PORTLAND —The Portland Pirates will honor Cindy Schlaepfer, Frank O’Connell, and Don Boucher as Local Hockey Heroes, which is a part of USA Hockey’s Hockey Weekend Across America during Sunday’s game against the St. John’s IceCaps at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston.

Cindy Schlaepfer was an outstanding athlete who played women’s hockey at Cornell University. She took over the Western Maine Youth Hockey girls’ hockey team and developed it into a strong, well-coached team that went from never winning a game to an impressive 10-10-1 season last year. She has been involved with every level with Western Maine Youth Hockey from Learn to Play all the way up to becoming a board member and eventual vice president of Western Maine Youth Hockey.

Frank O’Connell has been a hockey fan in Lewiston for 67 years, sitting in Section 5, Row C, Seat 3 at the Colisée for the past 40 years. Frank attends all hockey games held  in Lewiston. He wouldn’t miss a Lewiston vs. St. Dom’s showdown, the Lewiston Maineiacs or the Portland Pirates. He has supported his family in hockey and watched his sons, grandsons, and great grandsons grow up enjoying the sport.

Don Boucher was the head coach of the St. Dom’s girls’ team. He passed away last year from cancer. Boucher was an outstanding coach who was revered by his players. He coached the St. Dom’s girls team to the 2011 Girls’ Ice Hockey Championship. He played hockey all through high school in Lewiston and coached for many years at Rousseau clinics and at various levels of youth hockey in the Lewiston area. Boucher has been a posititve influence on his  hockey players, including his own children. His daughter Kasey is currently a defenseman at Boston University.

On Sunday, the Portland Pirates will play their final regular-season game at the Colisée when they take on division rival St. John’s for the fourth time this year. The puck will drop at 4 p.m. for the first Sunday matinee of the season. Fans are encouraged to arrive at the Colisée early to tailgate. During the game, the Pirates will honor the local hockey heroes. Following the game, fans will have the opportunity to skate with the team for 45 minutes. Skate rentals are available at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée for $3.

The Pirates will also be sponsoring a Hockey Weekend Across America drawing contest for children who can submit a drawing of their favorite Pirates player in action and be entered to win great prizes. All drawings should be submitted with the child’s name, address, age, phone number, and favorite Pirates player, and can either be mailed to the Pirates office (Attn: Spencer Montgomery, 94 Free Street, Portland, Maine 04101) or emailed to [email protected] [email protected] . All submissions are due by Feb. 22nd, 2013.

Tickets are still available for all Pirates regular season games at the Cumberland County Civic Center by calling 207-828-4665, ext. 350 or online at ticketmaster.com.