The 1922–23 Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey season was the inaugural season of play for the program.
In late November, the athletic department decided to assume control of the ice hockey team from the intramural association. This formalized the adoption of the sport by Maine and began the first varsity campaign in program history.[1] By early December, Cuddy Murphy had been chosen to coach the team and a schedule was put together with a fairly ambitious slate. Two games would be played with each of the three other Maine schools (Bates, Bowdoin and Colby) while several matches with schools from Massachusetts were in the works.[2] While it was assumed at the time that the program would begin as a minor sport, the university decided to allow the student body to make the ultimate determination.
Unfortunately, a warm winter caused many of the potential games to be either scrapped or delayed. Maine wasn't able to play its first game until February and, even then, the team had precious little time on the ice. In spite of these problems, the team didn't look bad in their loss to Colby. Before the match began, the two captains agreed to not have the outcome determine which of the two would play Bates at the Winter Carnival. Since the two were going to play a week later and Maine still needed some practice time on the ice they agreed to let the rematch decide that instead.[3] A boisterous crowd was on hand for the Bears' first home game and the team provided their fans with the program's first victory. Drew Stearns was elected team captain just before the game and he responded by assisting on the final two goals to give the Black Bears a comeback win and a date with the Garnet in Augusta.[4]
Maine switched their lineup for the Bates match by moving Stearns to wing, Elliott to center and Coakley to defense. The hastily altered group faced off against the best team in the state. Somehow, the defense held strong and allowed just a single goal to the Garnet. Stearns scored two goals for the second game in a row and led the team to victory while also putting them into a position to potentially win the state title.[5] Afterwards, Maine travelled to meet Bowdoin and suffered a defeat at the hands of the Polar Bears. Stover and Stone were dropped back to defense while Mackay moved up to wing. The changes kept the two teams close for most of the match though Bowdoin held a narrow 3–2 lead at the start of the third. Maine's defensive effort collapsed in the final frame and they surrendered 4 goals to make the game seem more lopsided that it actually was.
A week later, the rematch with Bowdoin was held on poor ice but that didn't appear to slow down either team. After Stover started off the scoring twice in the first, Stearns grew the lead to 3 before the frame was out and Maine had a commanding lead after just 13 minutes. The Polar Bear surged back in the second and Maine was unable to stop the visitors from netting 4 goals in a stunning reversal of fortune. The choppy ice finally came into play in the third and helped prevent any more goals from being scored. The loss made it impossible for Maine to win the state championship but that didn't stop them from putting forth a valiant effort against Bates. The two fought bitterly with the Garnet still vying for the state title. Maine built a 2-goal lead thanks goals from Elliott and Stearns in the opening period. Bates cut the lead in half before the first intermission but Elliott restored the 2-goal margin early in the second. After Stearns got set off for a penalty, Bates came storming back and tied the game before the start of the third. The two exchanged goals early in the period but were unable to settle the score and overtime was required. The teams agreed to play two 5-minute periods but it wasn't until the end of the second that the winning goal was scored. Unfortunately, the puck was sent behind Baxter and Maine ended its season with another heartbreaking loss.[6]
Hampton Bryant served as team manager.
|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular SeasonNote: Maine archives differ from contemporary accounts about the dates and number of games.[8]
[9]
| 6 | 7 | |||
| 6 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 3 | |||
| 6 | 2 | |||
| 1 | 0 | |||
| 5 | 0 | |||
| 6 | 0 | |||
| 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 16 |
|---|