The Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques were a Tier III Junior "A"

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team from

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

. The team was a member of the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Junior ice hockey#Tier III, Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, M ...

(NA3HL) since 2016 and played home games at the

Androscoggin Bank Colisée The Colisée (formerly Androscoggin Bank Colisée, Central Maine Youth Center, Central Maine Civic Center and Lewiston Colisee) is a 4,000 capacity (3,677 seated) multi-purpose arena, in Lewiston, Maine, that opened in 1958. The Colisée was built ...

since 2015. The franchise relocated several times under the operation of the Fighting Spirit organization before it was sold to the Colisée owner, Jim Cain, in 2017.

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 Northern States Hockey League (NSHL) as one of the seven inaugural teams. 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 The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU)

United Hockey Union The United Hockey Union (UHU), founded in 2012, is a group of ice hockey leagues in North America. The UHU is overseen and insured by the Amateur Athletic Union. Neither body is recognized by USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, or the International Ice Hoc ...

tournament in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. The tournament included the top teams from the three AAU-sanctioned leagues: the NSHL,

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 199 ...

, and the

Midwest Junior Hockey League The Midwest Junior Hockey League (MWJHL) was an American junior ice hockey league. The MWJHL were members of the United Hockey Union and sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). On March 10, 2015, the league announced it would be joining ...

. Prior to the 2013–14 season, the team moved to

Waterville Valley, New Hampshire Waterville Valley is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 508 at the 2020 census, up from 247 at the 2010 census. Waterville Valley attracts many visitors in the winter months with alpine skiing at Watervill ...

, and were known as the AHI Fighting Spirit to reflect a partnership with the American Hockey Institute. 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 Laconia is a city in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 15,951 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Belknap County. La ...

, and would change their name to the New Hampshire Fighting Spirit for the 2014–15 season. During the 2014–15 season, the NSHL changed its name to the

North American 3 Eastern Hockey League North American 3 Eastern Hockey League (NA3EHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Junior ice hockey#United States, Tier III junior ice hockey league. The league had teams in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. In 2016, the le ...

(NA3EHL) when operations were taken over by the Tier II

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

. During this time, the organization left the AAU and petitioned for approval into

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

sanctioning, which was given prior to the 2015–16 season. Prior to the 2015–16 season, the Fighting Spirit relocated again to

, and was called the L/A Fighting Spirit (with the L/A standing for Lewiston/Auburn) and began playing home games at

. Prior to the 2016–17 season, the Fighting Spirit became part of the

(NA3HL) when it absorbed the NA3EHL. In March 2017, it was announced that Fighting Spirit owner and head coach Rod Simmons had sold the team to the owner of the Androscoggin Bank Colisée, Jim Cain. Cain announced that beginning with the 2017–18 season, the team would rebrand as the Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques after the former professional team, the

Maine Nordiques The Maine Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team that operated within the North American Hockey League from 1973 to 1977. They were based at the Central Maine Youth Center in Lewiston, Maine. The Nordiques served as a farm club for the Q ...

. With Simmons also stepping down from his coaching position, assistant coach Cam Robichaud was retained and promoted to head coach. In 2019, a Tier II

(NAHL) added an expansion team called the

under separate ownership. Head coach Robichaud then became an assistant for the NAHL team and the NA3HL Nordiques named Chris Pomerleau as head coach. In March 2020, Maine Nordiques' owner Darryl Antonacci agreed to purchase the Colisée and the Tier III Nordiques from Jim Cain. As part of the turnover, Antonacci folded the Tier III junior team and replaced it with Tier 1 youth teams. Simultaneously, the NA3HL cancelled their 2020 playoffs due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the L/A Nordiques ceased operations.

Statistics

Season records

United Hockey Union Nationals

In 2013 and 2014, the AAU held its own Junior A National Championship tournaments with the

(MWJHL),

Northern States Junior Hockey League North American 3 Eastern Hockey League (NA3EHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey league. The league had teams in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. In 2016, the league merged with the North Amer ...

(NSHL), and

(WSHL) advanced two teams each.

References

External links

Team website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewiston Auburn Nordiques Ice hockey teams in Maine Ice hockey clubs established in 2017 2017 establishments in Maine Sports in Lewiston, Maine