LEWISTON — The 2024-25 hockey season officially kicked off in the Lewiston-Auburn area Friday with the Boston Bruins Fan Fest at The Colisee.

The fan fest coincided with the start of the Maine Nordiques’ 40-man training camp.

The guest of honor was one of the best players to play hockey at the University of Maine and the current bench boss for the Bruins, Jim Montgomery.

Bruins alumni Ben Guite, Rick Middleton and Graeme Townshend also attended the first of the three-day fan fest tour that also includes a pair of Massachusetts stops — Lowell on Saturday and Plymouth on Sunday.

Montgomery said one of the reasons the Bruins organization wanted to start in Lewiston is the mass shooting Oct. 25, 2023.

“Yeah, I mean, it affected us deeply,” Montgomery said. “I think you could tell that evening, you know, the next game we had after the shootings, how the Bruins, you know, had a moment of silence before. I know postgame, a lot of players went and met with a lot of people, families, that were affected by the tragedy. We’re a family. And again, that’s why it’s great for us to kick off the Bruins Fan Fest here in Lewiston — because it matters to us.”

The Bruins also hosted the Lewiston girls hockey team and Lewiston-Auburn Youth Hockey in the weeks following the shooting.

The Boston Bruins Foundation pledged to donate $200,000 at the fan fest to the Maine Resiliency Fund and One Lewiston Resiliency Fund.

Maine Nordiques general manager and head coach Nick Skerlick said the Bruins Fan Fest is the perfect start to the season for the junior hockey club.

“Oh, it’s awesome. We were excited about this for four or five months,” Skerlick said.

He credited Nordiques director of community relations and media Nick Withee and Colisee Assistant Manager Jim Mercier for doing “a really nice job of bringing the Boston Bruins up here.”

“Obviously, they do a really nice job having this fan fest tour. I’m actually a Rangers fan, and I know all the NHL teams do their own thing,” Skerlick said. “But for them to come up to Lewiston, Maine, it’s pretty special. And to see the turnout, probably 1,500 to 2,000 people right now down there, and the traffic in here, is kind of cool. It’s a lot of fun. And I know our kids are a little confused, especially our (European players). They’re like, what’s going on here?”

LOOKING TO THE NEW SEASON

The Bruins went 47-20-15 for 109 points last season and lost in the second round to eventual Stanley Cup champion, the Florida Panthers.

Montgomery, in his third season leading the Bruins, said he’s looking for another fast start.

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, right, thanks the crowd for their support at the Boston Bruins Fan Fest in Lewiston on Friday. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

“You know, it’s to start the year off strong like we have the last two years, carry that into a good regular season, and get ready for the playoffs,” Montgomery said. “But it all starts — we can’t think about the playoffs because you’ve got to get in, you’ve got to earn your way in, and the first step is by having a good start and having a good regular season.”

The biggest question for the Bruins heading into the season is the status of goaltender Jeremy Swayman, a restricted free agent seeking a new contract.

Boston traded goalie Linus Ullmark in June to the Ottawa Senators for goalie Joonas Korpisalo, defenseman Mark Kastelic and a first-round pick in 2024, which the Bruins used to select forward Dean Letourneau.

Montgomery spoke to Swayman, a former University of Maine goalie, at a golf tournament hosted by former Bruins great Ray Bourque at the Golf Club of New England in Stratham, New Hampshire, on Thursday.

“Him and I had a great conversation about … leading, becoming a leader as part of the Bruins,” Montgomery said. “I don’t have anything to do with the contract situation. That’s not part of my job detail. My job is my connection with the players and how we’re going to be good this year. And I have no doubt Jeremy Swayman will be a Bruin to start a camp, and we’ll be ready to go.”

Bruins training camp begins Sept. 18.

MAINE MEMORIES

Montgomery played with the Black Bears from 1989-93 and was a part of the 1992-93 national championship team that went 42-1-2.

He said the championship team is what he recalls most when he visits Maine, particularly his head coach, the late Shawn Walsh, and teammate Paul Kariya.

“It was magical,” Montgomery said. “You know, we had one of the greatest coaches, if not the greatest coach ever in college hockey. We had the greatest player, in my mind, that ever played a single season. And I think we had the greatest team that ever played together. And how we dominated college hockey that year, and being able to cap it off as the No. 1 team and run through the tournament the way we did was special.”

Friday wasn’t the first time Montgomery visited The Colisee. He played two games int the building during his junior season at UMaine. The first was Oct. 19, 1991, when the Black Bears lost 7-1 to the Canadian National Team, which featured future NHL players Joe Juneau who had a stint with Bruins, goalie Sean Burke, and Ray Whitney.

The second was a 4-2 win over Kent State on Nov. 1, 1991. Montgomery said he remembers that game well.

“I know Walshie was great that game, I know I had three assists,” Montgomery said. “Memory’s good.”

NORDS BACK AT IT

After the Nordiques players interacted with fans at some of the exhibits, they took a short drive across the Androscoggin River for a scrimmage at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn.

The Nordiques have a small but strong group of returning players from last year’s squad that fell to the Maryland Black Bears in the East Division final.

“I would say that we were looking pretty slim after we lost Game 5,” Skerlick said. “You only have seven or eight returners, and all of them decided to come back this year, which is unbelievable. They all want to come back. They all want to be here. …We picked up three or four players in trades, and we’ve had two ID skates, one main camp and one tournament.”

The Nordiques’ training camp runs through Sept. 6. They will play three home exhibition games at The Colisee, two against the Hawkesbury Hawks of the Central Canadian Hockey League on Sept. 2-3 at 7:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, and one against East Division rival the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

“We saw at the main camp and the tournament, we’re going to have a really, really competitive 40-man camp,” Skerlick said. “I do think there (are) 20 guys that we kind of have picked out already, but kids are here to steal jobs.”