Maine Wild Sets Schedule for Inaugural Season

Maine Wild junior hockey may be a brand new franchise in Biddeford, Maine – but the team is looking to win big battles on the ice against Northern States Junior Hockey League‘s top teams starting in September.

The Wild’s season will kick off Sept. 14 with three road games before hosting their first home game on Sept. 28 against the Waterville Valley Fighting Spirit at Biddeford Ice Arena.

For those fans who don’t want to miss a game, limited edition Maine Wild t-shirts will be available for purchase at every home game. Fans wearing their t-shirts to the Maine Wild home game will receive free admission.

“Even though we don’t have a home game until Sept. 28, I am looking forward to Sept. 14. We open the season against the Maine Moose, who should be a natural rival. They’re less than an hour away and it’s going to be a battle for who is the better team, and we want to be the better team and kick off that rivalry,” said Head Coach Mike Tenney.

Tenney is also excited to play the Fighting Spirit – the defending league champions – on opening night.

“The whole month of September will be exciting and a great way to kick off the season,” he said.

The Wild will invite Biddeford Youth Hockey families to their game on Nov. 16, as the team takes on the Wilkes-Barre Miners of Wilkes-Barre, Penn.

On Dec. 14, the Wild will host a Teddy Bear Toss in which all fans are invited to bring new or gently used teddy bears to toss onto the ice. The toss will take place after the Wild nets its first goal of the game. All teddy bears will be collected and donated to the Salvation Army as part of their annual holiday drive.

The Wild will host Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southern Maine during their Feb. 1, 2014 contest against the Maine Moose. The Maine teams will face off after the Moose was dormant in Northern States Junior Hockey League last year.

“The fun thing is all of our event nights are about kids and families, and that’s how you start out as a kid, just loving hockey. It’s a family atmosphere and that’s what I want our organization to be,” said Tenney. “I want it to feel like we’re a family. Having the special nights is great, we want to pull families into the rink.”

The Feb. 1 weekend series against the Moose is the Wild’s first of three weekends in which they host out of town teams: the Junior Mariners and the New England Stars.

“My other favorite part of the schedule is February because 7 out of 8 games will be at home, and to have the home games back-ended, that’s always favorable to make the playoff push. It’s easier to pick up points at home rather than to go into someone else’s barn and win there,”  Tenney said.

Finally, the Wild will travel to Wilkes-Barre on March 1 and 2 of next year for a final series with the Miners before league playoffs begin.

Take a look at Maine Wild’s entire schedule here.