Ties are trendy and add a little touch of sophisticated style for the wearer. But can they also be a good-luck charm? Matt McKnight, vice president of the Lewiston Maineiacs hockey team was reluctant to believe so at first.

“I’m not usually known for wearing ties, except for at the games. So, ties really weren’t my thing,” he said.

That all changed at the beginning of October. “I had gone out and bought a new tie – something to brighten up my dull gray suits. That night, we won a game.”

Suddenly, McKnight’s new tie became the team’s good-luck charm.

But, unwilling to put that much pressure on one tie, McKnight decided that it was the fact that it was a new tie that brought the team good fortune.

“After that game, I started buying a new one each day. I’d make a run over to T.J. Maxx to pick out something new for each game,” he says with a laugh. “I’d get loud ties and character ties and holiday ties. It didn’t really matter, as long as I had a new tie for each game. We had a pretty good streak going on there for a while.”

But, as with most superstitions, the luck ran out. “Yeah, we eventually lost, so I guess it really wasn’t the ties, but it was fun for a while. Now, we just need to figure out the next good- luck charm!”

The ties may not have been the trick, but at least McKnight doesn’t have to worry anytime soon about not having a tie on hand whenever he needs one. With a dozen new ties in his collection, he’s good to go for a while.