Stearns, Foxcroft may end hockey programs

No final decisions have been made yet but it appears Foxcroft Academy and Stearns High School in Millinocket won’t have ice hockey teams next season due to low numbers.

Both communities have been hurt by the lack of a feeder program. Neither has its own youth hockey program any more so players have to commute to the Bangor-Brewer area to play.

“As of right now, the program hasn’t been dropped. It’s just in limbo,” said Foxcroft Academy athletic director Tim Smith. “We haven’t had any formal talks about it. It will shake out more when the budget process requires us to talk about it.

“We finished the season with 13 players and seven were seniors,” Smith said. “We will have six returning players and we know of only two incoming freshmen. That puts us at eight. If we have less than 13 players, I don’t think it’s possible [to have a team]. We played half the season with 13 kids and it was miserable.”

Stearns had just 10 players in its last two games due to injuries and a family vacation, according to athletic director Chris Preble.

“And I think six of them were seniors,” said Preble. “We didn’t have any freshmen this year. There were some who used to play hockey that are playing basketball right now. I think they realized we probably weren’t going to have hockey much longer.”

Preble said he didn’t know of any incoming freshman players for next season.

“I can’t see us having it next year based on what we have right now. We were walking a thin line every day this season,” said Preble. “I’d love to see us keep it. But you can’t have just six or seven kids.”

Both teams had just one goalie.

Foxcroft Academy finished at 2-14-1 while Stearns was 2-14.

In addition to the numbers problem, both teams had to travel for indoor ice until their outdoor ice was available.

Foxcroft Academy traveled to Bangor to practice and Stearns had to bus its players to Houlton.

It is around 40 miles from Dover-Foxcroft to Bangor and 70 from Millinocket to Houlton.

Foxcroft practiced a couple of times a week at Bangor’s Sawyer Arena and it cost the school approximately $500 per trip. It cost Stearns approximately $300 per trip.

Both athletic directors expect a decision to be made later this spring.

If Stearns and Foxcroft don’t have teams next season, Eastern Maine Class B will be down from 11 to eight teams because newly crowned state champion Brewer is moving up to Class A.