Can new UMaine women’s hockey coach Alex Gettens turn program into national contender?
University of Maine women's hockey coach Alex Gettens speaks at a press conference on Tuesday in Orono. (Travis Lazarczyk/Staff Writer
ORONO — Is the University of Maine women’s hockey team a bundle of untapped potential just waiting for the right person to lead it to greater things? Alex Gettens thinks so.
Gettens was introduced as the Black Bears’ head coach Tuesday afternoon. He takes over a program that is entering its 30th season but has finished with a winning record in just six of them, most recently in 2019-20, when Maine finished 15-14-8.
Gettens comes back to Maine from Colgate, where as an assistant coach he helped lead the Raiders to the NCAA tournament in 2025. He’s not a stranger to Maine. He was as an assistant coach in the 2017-18 season, when the Black Bears were 19-14-5. He’s excited to be back, and excited for what can be accomplished in Orono.
The Black Bears went 13-19-4 last season, 8-12-4 in Hockey East. Maine hasn’t advanced to the conference semifinals since 2022. The program never played for the Hockey East title. It has yet to reach the NCAA tournament.
“We have to play a style where, we’re on the attack. We have to see ourselves as a team that isn’t scared to take the fight to somebody else. We have to believe in ourselves, and our style of play has to reflect that,” said Gettens, 33.
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When introducing Gettens, Maine athletic director Jude Killy reiterated something he’s said numerous times over the last few years: The University of Maine strives to be one of the top five Division I athletic programs in New England. The hockey programs at Maine are the two teams that can compete at the national level year in and year out, Killy has said.
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“At the University of Maine, that means hockey has to be exceptional. What I want to be clear about today is that is an all-inclusive statement,” Killy said. “That’s not a men’s hockey statement. That’s not a women’s hockey statement. That is an ice hockey statement.”
The men’s team has 40-plus years of success on which to draw inspiration. There are two national championship trophies on display in Alfond Arena, two banners hanging from the rafters. A men’s game at Alfond Arena is an event, with the place packed to the rafters, thousands of fans making a ruckus, and the pep band’s tunes ricocheting off the walls and settling over the ice.
Women’s hockey games have been more intimate affairs. Last season, the team averaged 556 fans at Alfond Arena, not including a game at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland that drew 1,029. Still, that was a nearly 70% uptick from just two seasons prior, when the Black Bears averaged 334 fans. To put it all in a national context, only four Division I women’s hockey teams averaged more than 1,000 fans per game last season: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Boston University and Minnesota-Duluth. Maine ranked 20th out of 42 Division I teams.
The Black Bears’ sharp increase in attendance is a positive sign. Put a more consistent winner on the ice, and more fans will come. The Black Bears draw strong crowds in the Pit for women’s basketball. They also contend for the America East title almost every season.
In the recently renovated Alfond Arena, Gettens has one of college hockey’s palaces, a building that should draw the eye of recruits interested in playing at a high level and building something sustainable. He knows that. With just 42 teams playing Division I women’s hockey, the chance to improve quickly is there. Gettens knows that, too. Still, he stressed patience.
“It’s not going to be an overnight process,” he said. “When you can continue to build class after class, that’s when you start to see some special things.”
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He’s made a positive impression with the returning players, who are buying in to Gettens’ plans. The Black Bears lost nine one-goal games last season.
“We just needed a little push to get there, and I think Alex has that,” said Mikayla Boarder, a returning captain.
Is the University of Maine women’s hockey program a sleeping giant that just needs to be jostled awake? Is Gettens the coach that can unlock all that potential we hear about?
Let’s find out.
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Tagged: Sports Columns, travis lazarczyk, UMaine Black Bears
Travis Lazarczyk has covered sports for the Portland Press Herald since 2021. A Vermont native, he graduated from the University of Maine in 1995 with a BA in English. After a few years working as a sports. More by Travis Lazarczyk
