ORONO, Maine — Student-athletes across the country and at the University of Maine have been on a roller coaster of emotions since the NCAA canceled winter and spring sports championships in March.
The teams most impacted by the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and the decision to put sports on time-out were the UMaine men's hockey team and women's basketball team.
The women's squad was the defending America East champions heading to Stony Brook in March for the conference championship game when the news broke and Athletic Director Ken Ralph called head coach Amy Vachon to let her know the game and the season was canceled.
On the ice, the Black Bears were a day away from hosting the University of Connecticut in the program's first home Hockey East quarterfinal game in eight years.
Ten months of waiting, uncertainty, and practicing followed the pandemic-related pause of sports in the spring. More recently, University President Joan Ferrini-Mundy announced a pause in athletics days before most teams were set to begin their seasons.
The pause was implemented after positive COVID-19 cases were reported within the athletic program.
The two-week pause ended Tuesday and Ferrni-Mundy announced a return to sports beginning Thursday and this weekend.
The women's basketball team will travel to Rhode Island for a back-to-back trip against Providence on Thursday and the University of Rhode Island on Friday.
“The last two to three weeks have really been hard," Head Coach Amy Vachon said. "Getting geared up to play that tournament in Connecticut and then not being able to play and watching everyone else play, I think that’s been brutal.”
The men's and women's hoop teams were slated to play in 'BubbleVille', a multi-league tournament hosted by Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. The program's positive COVID cases were reported while the teams were traveling to the tournament.
Vachon and her team finally have an opponent and a game to play. The Black Bears and Friars will tip-off at 2 p.m. Thursday and then will play URI at 6 p.m. Friday.
“The biggest challenge honestly is just going to try to manage our emotions in the first five minutes of the game," Vachon added.
The team has been practicing nearly every day since August. Maine state guidelines limit the use of large team practices but Vachon said it's allowed her players to work more on skill-based drills.
The road trip to Rhode Island will look different, as will all road trips, compared to prior seasons.
“We had to be very strategic in who (the players are) rooming with, we have two busses going down. We will not be eating at any restaurants, everything’s to-go," Vachon added.
On the court, the team will be going up against opponents that have already played games in this modern age of COVID-19. It may not seem like a big difference, but UMaine has been doing all basketball activities with masks on. Players do not need to wear them in games.
Other things like playing with no fans and sitting on redesigned, socially-distant benches will also be new for the Black Bears.
“Both teams have been able to get in games, Providence has played six, Rhode Island’s played three. I feel like I know Providence almost better than our team watching them play six games," Vachon said.
Without seeing her team on the court this year, Vachon said the Black Bears could be a fun team to watch, but we won't know until the games get started.
The UMaine men's and women's hockey team will also be taking the ice this weekend.
The women's team is the only team from Orono that has played games this season. The team traveled to Holy Cross and split the series with the Crusaders winning the season opener 2-1 on Nov. 20 and losing the following day.
Both teams will pack their bags and head to Durham, N.H. where they will play their rivals, the University of New Hampshire.
The women get the weekend of games going at the Whittemore Center as they take on the Wildcats at 1 p.m. Friday.
The men's team will be hitting the ice for the first time Friday as they follow the women's game with a 7 p.m. puck drop.
The UMaine men's basketball team is slated to play at the University of Hartford on Dec. 19.
After weeks of delay, the Black Bears are back playing. Hopefully the only timeouts called this season are on the ice or the court.