Gorham, ME – After being shutout in their first two games of the Maine High School Hockey Invitational, Gorham finally broke through by doubling up South Portland by the score of 6-3 on Wednesday afternoon at USM Ice Arena in Gorham.

The game looked like any other hockey game being played around Maine and will be recorded as a win for Gorham, but just below the surface it showed everything that’s currently right with Maine High School hockey and what’s wrong with the sport.

Despite falling in early action against Kennebunk, 3-0, Gorham head coach Jon Portwine was please with his kids play.

“They played great,” he said. “I think the past few games we’ve played we haven’t put three good periods together, but today we put six together.”

“(It’s) very encouraging.”

Sophomore Chris Hardy scored a pair of goals in the game against South Portland and highlights some of the optimism by Portwine.

“We’re growing,” he said. “We’re one of the few programs that are growing. My number (of players) will be close to 30 (players) next season, and I’ve got a lot of young talent.”

Portwine pointed out that the primary reason for strong numbers in the Gorham hockey program was the construction of the USM Ice Arena, which was built in the last decade and allowed for youth programs to develop proving to be a feeder system to junior varsity and varsity level hockey.

“A lot of (our growth) is because we have a rink here,” Portwine said. “Had a rink not been built (in Gorham), we’d probably be in the same situation like South Portland (with declining numbers). Having the rink here and having the kids grow up and play here really helps our program.”

With declining numbers in several programs, it raises the question of just how healthy is high school hockey in Maine. Sanford opted to play only a JV schedule this season and Deering and Portland’s request to form a co-op were denied by the Maine Principals Association.

South Portland, who lost 5-0 to Tewksbury High School on Tuesday, is another program with low numbers and although the kids on the team play extremely hard on a game-by-game basis, the low numbers eventually catch up, putting a team at a competitive disadvantage.

“It’s tough,” said South Portland coach Joe Robinson after Tuesday’s loss. “We only have two lines and four defensemen. You run up against a team that has three full lines and five or six defensemen, maybe a fourth line, they are going to wear us down”

MHHI Tournament Chairman Gary Prolman knows all too well the issues with high school hockey across Maine and feels that the MPA carries a large part of the blame for not growing hockey in the state, but the ebb and flow of growth for the sport in currently in a lull.

“It’s cyclical,” Prolman said. “It’s got to do with the economy, families moving. It also has to do with people going a different route and play with USA Hockey versus the public high school, but again, it goes back to the MPA and the rules they have in place. Kids are not going to grow at all and not get any possibility of playing college hockey with the way the rules are set up.”

Lewiston forward Colt Steele, who scored today in Lewiston’s 6-1 win over Pilgrim High School (RI), is an example of a player who has bounced from junior hockey to high school hockey, ultimately deciding to play with his hometown team in his senior year.

Steele played earlier this season for the Portland Jr. Pirates of the MJHL before joining the Lewiston squad who are considered the favorites in some circles to win the Boys’ Class A State Title.

“He’s played a lot of junior hockey,” said Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau. “The fact that he’s played junior hockey is a luxury and an added addition to our club which we’re happy about. He’s a very good player and sees the ice well.”

“You can tell he’s been playing at the junior level and seeing a lot of things we do here and he’s seen for a few years.”

The MHHI wraps up tomorrow with games in Portland and at MHG Arena in Saco.