BIDDEFORD — The University of New England men’s hockey team had a historic 2017-18 run, finishing the regular season at No. 4 nationally and making the program’s first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

A big factor in that success was junior captain Brady Fleurent, who was one of the nation’s top players at the Division III level.

The Biddeford native finished the year leading the nation in points (51) and was second in assists (35). He was also named to the Commonwealth Coast Conference first team, and passed his older brother Trevor for most points in school history.

“It was experience, and I wanted to show everyone that I deserved (the success). You can’t take a day off if you want to stay up top,” said Fleurent. “Me and Ryan Bloom, we need to be a threat to score every time we’re on the ice. Being consistent is huge for us.”

Although UNE fell in the opening round of the tournament to Colby, Fleurent feels that the experience will only make the very young Nor’easters stronger heading into next year.

“It was awesome — playing in that atmosphere was pretty sweet and it was great to play against another Maine team. Overall the tournament was great, it was a great experience. It didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to but it will definitely motivate us next year,” said Fleurent. “We’re definitely a young team, we have a lot of first years and sophomores. I think it was mental mistakes that killed us and I think the things that hurt us we can learn from. We’re only going to learn from them.”

UNE has emerged as one of the elite programs in the nation over the past three seasons. Considering the youth and the recent performance, Fleurent believes that the Nor’easters are only beginning to scratch the surface of their potential.

“(The UNE program) is headed in the right direction, we were a top-15 program for most of the season and we plan on staying that way for the next couple years,” said Fleurent. “We’re very young, we have a lot of our core coming back, and I think everyone is starting to realize that UNE is a very strong program and I think we’re going to keep it going … we’re making a name for ourselves in the nation.”

The Biddeford high school team recently competed in the Class A State Championship against Lewiston. It was the first state championship appearance for the Tigers since 2010 … when Fleurent helped lead Biddeford to its third title in four years.

Fleurent believes that hockey is continuing to grow as a sport in southern Maine, and is proud to be right in the middle of it.

 “Playing college hockey in your hometown is pretty special, not many people get to do that. Playing for Biddeford, winning a state championship there, coming to play college hockey in Biddeford, it’s something pretty special. I think hockey is pretty strong in southern Maine and I think people are going to start taking notice in that.”

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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