Tyler O'Connor of Bowdoinham packs his bag at his home at 3:36 a.m. as he gets ready for hockey practice. Mt. Ararat begins practice at 4:55 a.m. at Watson Arena in Brunswick, which means O'Connor needs to leave his house by 3:50 a.m. Mt. Ararat is one of many teams in Southern Maine that must practice at odd hours because of a shortage of hockey rinks.
O'Connor of Bowdoinham climbs into his Subaru and cranks the ignition at 3:39 a.m. to drive from his house in Bowdoinham to Watson Arena on the Bowdoin College campus.
O'Connor of Bowdoinham arrives at Watson Arena at 4:12 a.m. for his team's practice.
Dressed in hoodies and pajama pants, Bradley Boulet, a sophomore at Mt. Ararat High School, Owen Kelly, a freshman, and Austin Fournier, a junior, all of Lisbon, rest inside lockers at Watson Arena in Brunswick before their hockey practice began at 4:55 a.m.
Ryley Austin of Lisbon, a sophomore at Mt. Ararat High School, rests on a trainer's table in the locker room at Watson Arena at 4:23 a.m.
Members of the Mt. Ararat boys' hockey team hit the ice at Watson Arena in Brunswick for a 4:55 a.m. practice session.
Mt. Ararat head coach Mike Bishop gives his team directions for a drill shortly after 5 a.m. at Watson Arena.
O'Connor looks a little bleary-eyed as he listens to instructions for a drill during practice just after 5 a.m.
While the Mt. Ararat boys' hockey team skates and practices on the ice at Watson Arena, the girls' team arrives around 5:30 a.m. and begins jogging the steps around the rink so when their practice begins at 5:55 - an hour after the boys practice starts - they can immediately hop on the ice and begin drills.
Ben Bishop of Bowdoin, a senior at Mt. Ararat High School, works on his homework a little before 7 a.m. while having breakfast with his hockey teammates after practice. Mt. Ararat begins practice at 4:55 a.m. at Watson Arena in Brunswick, which means Bishop and others need to rise sometimes before 4 a.m. to arrive at the rink with enough time to change. Many of the players have Mountain Dew or another soda with their breakfast to help give them energy to make it through the school day.
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