USA Hockey Adult Hockey

Way up north in the state of Maine sits the town of Presque Isle. With a population of less than 10,000 people and the Canadian border just 12 miles away, the town’s crown jewel, Presque Isle Forum, earns the title of northernmost ice arena in the continental United States. It seats 2,300 spectators and is home to a rather unique adult hockey league that attracts players from both sides of the border.

It’s called the Presque Isle Gentleman's Hockey League (PIGHL), and Ron Levasseur has been a manager of the league of approximately 100 players for more than six years. Levasseur dug deep into the history and culture of the PIGHL with USA Hockey.

USA Hockey: What makes this place so special?

Ron Levasseur: We border Canada and draw players from both sides of the border. Aroostook County has a strong farming community; we are well known for our potatoes but also provide broccoli, barley, canola and a host of other crops. If you happen to time a trip here at the peak of growing season, the potato and canola blossoms are beautiful. We also have a strong logging industry in the northern Maine woods as well as several processing mills.

USA Hockey: How long has the PIGHL been active?

Levasseur: We have been active since the 1982-83 season. The original league had a couple of local teams and a team from the Loring Air Force Base. I’m told that, in those days, it was old-time hockey – real gritty, high-spirited games.

USA Hockey: How long have you been the manager of this league?

Levasseur: Jim Quinn, Carl Morneau and I have run the league since 2009. Carl has been involved since 2003. Anyone who runs a league knows the time commitment it takes and I couldn’t ask for a better team to work with. Jim and Carl have also taken on the additional challenge of recruiting a team of referees to support our league. A couple years ago we only had a couple guys certified and now “Team Zebra” has 10 USA Hockey-certified referees.

USA Hockey: How many teams are there? Do a lot of teams remain together or are there more “new” teams every season?

Levasseur: We currently have eight teams in the league, four in each division.

The original league (Dunc Beaton) has included UMPI (University of Maine at Presque Isle), the Presque Islanders and the Swamp Donkeys for the past 15 years. The Islanders and Swamp Donkeys have had different names in the past, but still have a core group of guys that have been the nucleus each season.

Our Bob Davis Division originally started out as a draft league, where we chose captains and did a schoolyard pick for players in the first season. It has developed into two teams sponsored by our local hospitals, TAMC and PINES, along with a team from Northern Maine Community College and the Ragin’ Cajuns from Fort Kent, they travel about 50 miles to get to our rink.

USA Hockey: The Dunc Beaton and Bob Davis Division. Can you tell us more about those?

Levasseur: The Dunc Beaton Division is the original league and is our competitive division. It consists of a team from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Presque Islanders, Swamp Donkeys and Potato Puckers, and they play a high-energy, fast-paced game.

Dunc was instrumental in developing our league. In the early days of Presque Isle Gentleman’s Hockey League, Dunc did everything from recruitment to paying the bills. He did it all. He was town manager for several towns over the years. He was heavily involved in local politics and hockey was his release. I’m not sure when he started this practice, but Dunc would change his jersey number each season to reflect his age. He prided himself on not using the door to shift off the ice; he would go over the boards and he played in our league into his 70s. Unfortunately, Dunc passed away last year and as a show of respect we gave the “Beaton Cup” to his family. It showed 20-plus years of PIGHL history that he helped shape.

The Davis Division is more of a recreational league, although these guys are still ultra-competitive. We created this division to invite players back that didn’t want to play against the college kids.

Bob Davis has given countless hours to our youth and gentleman’s hockey leagues. He has been a coach, mentor, player and advocate for hockey in Aroostook County. Coach Bob’s efforts to help grow the game have paid great dividends to our youth. Bob has taken charge of our IP (initiation) program and makes sure these kids have good hockey fundamentals.  He often reminds us that we are using hockey to help shape kids into productive young men and women, not make the next NHL star. If you ever meet coach Bob, it won’t take you long to call him a friend.

USA Hockey: With approximately 100 registered players, how do you think your numbers are doing?

Levasseur: Our registration is up dramatically. A couple seasons ago we had hard decisions to make. Our league membership was down to three teams and about 30 players registered. It looked like we would need to dissolve the league. One of our members suggested we reach out to players from the past, and that is where the Bob Davis Division was created. We invited players back into a league that would fit their current skill set. Bob Davis has been working with the Forum, sharing the ice with evening stick-and-puck sessions. He’s promoting growing the game to help find new players that could play at a low-pressure level and gain the skills to move up to the next division.

USA Hockey: Most memorable moment?

Levasseur: Probably the most memorable moment was having Dunc Beaton drop the puck in 2009 at our championship game. Dunc was 77 that season.

Dunc was a tough guy and never wore a shield. There was one season that he got a tooth knocked out. He skated up to the player, asked if he had homeowners insurance and continued to play in the game.