| Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques | |
 | |
| City: | Lewiston, Maine |
|---|---|
| League: | NA3HL |
| Division: | Eastern |
| Founded: | 2012 |
| Home Arena: | Androscoggin Bank Colisée |
| Colors: | Blue, red, white
|
| Head Coach: | Cameron Robichaud |
| Franchise history | |
| 2012–2013: | Lake George Fighting Spirit |
| 2013–2014: | AHI Fighting Spirit |
| 2014–2015: | New Hampshire Fighting Spirit |
| 2015–2017: | L/A Fighting Spirit |
| 2017-2020: | Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques |
The Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques is a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Lewiston, Maine. The L/A abbreviation for Lewiston and Auburn is commonly used in the team's name. The team is a member of the North American 3 Hockey League. The team was a member of the North American 3 Eastern Hockey League (NA3EHL) until 2016 (which was previously previously known as the Northern States Junior Hockey League (NSHL) from 2012–14) and plays home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
The Nordiques name is an homage to the Maine Nordiques who played in the same arena when it was known as the Central Maine Youth Center in the North American Hockey League (1973–1977) as a farm team of the Quebec Nordiques while they were in the World Hockey Association.
History[]
The team was founded in 2012 as the Lake George Fighting Spirit playing out of Lake George, New York. The Fighting Spirit joined the NSHL as one of the seven inaugural teams.[1]
The Fighting Spirit won the inaugural NSHL regular-season championship with a record of 37-4-1. With the title, the Fighting Spirit received an automatic bid, with the second place Syracuse Stampede, to the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) United Hockey Union tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament included the top teams from the three AAU-sanctioned leagues; the NSHL, Western States Hockey League, and the Midwest Junior Hockey League.[2]
Prior to the 2013–14 season, the team moved to Waterville Valley, New Hampshire and were known as the AHI Fighting Spirit to reflect a partnership with the American Hockey Institute.[3] The Fighting Spirit captured the team's second straight NSHL regular season title with a record of 31-4-3-2. After falling in the playoffs and participating in the second UHU National Championship in Las Vegas, the team announced a move to Laconia, New Hampshire and would change their name to the New Hampshire Fighting Spirit for the 2014-15 season.[4]
Prior to the 2015–16 season the Fighting Spirit relocated again to Lewiston, Maine and is called the L/A Fighting Spirit (with the L/A standing for Lewiston/Auburn) and plays home games at Androscoggin Bank Colisee. Prior to the 2016–17 season, the Fighting Spirit became part of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) when it absorbed the NA3EHL.
The sale and re-branding of the team to the Nordiques was announced on May 4, 2017. Cameron Robichaud was also named head coach as part of the announcement.
The owner of the North American Hockey League's Maine Nordiques purchased the Androscoggin Bank Colisée and announced the NA3HL team will cease operations.[5]
Statistics[]
Regular season records[]
| Season | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern States Hockey League | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–13 | 42 | 37 | 4 | 1 | - | 183 | 83 | 75 | 1st of 7, NSHL
[6] || Won Semifinal game vs. Eastern Kodiaks | ||||||||||
| 2013–14 | 40 | 31 | 4 | 5 | - | 174 | 97 | 67 | 1st of 9, NSHL | Won Round 1 series, 2-0 vs. New England Stars Lost Semifinal game vs. Jersey Shore Wildcats | |||||||||
| North American 3 Eastern Hockey League | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–15 | 41 | 33 | 6 | 2 | - | 174 | 75 | 68 | 1st of 5, Eastern Div. 2nd of 10, NA3EHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 2-1 vs. Maine Wild Won Semifinals, 2-0 vs. Cape Cod Islanders Lost League Championship, 2-1 vs. Jersey Shore Wildcats | |||||||||
| 2015–16 | 44 | 33 | 10 | 1 | - | 194 | 67 | 67 | 2nd of 7, Eastern Div. 3rd of 13, NA3EHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 2-0 vs. New England Stars Lost Div. Finals, 0-2 vs. Cape Cod Islanders | |||||||||
| North American 3 Hockey League | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–17 | 47 | 23 | 21 | 3 | - | 163 | 184 | 49 | 5th of 7, Coastal Div. | Did not qualify | |||||||||
| 2017–18 | 47 | 32 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 177 | 46 | 191 | 2nd of 6, Coastal Div. | Won DSF 2-1 Northeast Generals Lost DF 0-2 New England Stars | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | 47 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 364 | 95 | 86 | 1st of 6, Coastal Div. | Won DSF 2-1 Long Beach Sharks Won DF 2-0 Northeast Generals Won Round Robin Pool in Quarterfinals Won semifinal 3-2 (ot) St. Louis Jr. Blues Lost Championship game 2-1 Texas Jr. Brahmas | |||||||||
| 2019-20 | 47 | 33 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 231 | 131 | 67 | 3rd of 5, Coastal | Playoffs cancelled during division semifinal round | |||||||||
United Hockey Union Nationals[]
AAU Sanctioned Junior A National Champions
In 2013 & 2014 MWJHL, NSHL, & WSHL advanced two teams each.
| Year | Round Robin | Record Ranking |
Semi Final Game | Championship Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | OTW, Bay Area Seals (WSHL) 4-3 L, Idaho Jr. Steelheads (WSHL) 0-3 L, Syracuse Stampede (NSHL) 0-4 |
1-2-0 6th of 6 |
Did not advance | |
| 2014 | OTL, Soo Firehawks (MWJHL) 5-6 W, Jersey Shore Wildcats (NSHL) 5-0 OTW, Idaho Jr. Steelheads (WSHL) 6-5 |
2-0-1 2nd of 6 |
L, Idaho Jr. Steelheads (WSHL) 1-6 | — |
References[]
- ↑ Follos, Tim. "Forum’s Simmons works to create elite hockey club", North Countryman, May 11, 2012. Retrieved on June 2, 2014.
- ↑ Tobey, Pete. "Fighting Spirit to host hockey playoffs", Glens Falls Post-Star, March 22, 2013. Retrieved on June 2, 2014.
- ↑ "Two new teams call WVR home ice", Visit Waterville Valley. Retrieved on June 2, 2014.
- ↑ Staff. "Fighting Spirit Laconia bound: Northern States Hockey League team will call Ice Arena home next winter", March 14, 2014. Retrieved on June 2, 2014.
- ↑ https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/weekly-sports-league-and-franchise-report/n-5612260
- ↑ Elite Prospects 2012–13 NSHL Standings. Elite Prospects. Retrieved on March 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Lake George Fight Hard, but can't pull past Syracuse.", WMML 1230AM, March 25, 2013. Retrieved on June 2, 2014.
External links[]
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |