ORONO – On a bitter cold night with wind chills of 35 to 45 below zero, the University of Maine hoped to create enough heat Friday night to reclaim the world kissing record, but fell short.

The university set a record on Valentine’s Day 1996 with 1,420 couples smooching at once, but it was broken in 2000 when 1,588 couples locked lips in Sarnia, Ontario.

On Friday, 943 couples took part. Organizers blamed the low turnout on cold weather and Maine’s loss in a hockey game earlier in the evening, when lots of students left the game before the kissing event got under way.

“Even by Northern New England standards, it’s awfully cold and the temptation to stay inside can be overwhelming,” said university spokesman Joe Carr.

There was a wind chill advisory, and the temperature was well below zero when the event got under way at 10 p.m.

“Our concern was a snowstorm. Little did we know it’s going to be the coldest night of [the] year,” said Sandra Caron, an organizer of the event, as well as a professor of family relations and human sexuality.