Auburn, ME – The stage was set for the 2020-21 Central Maine Community College hockey club to have a banner year. The team was entering its fifth season of competitive play, third under current head coach Matt Buotte, and was a newly minted member of the New England Collegiate Hockey Associate conference after playing four years as an independent, with sky high hopes for a breakout year. Those hopes, thanks to the novel coronavirus, are on hold—at least for now.
The team, along with several other league schools nationwide, have postponed their season to a January start date. The American Collegiate Hockey Association has delayed their regionals and playoffs by two weeks in the spring to give teams more time to play a truncated season. The hopes are still high for the Mustangs to fulfill their 2021 campaign and have the breakout season they have longed for but the wait is starting to feel long for a club with lofty ambitions.
"It's been real tough not to be able to get on the ice," said Mustangs third year forward Trevor Roche, who was a club captain for the 2019-20 campaign. "I haven't been able to get on the ice since our last game. I cannot wait for the first puck drop."
The team enters the season after a solid 2019-20 season that saw them go 9-13-1 (6-10-1 in ACHA play) including some key wins over ACHA DII foe Suffolk and cross-state rival Thomas College.
"We felt like we had so much to build on," said Buotte of the delay. "We had really improved the team, added a lot of depth and competition for places. We really felt like we were going to hit the ground running this year with the roster and the foundation we'd built. This doesn't change our goals, it just means we have to wait a little longer to try and achieve them."
The team has stayed in contact through regular Zoom meetings, with just two players living on a campus in the pandemic-shifted semester.
"This semester has definitely been tough with not being able to see the boys because of how tightknit we are," said second year defenseman and Biddeford native Dylan Demers. "At the end of the day we're a family and whether it's getting to know the new guys, reconnecting with last year's guys, or simply joking around with the coaches, we miss it every day."
The grind of online classes has posed another challenge for players. Maintaining high marks—the team had the second highest team GPA of any team on campus last academic year—has proved to be another challenge in a semester starved of hockey. The college, like the rest of the country, was thrust online on March of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States. The team and university were more prepared as the fall semester approached but the online classwork has still proved to be a challenging endeavor.
"My online course work has been something to get used to," said second year goaltender and Auburn native Ben Feldman. "My teachers have made it easy to adjust, thankfully. For me and a lot of other guys being physically in classes is where I learn best so it's definitely been a challenge. What option do we have? We can't change it. Thankfully my teachers had made the transition as easy as they could."
Because the campus is closed to most outsiders team workouts have not been an option for the players either. The majority of the incoming roster is from Maine, with a handful of skaters from New Hampshire and just one player—Maryland native River Yearwood—from outside New England. But though the team is close geographically, social distance measures and a soft lockdown of campus and local rinks has made for even more challenges.
"I'm just trying to do my best to stay sharp," continued Demers, who is enrolled in the business transfer program. "I've been doing dry land work twice and week along with three gym sessions, otherwise I have just been trying to roller blade a little. It's been tough but I am motivated to be the best version of myself whenever this season starts."
Despite the obstacles that lay ahead for not only the team but for entire league—many teams have postponed their seasons as universities await further news on the COVID-19 pandemic—the belief remains inside the Mustangs locker room that, whenever it happens, 2020-21 will still be a year to remember.
"Coming into this season I feel the attitude is going to be different," said Roche, who will be completing his third year in the criminal justice program. "The last few years 'average' effort was acceptable and having a .500 record wasn't bad. We want to change that, want to change the team's culture and reputation. The college has some great athletic teams known for their success and for the hockey program, this is our year to go out and show what we can do. I can't wait to do it with these guys."
