Eastern Maine will have its first-ever junior hockey team when the Penbay Mariners make their debut in the 2003-2004 season.

The team will be composed of players between the ages of 16 and 20, according to Mariners general manager Lou Janicki.

Janicki is also the rink manager at Brewer’s T.J. Ryan Center, which is where the team will practice and play its home games. The team will be owned by Roger Theriault and his Delta Hockey Corporation, owners of the rink.

Former Bangor High School, Foxcroft Academy and Brewer High hockey coach Bill Schwarz will coach the Mariners and he will have two assistants.

“We will play an independent schedule the first year. We’re projecting a 40-game schedule with 12 home games and 28 road games,” said Janicki. “We’re going to play other junior teams and prep schools.”

There are two prominent junior leagues in the East: the 12-team Eastern Junior Hockey League and the eight-team Interstate Junior Hockey League.

“They have shown interest in us because we’re the only junior team in Maine. And we have sent them letters of interest. Some time over the next five months, before tryouts are held, we will make formal applications to both leagues,” said Janicki.

Schwarz is excited about the challenge.

“I’m looking forward to this in the worst way,” said the 57-year-old Schwarz. “This will be good for the state, good for the hockey programs in the state and good for Maine kids.”

Schwarz will have a three-to-four-hour tryout on March 15 in Brewer and a tryout camp in July. He hopes to have 23 to 25 players on his roster when they begin formal workouts the second week of September.

He will begin the recruiting process soon.

“I’ll be primarily looking for kids who will be just out of high school next fall,” said Schwarz. “But I’ll also look for the kid who might be in high school and just wants to focus on hockey.”

High school teams in Maine are allowed to play only 20 regular-season games while junior teams play anywhere from 40-60 games.

He would like to have a solid base of in-state players but he will recruit and they will advertise throughout New England as well.

The junior leagues are amateur so Janicki estimated it will cost a player $4,300 per season to play for the Mariners.

Schwarz said they will have three practices a week and then play games on the weekends.

Junior teams in the U.S. and Canada produce most of the U.S. college players.