New England will match up in the first game at 3:30 p.m., followed by a game between the University of Southern Maine and Bowdoin at 7 p.m. The winners will face off in the title game at 5:30 p.m. the following day.

UNE (8-2) is ranked seventh in the latest USCHO.com top-15 poll, while Bowdoin (6-2-1) is 13th, and Colby (5-2-1) received 12 votes. Southern Maine, meanwhile, is 5-4-1.

“I think all four teams are going to have a crack at it,” Guite said. “There’s no doubt in my mind.
We’ve played Colby already this year (a 3-2 Bowdoin win on Nov. 22). They’re obviously a handful and a very hard team to play. UNE has been a perennial power here for a while now, since (coach) Kevin (Swallow) has been there. (USM coach) Matt (Pinchevsky) has been doing a tremendous job. His team just plays with a lot of energy. They’re very hard to beat.”

There also will be a youth clinic at the neighboring Casco Bay Arena from 2-3 p.m. on Jan. 2. Ice skating will be available on the pond near Family Ice Center.

Guite said the tournament is an opportunity to showcase Division III hockey in the state. He also noted a trickle down of talent in Division III with former Canadian Hockey players now allowed to play in Division I.

The Mules, for example, have three former Division-I players, including leading scorer Colby Browne (Northern Michigan), defenseman Riley Rosenthal (Stonehill), and Auburn’s Reese Farrell (Army). Nor’easters goalie Harrison Chesney played at Northeastern.

Tickets are $8 per game and can be purchased starting Monday by visiting UNE’s website.

Contributing at the D-I level

Former Maine high school girls basketball standouts are off to strong starts to the season for their NCAA Division I programs.

Oxford Hills graduate Ella Pelletier Pelletier is averaging 9.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game over 10 games in her first season at Stonehill College.

In her second season at Boston University after transferring from Providence College, Hampden Academy alum Bella McLaughlin is averaging 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. She also has a team-high 34 assists in 10 games.

Another Mainer contributing at the D-I level is Pelletier’s former Oxford Hills teammate Sierra Carson, who is averaging 3.0 points per game for Dartmouth.

NFHCA All-Americans

Two Mainers were named Division II All-American by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association recently.

Gracie Moore, a senior forward at Bentley who is from Pittsfield, was named first-team All-American. She finished the season with 15 goals and 12 assists in 22 games.

Meanwhile, Biddeford’s Jillian McSoreley, a senior defender at Assumption College, is a second-team All-American. McSoreley earned the honor by helping the Greyhounds hold opponents to 0.72 goals per game.

Bates College defender Haley Dwight was named to the Division III first team, while forward Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg earned third-team honors, along with Bowdoin’s Emily Ferguson.