The Place to Be

Written by Bryce Aldrich, edited and published by Michael Keeley

 

The Portland Head Light is one one of the most iconic and frequently photographed lighthouses in the world. Photo credit: visitmaine.com

The beauty of the state of Maine and the draw of the city of Portland is no mystery to those who grew up or currently live here. It should come as no surprise that for hockey players that come from all over the map, within the United States and without, it hasn’t taken long for the Mariners have become a desirable place to play. Whether it’s history of family vacations past, hearsay from fellow players, or simply the region’s reputation itself, there is nothing but great things being said around the league about living and playing in Portland, Maine.

Mariners media assistant Bryce Aldrich caught up with Mariners players Terrence Wallin, Michael McNicholas, Alex Kile, Josh Couturier, Jonathan Racine, and Marc-Olivier Crevier-Morin about what makes playing in Portland so special.

“I had a few buddies that played for the Portland Pirates. One of my good buddies said that he really liked [the city]. He said it was a good town and there were a lot of things to do.”

-Forward Alex Kile

Alex Kile became the first ECHL Mariner when he signed as a free agent in June of 2018

This is not the first time that it has been documented that professional hockey players enjoy playing in the city. Sports Illustrated published an article in February of 1980 called “A Major Among The Minors”. It discussed the success of the original Maine Mariners and how playing minor league hockey in Portland is major, while “being anywhere else in the minors would be minor”.

ATTRACTED TO PORTLAND

Each player has a different way they ended up here. For defenseman Jonathan Racine, this is his second stint in Portland, having played for the now-defunct Portland Pirates during the 2015-16 season. He signed here during this past offseason and it was an easy decision for him to come back. The Montreal, QC native enjoys that Portland is actually much closer to home than a few of the previous places that he has played. Forward Michael McNicholas played his college hockey at the University of New Hampshire, less than 70 miles from Portland.

Jonathan Racine was already a fan favorite when he returned to the Mariners this past summer as a free agent. He played for the Portland Pirates during the 2015-16 season.

“I knew it was a great city and it was part of the reason why I came. More of the reason why I came was because of the coaching staff, as well as it being close to where I was in school. It was an easy transition.”

-Forward Michael McNicholas.

Michael McNicholas played his college hockey at the University of New Hampshire and returned to New England from Europe in November of 2018 to join the Mariners

Terrence Wallin’s family has had a home in Maine for the last six years.

“We had a condo in Wells for three years and this will be the third year with the house in Kennebunk.” Playing in Portland was something that he knew he would value. “I heard that that was going to be a team in Maine and I figured it was a match made in heaven.”

-Forward Terrence Wallin

Terrence Wallin made a lot of local headlines when the Mariners acquired him late in the offseason of 2018, thanks to his family ties to Maine

Wallin worked with (his then team), the Adirondack Thunder to trade him just 25 miles from his family’s home during August of 2018. Wallin also played with Mariners Captain, Zach Tolkinen in Rapid City and knew that he was a guy that he would enjoy reuniting with in a Mariners uniform. “[The transition] was about as easy as you could get.”

For Alex Kile it was between returning to the Cincinnati Cyclones for another season or joining the Maine Mariners. Head Coach Riley Armstrong was a huge reason in why Alex chose Maine.

“I had a few good conversations with [Riley] the summer leading up to the season. I could tell he is a good guy and he had my best intentions.”

-Forward Alex Kile

Outside of Cumberland native Ted Hart, defenseman Josh Couturier is the only New England born currently on the Mariners roster, having grown up in Newbury, Massachusetts. He was excited to join the team last season after spending the first part of the year in Wheeling, West Virginia. It meant a lot to him to be able to play just over an hour from his hometown and he had known about how beautiful the city of Portland truly is.

Defenseman Marc-Olivier Crevier-Morin played with a few players on his previous teams that made the decision to sign here as a free agent this past offseason an extremely easy choice. One of those players was goaltender Francois Brassard, who informed him of how awesome the city was and how incredible the organization treats its players. The Chateauguay, Quebec native had taken a family vacation here when he was younger, and Portland has also been a place on his mind.

Marc-Olivier Crevier-Morin played the first two years of his ECHL career for the Wichita Thunder, but in free agency was drawn to Maine

PLAYERS' HISTORY IN MAINE

Many of the players had never played in the city of Portland before playing professional hockey. Michael McNicholas was one that had.

