LEWISTON — There is no better venue in Maine to watch a sporting event when it’s filled to capacity (or close to it) than the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Saturday, hockey fans filled the rink — literally sold it out — to watch the Portland Pirates’ second game of the season. It was originally supposed to be the team’s home opener, and pitted the Pirates against the Providence Bruins, the top farm team of the area’s predominant NHL club, the Boston Bruins.

That may have had something to do with the hordes of people in the building. That, and the fact that the community has traditionally supported Saturday night entertainment much better than midweek events, no matter the subject.

The fact that it was hockey at the highest level the arena will ever see again on a consistent basis was an added bonus.

The place was rocking like, well, a Pirate ship. Goals made the place explode like a cannon fire. Fights felt like an earthquake during a hurricane. And I’m pretty sure the officials were considering making offending players walk the plank to get to the penalty boxes.

OK, maybe not.

But if Saturday’s crowd is any indication of what the Pirates’ weekend crowds at the Colisee are going to be like, the Pirates’ management is going to be happy. And so will the players and coaches, but certainly not for the same reason.

Management will be happy that it will recoup some of the losses it will undoubtedly suffer in moving the team to a smaller venue away from a larger population base.

But players and coaches don’t necessarily concern themselves with the financial aspect of the team, so long as their paychecks arrive on time and they don’t bounce. Their worry is that they play well and take advantage of every opportunity afforded them.

And that includes any momentum gained from an energetic and enthusiastic crowd, off of which teams are known to feed.

From an atmospheric perspective, no other venue in Maine can replicate what the Colisee can bring.

If it’s full.

Even when the cities’ beloved Maineiacs called the Colisee home, weekend games always drew better crowds. This year, a large majority of the Pirates’ games in Lewiston fall on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, a fortuitous (and calculated) turn of events for the franchise and its players.

Given the area’s proclivity for supporting weekend events, this points to a positive.

The one thing that may derail some casual fans’ plans on a busy weekend at the Colisee? Access. As of 6:50 p.m. Saturday, 10 minutes before puck drop, a line of cars stretched from the entrance to the Colisee parking lot beyond the intersection of Bartlett and Birch Streets. It likely went further, but that wasn’t visible from the building’s front entrance.

Two suggestions for fans who may have felt the time crunch Saturday:

1) Leave home earlier. (I mean, are the final minutes of that NCIS rerun really that important?)

2) Find a back way to the rink. While the most convenient way to the Colisee involves Bartlett St. (and that is the way Google Maps and most GPS maps will take you), there are other ways to get to the facility, and may save you some headaches.

But for the love of God, don’t stop going to games because of a logistical flaw.

As all of us who were in attendance Saturday saw, the building exudes a much better atmosphere — for the fans, for management and for the players and coaches — when it’s close to capsizing due to overcrowding.

Justin Pelletier is the sports editor. He can be reached at jpelletier@sunjournal.com.

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