Former University of Maine hockey coach Jack Semler has seen a lot of hockey this season.

And he isn’t even coaching.

Semler and his ex-wife, Sarah, have all three children playing at different levels and they all play different positions.

Molly Semler is a sophomore winger at Union College after transferring from Northeastern University; sister Liza is a senior defenseman for U-32 Senior High School in Montpelier, Vt. and helped lead her team to the state schoolgirl championship a year ago and 12-year-old son Max is a goalie for his local pee wee team.

Semler said he didn’t push his kids into hockey.

“I worked hockey schools when they were young but I didn’t get them into hockey school until the very end. The sport of hockey takes over. Once they tried it, they were hooked. It’s very addictive,” said Semler, who compiled a 105-112-2 record in his seven years at Maine.

He was Maine’s first coach in the modern era.

He started his own business in 1995, Stone Works of Vermont, but is trying to sell the business. The business makes planters, birdbaths and garden sculptures.

“It hit its peak this year. I’m fairly exhausted and I don’t have the financing or the energy that it needs to continue to move forward,” explained the 54-year-old Semler. “I enjoyed the entrepreneurial side of it. It wasn’t as exciting as the beginning of Maine hockey but I did get a similar kind of adrenaline rush from it.”

He’s unsure about the future.

“It’s refreshing to steer a new course even if I’m not sure what it’s going to be,” said Semler, who has had a variety jobs since leaving Maine like building tennis courts, selling garden equipment and teaching at a high school.

He was also a special education teacher, a high school hockey coach and worked for a mental health hospital and handled marketing and public relations for a Manhattan, N.Y. hotel.

He still has fond memories of his time at Maine and continues to follow the Black Bears.

“It seemed like I was coaching there just the other day. It was a great experience. It’s pretty amazing how time flies,” said Semler who is among the legions of people hoping current Maine coach Shawn Walsh can win his battle with kidney cancer.

Buckley gets plenty of work

If you watch high school hockey, you are bound to see Tom Buckley regularly.

Buckley has been a hockey referee for 20 years and has done numerous state and regional tournament games.

He also works ECAC small college games like Bowdoin, Colby and the University of Southern Maine.

“The thing I like is I am only responsible to myself,” said the 43-year-old Buckley, who lives in Brewer with wife Donna and 13-year-old daughter Allison.

“We have an independent type of contract so we don’t have to deal with the schools, the parents and that end of it,” said Buckley. “I have been refereeing for so long, I am very comfortable with the rules and my knowledge of the game and I know how to control a game.”

One thing Buckley tries to avoid is long drawn-out conversations with a coach during the game. He feels it slows the game down and fans might think a referee can be influenced by a long-winded coach.

“I know what I’m doing and I don’t feel there is a need for a formal discussion,” said Buckley. “I try to go through the team captains. If something is complicated, I will go to the coaches and explain things.”

He said he tries to blend compassion and discipline in dealing with players and coaches.

Buckley, who works in sales at N.H. Bragg in Bangor, enjoys the skating and physical aspect of refereeing.

“I lose weight in the winter and put it on in the summer. That’s the opposite of most people,” said Buckley, who was raised in a U.S. Air Force family.

He played hockey in the Bangor youth hockey program and eventually played for Manchester Central High School (N.H.). He tried out at St. Anselm College in Manchester but failed to make the team.

After graduating from St. Anselm, he returned to the Bangor area and began coaching and refereeing at the youth league level in addition to playing in several leagues.

He considers doing his first state championship game, a B final between Old Town and Yarmouth in 1990, to be among his highlights.

He said “I still enjoying refereeing” and has no plans to retire.

He figures he does 40 games a season between college and high school.

Referees make $53 per game for high school, plus travel mileage, and $115 plus travel for college games.

Sawyer expansion is sought

Bangor’s Sawyer Arena could be undergoing an expansion in the near future if the city council approves the proposal.

“It would be a 2800-foot expansion and would add six changing rooms; four shower rooms and seating for 500 people,” said Frank Comeau, the director of Bangor’s Parks and Recreation Department.

The price tag would be between $600,000-$700,000, said Comeau.

“We definitely need them but whether or not we can afford them is the question,” said Comeau. “High school teams don’t want to practice there in the mornings before school now because we don’t have showers.

“We also feel we could attract high school regional tournaments if the expansion goes through,” added Comeau.

The decision on expansion should come next year.

The arena received new boards this season. The price tag was in excess of $100,000.