LEWISTON — It’s not junior hockey, but it will have to do for this winter.

The Androscoggin Bank Colisee and the Federal Hockey League dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s Tuesday on a deal that will bring four Federal Hockey League games to the Lewiston arena this winter.

“We knew with the late departure of the Lewiston Maineiacs that we couldn’t pursue a team full time for this season,” Colisee owner Jim Cain said. “We’ve always envisioned junior hockey here, and I still think it’s a better fit. At the same time, we agreed to do this for a couple of reasons. No. 1, we have the available ice time to try it out, and No. 2, we can test the marketplace and the people’s response to the brand of hockey.”

The Colisee was home to the Lewiston Maineiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for eight seasons, beginning in 2003, an arrangement that ended in June when majority owner Mark Just sold the franchise back to the QMJHL and the league dissolved the team.

The Colisee will be without a major tenant this season for the first time under Cain, and for the first time since the Maineiacs relocated to Lewiston from Sherbrooke in 2003, which spurred major renovations to the rink.

“One thing we wanted to make sure of is that we didn’t rush into anything,” Cain said. “We want to be sure that whatever we bring in to the Colisee is the best fit for the rink and for the marketplace.”

The Federal Hockey League currently lists eight teams on its rolls for the 2001-12 season, the closest to Lewiston based in Cape Cod. But one of those teams, named only the “Frenzy,” does not list a home town. The league’s schedule for the upcoming season has not yet been announced. Cain said only that the four games played in Lewiston would most likely be on Thursday nights, one each in November, December, January and February.

Ultimately, Cain said, the goal is still to bring high-level junior hockey to the Colisee.

“That’s the plan,” Cain said. “There are many levels of junior hockey to consider, and we’ll have to see what plays out in the long run. It’s pretty complex planning when you’re dealing with the USHL, NAHL or any other junior league. We’re working at all levels, trying to ascertain what’s best for Lewiston in the long run. If you ask me what’s going to be here next year, I can’t give you an answer yet.”