As other hockey teams disappear or combine, one rural Maine program is making a comeback

By Larry Mahoney, Bangor Daily News Staff

DOVER-FOXCROFT — At a time when athletic programs are being dropped for one reason or another, primarily due to a lack of participants, there is a program that is in the early stages of a revival.

Foxcroft Academy had an ice hockey team for several years until dropping the program following the 2006-07 season due to a lack of numbers. But now, the Piscataquis County school is in the process of restoring it.

Foxcroft Academy put its first team on the ice in the mid 1980s.

The game-changer in Dover-Foxcroft that has led to the revival was the building of the $5.5 million Piscataquis County Ice Arena, which opened in the fall of 2019.

For the last few years, Foxcroft Academy has had a coed/cooperative ice hockey team that has played games against high school jayvee teams in the area.

The team is coached by Anthony Phillips, who coached the last Foxcroft Academy ice hockey team in 2006-07.

It isn’t a Maine Principals Association-sanctioned varsity team yet, but that is the eventual goal.

Jackie Tourtelotte, Foxcroft Academy’s athletic director and certified athletic trainer, said she anticipates submitting an application to the MPA for varsity status in the near future but there is no timetable.

“It’s on the radar. Everyone in our hockey community is looking forward to it,” Tourtelotte said. 

She explained that before she submits the application, there has to be a good number of players with hockey experience in the program and healthy numbers in the youth programs as well.

“It has to be sustainable,” Tourtelotte said. “It’s not fair to our opponents to have a team one year and not have one the next year.” 

She stressed that they will have to be able to ensure the safety of their players by not putting inexperienced ones on the ice who “don’t know how to take a hit or aren’t ready to take one. That’s the worst case scenario.”

Tourtelotte also pointed out that they will have to establish which schools will be part of the co-op based on MPA guidelines.

Phillips said the team has played seven games so far this winter with three more scheduled. They have yet to win a game.

He said he began the season with 22 players and he now has 15. He noted that two of them were foreign exchange students who had never played before. They only practiced with the team until Thursday’s 5-1 loss to Old Town-Orono when he gave them a couple of shifts apiece.

The team is primarily made up of players from Foxcroft Academy but he said he also has two from Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford, two from Dexter Regional High School and one from Madison.

Phillips said he is optimistic that they will have a varsity team within five years.

“The feeder system seems to be good,” said Phillips, referring to the Penquis Panthers youth hockey program. “I don’t know the exact numbers but we have two 8-and-under teams, two 10-under teams and one 12-and-under and one 14-and-number. 

“There are also learn-to-skate and learn-to-play programs that are pretty well-attended,” added Phillips.

Life is certainly better this time around for Phillips because when he previously coached the Ponies, he and his team practiced a couple times a week at their outdoor arena and a few more at Bangor’s indoor Sawyer Arena. They traveled to Bangor to play their home games at Sawyer.

He said a combination of a slumping economy and an inability to keep their outdoor ice viable  significantly limited practice time for the high school and youth programs, which caused the numbers to drop and led to the elimination of the varsity program in 2007. 

Now, with their own indoor facility, they can practice right after school from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. and don’t have to worry about maintaining outdoor ice.

One of the things that will be helpful in the revival of the program is the fact several of Phillips’ former Foxcroft Academy players are coaching at the high school and youth levels.

His son, Chad Phillips, who used to be his goalie, is coaching the goalies for him and is also coaching in the youth program.

Scott Taylor used to coach with Phillips and is back coaching with him now along with Taylor’s son, Ryan Taylor. Joey McArthur and Phillips’ former team captain from a few years ago, Jacob Johnson, are also on his staff along with Cindy Obrey, who coaches the three girls on the team, and former PCIA Rink Manager Matt Spooner.

Tourtelotte said they are also very fortunate to have two top-notch skating instructors in Tanya Quigley and David Mumford, who are “amazing to watch” as they develop youngsters into good, confident skaters.

The team is bankrolled by the Foxcroft Academy athletic budget but Tourtelotte said Foxcroft Academy alums have been very generous with their financial support of the program and that she is also very grateful to Old Town High School Athletic Director Jeremy Bousquet for his guidance.

Bousquet and Orono Athletic Director Mike Archer worked together in the merging of the Old Town and Orono programs into one co-op team, the Old Town-Orono Black Bears.

“I have hammered Jeremy with questions over the last two years and he has been very gracious providing me with answers,” Tourtelotte said. “That program has been very supportive of ours. Other schools have wanted to help us out, too.” 

Phillips said his team is “definitely improving.”

“I tell people we take a step up every single day,” Phillips said.