For the first time since 2009, junior hockey is returning to Lewiston starting in the 2019-20 season. The North American Hockey League (NAHL) announced Thursday they approved the application for the team out of Lewiston, Maine to become the sixth team in the leagues Eastern Division. The team will be known as the Maine Nordiques, and will play their home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston. The Eastern Division made its debut in the NAHL in the 2015-16 season, and features five other teams from New York, two from Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. The entire league will now consist of four divisions of six teams with the addition of Maine, for a total of 24 teams. The NAHL regular season is 60 games in length plus playoffs running September-April.
From 2002-2009, Lewiston had the Lewiston Mainiacs out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. This is the second stint in the NAHL for the Maine Nordiques out of Lewiston, and the first time since the 1970’s. The league has a great track record of getting kids ready to play NCAA Division I hockey, and some have even become NHL draft pics. Read the full press release from the NAHL here: http://nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=26277