“I played at the [Cross Insurance Arena] my sophomore year [of college at UNH when they faced off against the University of Maine]. That was my first time I believe that I’ve ever played in Maine.”

-Forward Michael McNicholas

He also played games at the University of Maine in Orono throughout his college career, as did Terrence Wallin and Josh Couturier. Wallin played four years at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and the games against UMaine in Orono were the first he had ever laced up the skates in the state. Josh Couturier played for both Boston College and then the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), but the games that his schools played in Orono were not his first in Maine. Josh Couturier played games at the now non-existent MHG Ice Arena in Saco, ME when he played against the Portland Jr. Pirates in youth hockey. Jonathan Racine played for the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes when the Lewiston MAINEiacs were still a team in that league, playing their home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.

SPENDING SPARE TIME IN MAINE

Each player enjoys their time away from the arena to the fullest. Portland is a different kind of professional hockey city. Jonathan Racine finds enjoyment in playing tennis or basketball, exploring the outlets in Freeport and hiking, whether that be hiking in Cape Elizabeth along the ocean or the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The team stays active in the outdoors and some of the team spends time exploring Peaks Island. Michael McNicholas and Terrence Wallin take advantage of the lighthouses being close by and Wallin frequently visits the nearby lakes. Chateauguay, QC native, Marc-Olivier Crevier-Morin said that the overall atmosphere of Portland reminds him of the Canadian Maritimes, especially Halifax, Nova Scotia. Josh Couturier loves the winter here. When it snows in Portland, it is one of his favorite parts of being here. Alex Kile loves the “old school” feel of the city.

Peaks Island, photo credit: visitportland.com

The players enjoy the variety of restaurant options throughout the city. After practices they often go out to grab a bite to eat together. One of the team favorites is the Empire Chinese Kitchen. McNicholas describes it as “lights out”. Terrence Wallin also mentioned a few of his favorites are the Corner Room, the Front Room, and Taco Escobarr. Wallin also mentioned that the micro-breweries are a plus. A large portion of the team love the seafood in Portland. Alex Kile and Jonathan Racine take advantage of the lobster rolls, while Josh Couturier enjoys his salmon. Racine and Couturier find Dimillo’s to be their favorite place and Crevier-Morin enjoys the fish and chips at Three Dollar Deweys.

Dimillo's On the Water, Portland's "floating restaurant." Photo credit: visitportland.com

When they are not exploring outdoors or at a restaurant in the Old Port, they spend time in South Portland at the Maine Mall. It is obvious that their competitive nature does not just stay at the arena, because they frequent at Round One Bowling and Amusement, the bowling alley and arcade connected to the Maine Mall.

THE DIFFERENCE

So what is the one thing that stands out about playing in Portland compared to anywhere else?

Marc-Olivier Crevier-Morin mentioned that the organization “really treats us like pros”. The staff makes it easy to come to work each day. He also added that “Portland is full of great people.” Between the fanbase and the organization, they make Marc-Olivier feel at home. Jonathan Racine said that people approach him in the city just because they know him from his time as a Pirate and they include that they’re happy he is back. He loves that the fans are so passionate here in Portland.

“How nice the city is, especially in our league, you just don’t see cities with downtown areas that have the restaurants or the amount of people that Portland has. It’s cool to go downtown to see a bunch of people walking around. It’s a great community and our fanbase is unreal. They get into at the games and they always show up, especially on the Friday and Saturday night games. They’ll be there.”

-Forward Michael McNicholas

“Anywhere you go, I think everyone will say the fans are great. But it’s when you come to Portland, it’s more a community and a family feel. The people around the area are so pumped up about the team and they want to win just as much as we do, but they understand what we do for a living and they’re real supportive. It’s a family feel and that makes it just that much more fun to go to the rink because you don’t only want to play for yourself, the logo on the front, and your teammates, but you want to play for the people in the community. Our fans are more than fans. They are real people and they really care about you.”

-Defenseman Josh Couturier

Josh Couturier knows New England well, having grown up and played college hockey in Massachusetts. He saw a huge jump in production when he was traded from Wheeling to Maine in February of 2019

“After playing in so many of these professional cities, these fans are really passionate and excited. You could tell that there was hockey here before just by the reactions the fans make throughout the game. When someone makes a good play, you can tell that know hockey and that they are knowledgeable of the game”

-Forward Alex Kile.

“It’s a perfect place to have an ECHL team.”

-Forward Terrence Wallin