It’s a cold day in Lewiston.

The snow, still lingering in the streets and partially-cleared sidewalks of this forlorn former mill town, whips in and out of the glare of the street lamps in the city’s downtown, driven so by a bone-chilling breeze brought on by an immovable cold front that has taken up residence in this small corner of the world.

And in the small corner of the hearts of its hockey fans.

It’s 3 a.m.

I can’t sleep, so I go for a drive.

The Civic Center – nay, the Colisee … the Androscoggin Bank Colisee – is dark. The parking lot is dark, and no lights are on inside.

It’s cold in there, too.

Very cold.

*****

In 2003, the Sherbrooke Castors warmed this frigid town. Late in January, rumors surfaced in Canada that the Castors, a junior hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, were looking for a new home.

The league had its eye on a market in the United States. Principal owner Mark Just and then-VP and governor Matt McKnight had their eyes on Lewiston.

Roger Theriault, the proprietor of the Central Maine Civic Center had a vision, too.

They met, discussed, met some more, and in early February, 2003, Just and McKnight announced the team’s decision.

They hit the ground running.

“Whenever you go into a new market, the knowledge level is not so great,” McKnight told the Sun Journal on Feb. 4, 2003. “We want to deliver high competitiveness and high entertainment. It is going to be marketed very well, a lot of promotions, a lot going on in the stands.”

After the league’s board of governors meeting later that month, the move was finalized. Just even took a parting shot at Sherbrooke.

“There is a general apathy towards hockey in Sherbrooke,” Just said at a news conference Feb. 14. “We have some die-hard fans, and they’re dying right now because of this. But overall, there wasn’t the support we need.”

Cold words, indeed.

But Lewiston isn’t Sherbrooke.

*****

The clock ticks toward 4 a.m. Newspaper delivery cars make tracks, treading patterns in the snow-dusted roads.

Coffee is warm. It keeps me awake, at least for a little while.

Then, there’s an inevitable crash.

*****

Local hockey fans were curious in September, 2003. The muddy parking lot was paved.

But inside, the Lewiston Maineiacs were born. Three-thousand, four-hundred and sixty-two people packed into the arena, wondering just what all of the hoopla was about. It was warm that day.

Very warm.

The ice chopped up quickly.

Things cooled off just as swiftly. Drummondville sent the fans home wanting. The Voltigeurs doubled up the Maineiacs, 6-3.

Two nights later, Shawinigan dumped Lewiston, 3-1, in front of 1,356.

Lewiston first home win came a week later, against Baie-Comeau, in front of 1,615.

“We want to provide a team, a product for the community, that will become the envy of the region,” McKnight said that summer. “We want to provide a team you can be proud of. And we will.

“We wouldn’t sign a 10-year contract if we didn’t think there was a market here,” McKnight continued. “We investigated the market significantly and we’re convinced this is right.”

One-thousand, six-hundred and fifteen people understood at that point.

Many more would in the years to come.

*****

It’s funny how the street lamps in Lewiston rotate on and off. One minute, you’re cruising down a well-lit street, the next, you’re plunged into darkness, save for the lamps on the front of your car, and perhaps those of an odd, on-coming vehicle.

It’s slippery out there at 4:30 a.m.

Hands steady. Eyes focused. Stay in your lane. Wave to the police officer on morning shift. Stop for more coffee at Tim Horton’s. The heater in the car finally kicks into high gear. Things are warming up.

*****

A new coach, and a new attitude befell the team in its second year. Attendance rose. Team schedules and posters popped up at area businesses. The buzz was in the air.

Sweltering temperatures greeted players in August of 2006. Outdoor, off-ice drills for training camp were tempered by the heat.

The team played luke-warm hockey early, but as the pieces fell into place, and even as the rest of the league’s teams and fans chastised Lewiston for remaining a warm, loving family, the team forged ahead.

In truth, the season, and even the playoffs, were a blur. Only eight of the Maineiacs’ 17 playoff games were played at home. Financially, the team was TOO good.

By the middle of May, summer-like temps had returned to the area, a fitting bookend to the sweltering heat under which the season began.

Lewiston was the only QMJHL franchise to ever bring the coveted President’s Trophy south of the border. Even a disappointing Memorial Cup tournament couldn’t squelch that pride.

*****

The bank clock tells me it’s one degree above zero.

At 5 a.m., why am I not surprised. My heater is working, but even a second coffee isn’t doing the trick. Rolling down the window always works.

But then that cold air creeps back into the car, swirling like a Dairy Joy mix-in with the nice, warm air firing out of my vents, warmed by an aging, yet faithful, engine.

*****

Year 5 began with plenty of fanfare. A banner graced the rafters of the Colisee. The team returned four of its top scoring forwards, and one of the best defensive groups in the QMJHL.

Make that three of the top forwards. Good luck in St. Louis, David Perron.

Um, two. Have fun in Trenton and Lowell, Eric Castonguay.

Uh oh.

A hockey-wise, intelligent yet anti-social head coach tightened the reins on the players. Less play time, more hockey time. Less fun, more work. Less community time, more team time.

Through all of the team’s challenges, the Maineiacs put together 37 wins, the second-most in the team’s brief history. OK, so maybe this could work after all.

*****

Well, I’m awake. But my God it’s cold in here again. The window goes back up, but that whirring fan belt now sounds like a sick 10-year-old faking a cough so he doesn’t have to go to school.

Only my fan belt isn’t faking it.

Wonderful. I’m on the side of this fair city (and Lewiston, area-wise, isn’t small), and my nice, warm house is on the other. The cab of my car starts to chill. Quickly.

*****

One defenseman left in the summer, traded to Quebec. A great draft loaded the team for the future – absolutely loaded it. Two years from now, mark your calendars, the staff said. We’re going back to the Memorial Cup.

But too many people didn’t understand. Too many people aren’t patient. And too many people started to get turned off by an all-of-a-sudden distant front office.

The team got off to a rocky start, and the coach was on the hot seat. Ironic, then, how cold a “hot seat” can feel. He retreated. Pushed the players hard, and still, no results. By Christmas, the team had clinched the worst record in the team’s history. Three weeks later, a new coach, a new attitude.

All too late.

On Jan. 20, 2009, Just told the Sun Journal, “I’ve been putting money into this for six years, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, waiting for people to support this team. Not the 2,000 people who come to support this team every game. I’ll say it time and time again, we have 2,000 great, loyal, unbelievable fans. But 2,000 people aren’t enough.”

Cold words, indeed.

Lewiston is just like Sherbrooke.

*****

It’s cold here in Lewiston. The wind whips across the barren roads and half-plowed sidewalks, carrying loose granules of snow and ice through the air.

They’re harder to see now, with the sun beginning to send its warning rays over the front line of the horizon. It’s been a long night, steeped in cold, marked occasionally by warmth.

I crest the hill near my home. More sunlight. It’s getting late, but it’s been worth it.

Spring will inevitably follow winter. The sun will rise. And Lewiston will be warm again soon.