LEWISTON — The buzzer sounded as kids clad in blue and red spilled out onto the ice from their respective sides. The teams, belonging to the Mite division of the Twin City Titans hockey league, were competing in day two of the five-day Lions Tournament that concludes with finals on Wednesday.

Throughout the afternoon, parents rose to their feet regardless of which team scored, rivals patted each other on the back and the penalty box remained conspicuously empty.

With more than four decades of tradition, the Lions Tournament has become a generational event for some. Many coaches and fathers at the game could remember when they played for the youth league and want their children to carry on with a love for the sport.

On the ice, Nicolas Pelletier, 7, of Wales stopped a pass from a teammate before driving past defenders and nearly landing a shot that glanced off the goal. Above, his mother, Kasey Pelletier beamed with pride, “He loves it,” she said. “He’s a hockey kid.”

Later, Caleb Albert, 8, of Auburn advanced to score on a puck after being deflected by the goalie. Many of the players, comprised of kids from local and surrounding communities, have been skating together for years.

Axel Favreau, 5, of Auburn has been playing with the program for two years. He said that some day he wants to skate for the University of Maine or Bowdoin College team.

Jeremy Harmon, 8, of Lisbon said he started playing when he was 5 years old and is now in his fourth season.

This week marks the 41st year of the Lions Tournament, with four age divisions spread between Bates College and Ingersoll Arena in Auburn.

“It’s been a little bit more challenging,” Bobbie Jo Marcoux of Lewiston said while manning the raffle table. Marcoux said splitting the venues this year belied the unity of the program.

Mike Mathieu, director of the Mites division, which is for kids under 8, said this is the first year for the Twin City Titans playing a split venue. Mathieu is already looking forward to next year with the construction of two new ice arenas in Auburn.

According to Mathieu, the stands were full for the opening ceremonies on Saturday, only slightly more than were present to see the Mites play on Sunday. “Just to see the kids and their eyes,” Mathieu said, “it’s phenomenal.”

Mathieu attributes some of the program’s success to the sacrifices the coaches make for the love of the game. He said he has 22 coaches for six teams, allowing them to spend more time with their players and develop more meaningful practices.

The coaches, Mathieu explained, also have to pay for and attend clinics and trainings on top of the time they spend coaching and traveling.

Coaching Director Mike Hefty of Auburn said the program strives to build teams of mixed abilities, saying, “It’s good for the kids to develop together.”

Hefty said that, on average, kids spend three to four hours a week on the ice between practices and games. This tournament will see a combined total of 65 hours of ice time with local teams as well as clubs from Brunswick, Portland and Gorham. A Canadian team from Lake Megantic was slated to compete as well, but had to cancel.

Lisa Anctil, a parent and supporter of the Twin City Titans from Lewiston, said she is always impressed with the sportsmanship and amount of fun atheletes and coaches have.

By the final buzzer, everyone in the stands cheered and rang cow bells, atheletes from both sides congratulated each other and, although the Red team pulled out a 5-3 win, nobody seemed to notice.

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