Lisbon/Monmouth hockey players, fans and supporters will look back on 2004 with mixed emotions.

On one hand, this year marked the first time in team history (both with the co-op and with Lisbon alone) that the team received full funding from the Lisbon School Board. That alone would be cause for a celebration.

But last week the program suffered a severe setback: Due to a lack of players, the team had to disband.

“We only had 12 players to start the season with,” said co-coach Craig Bouchard. “We lost too many with ineligibility and a suspension that it wouldn’t have been safe to keep playing.”

According to Bouchard and to Lisbon athletic director Jeff Ramich, Monmouth’s one student-athlete was ruled academically ineligible at progress cards, as were three Lisbon athletes. Also, one Lisbon player was suspended from school for three days and would have missed a game.

“That left us with five skaters and two goalies,” said Ramich. “As much as I feel bad for the kids that were still there, it was in their best interest, the interest of safety, that we had to stop playing. You just can’t play a game with just five kids.”

Under Maine Principal’s Association rules, once a team forfeits a game, it in turn forfeits the season.

“The games that they had played (against Maranacook and against York) will count,” said MPA Assistant Executive Director Larry LaBrie. “The remaining games will be removed from the other teams’ schedules.”

Some teams, such as Winthrop-Hall Dale and Leavitt, would have played Lisbon twice during the year. Teams will not be allowed to add new teams to their schedules. That would give an unfair advantage to clubs that would be able to scout prospective teams prior to deciding whether or not to schedule them.

“Most hockey schedules have more than enough teams on them that no new games will have to be added,” said LaBrie. “It’s not Class D basketball, for instance, where teams are barely playing the minimum as it is.”

For some Lisbon players, the loss of this season and the next will mean forfeiting the rest of their careers as a varsity hockey player. Justin Blouin, this year’s starting goaltender, faced 162 shots in two games and had given up just 12 goals in the two losses.

“You feel bad for a kid like that,” said Ramich. “He was an All-State goalie last year and was having a solid start this year.”

All is not lost for Lisbon. In two years, the team can re-apply for varsity status, and there are currently eight or nine prospects for a varsity team playing as eighth-graders in a local middle school program.

“This may be a blessing in disguise,” said Ramich. “Now, we have two years to build these kids up to the right level. We can play a junior varsity schedule and get them into some competition closer to their level. Then, in two years, we can see what happens.”

According to LaBrie and to hockey committee chairman Mike Haley of Leavitt Area High School, the next season during which Lisbon could play varsity hockey would “probably” be 2006-07.