Black Tigers head coach Bill Boardman talks to players during their first practice of the season in Nov ebb er 2022 at the Ice Vault in Hallowell. Boardman is slated to be the lead coach for Thomas College’s new women’s club team, set to play at the rebranded Thomas College Ice Vault. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

HALLOWELL — It’s distance from campus notwithstanding, the Ice Vault here has become a hospitable home to Thomas College club hockey.

The Terriers were looking for a new arena in 2016 following the closure of their former home, Winslow’s Sukee Arena. Since then, the Terriers have played their games at the Ice Vault, 20 minutes south of their Waterville campus.

That relationship is now set to continue for another decade with the arena’s renaming as Thomas College Ice Vault, effective Monday. It’s a sign of the school’s vested interest in the sport and ambitions to continue its growth at the school with women’s club hockey — and maybe more? — also on the horizon.

“It’s a very exciting time,” said Thomas College men’s head coach Joey Waraskevich. “It’s great to see the amount of support we’re getting from the school and to just be able to experience the growth of the program that we’re going through. Being a part of that is a lot of fun.”

In addition to the 10-year naming-rights agreement with the Ice Vault, Thomas College will also have its name and Terrier paw logo displayed on the outside of the arena. That signage, which went up at the Ice Vault on Tuesday, has replaced that of the facility’s previous sponsor, Camden National Bank.

Thomas College’s name and likeness will also be featured on the inside of the arena, including throughout the rink and bleacher areas and in the locker rooms. Ice Vault General Manager Bill Boardman expects those graphics and renovations to be in place by Sept. 1.

Waraskevich, who has been with the Thomas men’s team for 12 years save for one at Colby, said the Ice Vault has been an ideal home for the Terriers in his decade-plus with the team. The concerns of moving to a farther-away arena after Sukee’s closure, he said, have been all but assuaged.

“One of our concerns when we moved down there was that we get a really good student-body support — we get about 100 students at home games — and we were worried that wouldn’t happen in Augusta,” Waraskevich said. “Well, we haven’t skipped a beat. The stands are packed, and our home games are a lot of fun.”

Early afternoon public skating in January 2022 at the Ice Vault in Hallowell. Effective Tuesday, the arena will be known as the Thomas College Ice Vault. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file

Thomas’ partnership with the Ice Vault is the second major hockey development involving the school this summer. In June, the school announced that it would be forming a women’s club team to begin play in the 2025-26 season. That team also willplay the Ice Vault.

Coaching that team will be Boardman, who already has some connections in the area as head coach of the Black Tigers high school co-op. That central Maine-based team consists of players from Winslow, Erskine Academy, Gardiner, Lawrence, Maranacook, Messalonskee, Mt. Blue and Waterville.

“It’s a great opportunity for me, and it’s a great opportunity for student-athletes who are looking to extend their hockey career,” Boardman said. “There’s a lot of girls out there who want to keep playing hockey, and it’s exciting to be part of a great thing for them and a great thing for Thomas College.”

Boardman, who has coached the Black Tigers since the co-op was first branded as such in 2021-22, said he will continue to coach the team in 2024-25 while recruiting for Thomas. He will then relinquish that post following the season to take on full duties for the Terriers.

The proximity in timing of the arena and women’s program announcements is no coincidence. In an email to the Morning Sentinel, Thomas College Associate Athletic Director Deb Biche-Labbe said an investment in hockey has been a priority for the school’s athletic department.

“When you look at the tradition of ice hockey in central Maine and beyond along with the emerging numbers in youth ice hockey, particularly for girls and the growth of the sport on the women’s side, you can see the potential,” Biche-Labbe wrote. “We wanted to be on the forefront of that growth, and the investment reflects that.”

Although the foray into women’s hockey and new naming-rights agreement represent notable ambition at Thomas, its initiative in the sport might not be stopping there. The possibility of adding the sport at the varsity level, Waraskevich said, is something that’s been considered.

“It’s been discussed,” Waraskevich said. “I don’t know at what level — they’re meetings I wouldn’t be part of — but it’s definitely something that’s been discussed. It’s something I feel would be in addition to (American Collegiate Hockey Association) hockey and not in place of it, in my opinion.”

The Thomas men’s club team joined the ACHA, the highest level of club play, in 2013 after having played unaffiliated since the 1960s. The team plays in the Colonial Conference North along with Colby College, Central Maine Community College, the University of New England and Dartmouth College.

Thomas Athletic Director Chris Parsons was not available for comment regarding the possibility of the school adding an NCAA hockey program. Biche-Labbe said club hockey at Thomas is “treated similarly to our department’s NCAA programs from a funding perspective” but did not respond to a follow-up on a possible varsity leap.

Thomas will hold a celebration commemorating the Ice Vault’s name change at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 4. The celebration will feature an official sign unveiling, a tour of the rebranded locker rooms, chances to win free gear and an open free skate to follow from 4-5:30.