Auburn, ME – The Central Maine Community College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the hiring of Matt Poulin of Lewiston, Maine as the new Hockey Coach for the fall of 2017.
Poulin is a lifelong resident of Lewiston, Maine, graduating from Lewiston High School in the Class of 2014. He was a three-year varsity hockey player at Lewiston High School, serving as Assistant Captain for his junior and senior year. He was a two-time Maine Class "A" First Team All-State Forward and finished his senior year as a Travis Roy Award Semi-Finalist.
In his years since graduating, Matthew has devoted his time to coaching and volunteering in the Lewiston-Auburn community. He has been an Assistant Varsity Coach with Lewiston High School, being a part of two state championships with the team in 2016 and 2017. He also will be going on his third season with the Maine Gladiators (two years as Head Coach) based out of Auburn, Maine. In his first full season as Head Coach with the Gladiators, his team finished tied for 1st place and made a run in the state tournament falling short in the semi-finals. Poulin says about his youth hockey coaching, "It is a special thing to be able to coach kids at this age and try and impact them in a positive way. Not just on the ice, but also in life I want to be a part of these kids' lives forever. I want to be someone who they can always call and talk to and help with anything they ever need."
In the professional world, Matthew is a Mortgage Loan Officer with Mortgage Network, Inc. He has been in lending since September of 2015 and finds the profession to be the most rewarding, especially when his clients get the keys to their new home, their "dream home." He serves the needs of homebuyers and homeowners all over the state of Maine.
In his spare time, Matthew serves on the Board of Directors for Lewiston Baseball & Softball Little League as the Director of Umpires. In addition, Poulin spends times volunteering for Read Across America in Lewiston and mentoring youth through Junior Achievement as well. "The youth of this community need the tools to be successful and providing them with those tools only betters our community's future. We have to start teaching kids applications they will use in everyday life at a young age so from there is only a matter of getting better", states Poulin. To go along with this, he serves on the Outreach Committee for Uplift LA, an organization a part of the LA Metro Chamber of Commerce, where he was also awarded as one of LA's Top 40 Business Professionals under the age of 40.
Loyalty, hard work, respect, and pride are some of the major values Poulin emphasizes and lives by. Hockey is a game of pure respect and hard work and those values need to be instilled into our youth- and all the way up because those traits do not just apply to hockey, but to everyday life", Poulin says.
Poulin sees a tremendous opportunity to incorporate the local hockey community with a strong, pride-oriented hockey program at Central Maine Community College. According to Poulin, "we have an opportunity to help kids achieve academic success at an extremely affordable price, while allowing them to participate in competitive hockey in this community. This program has a chance to impact the youth in this community, but also all those who enjoy the competitive nature of the sport. I am excited to jump right in and be a part of this journey that I have been fortunate enough to join."
Poulin is no stranger to the Mustangs haven been a player on the inaugural squad last year.
Poulin's high school coach Jamie Belleau offered the following, "I have known Matt since he started playing hockey for me his freshmen year at LHS. He played four years for me. In high school, he established himself as an ultimate team player. He was respected by his teammates and possessed and used his leadership qualities. As good as he was on the ice and in the locker room; he was an honor roll student. He values learning and thoroughly appreciates the value of a good education. After high school, I had the opportunity to work with Matt as an assistant coach at Lewiston High School and as assistant coach and head coach in the Maine Gladiator travel program. He has a wealth of knowledge about the game. Matt demonstrates a genuine enthusiasm for everything he does at the rink. He sets extremely high standards for himself and his players. He has leadership qualities that set him apart from others his age. He will bring all these qualities and more as the head coach for the Mustangs.
Dave Gonyea, CM's Athletic Director states, "we interviewed several people for the hockey positon. We were looking for something new, fresh, and committed. I think Matt's age will be a benefit to the program as he can connect with today's player. He has great experience to draw upon, having been coached by one of the premier coaches in Maine at Lewiston in Coach Belleau. He is planning to surround himself with experience mentors who will bring a wealth of knowledge to the game. Secondly, the Lewiston/Auburn area is the hotbed of hockey in Maine and we wanted to bring in somebody who could connect with our players and the community as well. I am pleased to have Matt aboard and part of our team. "