LEWISTON — As tough as it was for C.J. Maksut to score or assist on 154 goals in four years, he was faced with what might have been his most difficult high school hockey challenge to date: public speaking.

“I came in, I’m pretty nervous about public speaking,” Maksut said. “I was nervous the whole time.”

The Thornton Academy senior known for delivering points and leadership on the ice delivered once again in a room full of his peers, their parents and coaches, and members of the media on Sunday, earning top praise for his play on the ice and for his academics and citizenship off of it.

Maksut is the 2012 Travis Roy Award winner as the top senior ice hockey player in Maine.

“It’s really more out of his element here, among all his peers, which I would imagine is more nerve-wracking than going out and doing what you do every day,” Gagnon said. “I would guess he was a lot more nervous today than last Saturday.”

In his final game for the Trojans on Saturday, March 10, Maksut completed a hat trick in the Class A state final to help lift his team to a second consecutive title.

“It means a lot,” Maksut said. “From a personal standpoint, it’s one of the goals I set out to put myself in. With the team, I think it’s more important that we won the state championship, but with this, this is just awesome.”

Maksut was torn last summer whether to return to high school hockey or bolt for a junior hockey program in hopes of attracting more attention to himself for college and potential professional scouts.

“In the offseason, I was debating playing junior hockey, and I want to play at the next level,” Maksut said. “I came back for the team and the guys.”

Sunday’s keynote speaker at the annual Class A Hockey Coaches’ Association banquet was faced with the same decision prior to his own senior season at Messalonskee. Ted Fabian opted to finish his senior season with the Eagles, and he, too, won the Travis Roy Award as the Class A’s top senior player.

“It was really fitting; he obviously set that example,” Maksut said. “He stayed (at Messalonskee) and won the Travis Roy Award himself.”

Fabian, who went on to play Division III college ice hockey, alluded to that decision in his address.

“There’s something to be said for those who finish what they’ve started,” Fabian said. “I see more and more players leaving high school early to go the junior route. It concerns me. There’s no rush to play juniors. Enjoy what you have. The friends you grew up with, your hometown teammate; you’re not only playing for yourself, but your school, your fans and your community.

“I have a lot of friends who went the junior route early, and we all ended up in the same place, playing college hockey.”

Maksut was one of four finalists for this year’s honor, named after the former North Yarmouth Academy player who went on to play Division I college hockey at Boston University. He was injured 11 seconds into his first shift for the Terriers and has been wheelchair-bound since.

Joining Maksut on stage and also delivering speeches were Biddeford’s Taylor Reuillard, Bangor’s Chris Howat and Lewiston’s Brandon Tiner.

Ultimately, Gagnon said, Maksut’s all-around game and commitment to sportsmanship separated him from the field.

“This year, he was as much a goal-scorer for us as he was a puck distributor,” Gagnon said. “He was a huge player for us, and I can probably count on one hand how many penalties he took. He stayed out of the box; we really needed him in all situations.”

Now that his senior season of high school hockey is complete, Maksut is again faced with a similar decision to last year’s, though this time, it’s not about whether he’ll play junior hockey, but where.

“For a little while, I’m going to try and lay low for a week or so, take a little break,” Maksut said. “After that, I’m really going to focus on really hitting the gym and trying to gain some weight so I can play junior hockey next year.”

Also announced Sunday were the Class A Coaches’ Association all-star teams. Area players on the Class A East first team included defensemen Tiner, Will Desmarais of St. Dom’s, Travis Landry of Edward Little and Cam Hainey of St. Dom’s. Area forwards on the first team were Kyle Lemelin and Desmond Gagne of Lewiston, Jared Pelletier and Drew Lupardo of Edward Little, Spencer Martin and Cody Rodrigue of St. Dom’s and Dan Condon of Maranacook/Hall-Dale/Winthrop.

Second-teamers included goalies Austin Christopher and Grant Carrier of St. Dom’s, Patrick DeBlois and Devon Beland of Lewiston, Evan Baggs and Adam Healy of Poland/Gray-NG, Jason Laporte and Matt Plourde of MHW and Danny Nadeau of St. Dom’s.

Edward Little’s Dan Poisson, Poland/Gray-NG’s Ryan Davala, Lewiston’s Matt Therrien, MHW’s Ian Palmer and St. Dom’s Brad Berube received honorable mention honors.