There will be a St. Dominic Academy reunion this weekend in Des Moines, Iowa. Derek Damon and Greg Moore, two-thirds of one of Maine high school hockey’s most dominant lines in the 1990s, will be behind the bench when their junior teams faceoff in a pair of United States Hockey League games.

“I’ve known (Greg) since he was 14 years old, so it’s going to be a cool moment this Friday and Saturday, for sure,” Damon said.

Damon, of Bangor, is in his first season as head coach and president of hockey operations of the Des Moines Buccaneers. He previously spent three seasons in minor league hockey as head coach of the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL.

Moore, of Lisbon, is in his third season as a head coach in the United States’ National Team Development Program. He previously coached the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League for three and a half seasons. Before his time as the Marlies’ head coach, Moore was the head coach of the Chicago Steel of the USHL in 2018-19.

“It’s awesome for the state of Maine that, first of all, Greg is coaching at the U.S. national program,” Damon said. “Greg’s an outstanding coach. He has such detail for the game and his teams; his hockey acumen is second to none.”

The National Team Development Program, based in Plymouth, Michigan, features many of the United States’ top 16- and 17-year-old players. Moore is one of four Mainers to come through the program. The others are John LaLiberty, Oliver Wahlstrom and Carter Amico.  

Moore coaches the Under-17 team, which plays a USHL schedule, participates in exhibition games against North American Hockey League teams, and plays in international tournaments. The program also fields an Under-18 team, which plays USHL games, exhibition games against college teams and international tournaments.

Moore and Damon, who were also teammates at the University of Maine, talk occasionally. In fact, in June, Damon hired Tommy Cogan as an assistant coach based on Moore’s recommendation. Cogan coached with the NTDP before joining Des Moines.

The Buccaneers and Moore’s NTDP team have a combined 27 players committed to NCAA Division I college hockey.

Quick turnaround in Presque Isle

Junior hockey in Aroostook County got off to a rocky start when the expansion Presque Isle Frontiers struggled to field a full roster in September at the Hitmen Classic in Wayne, New Jersey.

The USPHL National Collegiate Development Conference revoked the franchise from Chris and Rhea Reaves after just four games and reached out to Brandon Johnson about running a new franchise in the county.

Johnson has experience in junior hockey as president of the Connecticut Chiefs. He has also taken over another NCDC franchise, the Eastern Charlotte (New Brunswick) Kingfishers. That team was rebranded as the Connecticut Chiefs North and moved to Biddeford Ice Arena in August.

Johnson’s new team, the Northern Maine Pioneers, was announced on Sept. 25.

Johnson had less than 10 days to assemble a team for an Oct. 3 home game. He and general manager Greg Heffernan started acquiring and signing players, and brought in Jack Lowry as head coach. Johnson said Tyler Brown, the team’s director of operations, played the biggest role in getting the new franchise running.

“In terms of developing a fan base and getting people in the building, because we drew 1,500 people the first night, Tyler Brown was instrumental in helping us have that community focus,” Johnson said. “He was instrumental in putting together the infrastructure.”

Brown is one of the holdovers from the short-lived Frontiers franchise.

Johnson, who lives in Newington, Connecticut, made trips to Presque Isle to assure city and community leaders of his ownership group’s commitment to make junior hockey work in the city.

While the Pioneers are a brand-new franchise, they inherited the 1-3 record held by the Frontiers. Since Oct. 3, Northern Maine is 3-1.

Johnson said Lowry, who coached Cheverus High to back-to-back Class A state championships in 2005 and 2006, has helped the players to become a cohesive unit in a short amount of time.

“Jack’s great, he’s a player’s coach, the kids love him,” Johnson said. “He’s a calming, steady influence; he knows his hockey.”

Former Kings off to strong starts in juniors

Connor Boulay and Brody Emond, formerly of the Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester Kings, are finding the back of the net for their respective junior hockey teams.

Boulay, a member of the Kings from 2022-24, plays for the Biddeford-based Connecticut Chiefs North and has four goals and four assists in 13 games.

Emond finished his high school career last season and now plays for the Maine Nordiques’ Tier III NA3HL franchise. He was named East Division Player of the Week on Monday after recording four goals and four assists in four games. He has 10 goals and 12 assists in 14 games this season.