University of Maine hockey left wing and assistant captain Ben Poisson had a decision to make last spring.
He was earning a business degree and could have left to pursue a pro career or a master’s degree somewhere else.
But after winning just three games in the COVID-abbreviated 16-game 2020-21 season, finishing last in Hockey East the next season and climbing to a sixth place showing last season, Poisson decided to return for a fifth year.
“We didn’t know what he was going to do. He came into the gym last spring and told us he was coming back,” said junior center and assistant captain Nolan Renwick, Poisson’s linemate.
“It was one of the most exciting days of the spring,” Renwick added.
Poisson attributed his decision to the team’s progress late last season, when UMaine strung together a 6-1-3 stretch in the second half of last season before dropping its last two regular season games to UMass and losing to Vermont in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs.
“Plus with the additions [to the roster] this year, the way we are coached, the way we operate and the culture in the locker room, it is exactly what I wanted to be around,” Poisson said.
“I made the right decision. I’m happy with it,” he added.
Poisson and linemates Renwick and Donavan Houle are off to a good start. Each scored a goal in the sweep of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute last Thursday and Friday. Poisson also picked up two assists and Houle had one.
They share the team lead in plus-minus at plus-3 apiece.
A player receives a plus-one if he is on the ice when his team scores an even-strength or shorthanded goal and a minus-one if the opponent scores one.
Poisson was the team’s second leading scorer last season with 26 points on nine goals and a team-high 17 assists in 36 games. He was second on the team in plus-minus at plus-seven.
The points and assists were career-highs.
“Last year was my strongest season and I want to build off that,” said Poisson, a Vancouver, British Columbia, native whose mother, Julie, was born in Houlton. “I take pride in being a 200-foot player and doing little things right that lead to the overall total. I want to establish a strong base line and build from there.”
UMaine junior defenseman and co-captain David Breazeale called Poisson a “force” for the team.
“He has a ton to offer and he showcases it every night,” Breazeale said. “He is reliable up front and you know he is going to bring it every single night.”
Poisson, who has a number of cousins living in the Bangor area, said he enjoys being on a line that averages 6-foot-2, 203 pounds per player.
“We’re a pretty hard line to play against,” said Poisson, who has 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points in 120 career games.
The Black Bears have dramatically improved their team speed every year under third-year head coach Ben Barr and Poisson said they work on it every day.
“It’s about how fast we can transition pucks. The one thing we know is we are going to outwork anyone we play. So adding speed and skill was the next step for us,” said Poisson, whose grandfather, Houlton native Gib Chapman, was a long-time college basketball coach.
“Ben finds a way to affect a game positively, all the time,” Barr said. “He isn’t a flashy player. He’s just solid. He has also turned into a really good leader for our team. We’re lucky to have him.”
Poisson was proud that the Black Bears swept RPI in front of two large crowds, including a sellout crowd of 5,143 for the second game on Friday.
“That’s all we can ask for, two big crowds and two big wins. That will build momentum for the next couple of weeks,” said Poisson, who is looking to reach double-figures in goals this season after a pair of back-to-back nine-goal seasons.
UMaine is off this weekend but travels to Hamden, Connecticut, to take on defending national champion Quinnipiac University on Oct. 27-28.