Ice Hockey

The sport of ice hockey at Thornton Academy traces its roots to the 1920’s when a
coach by the name of Napoleon Edmond started a club at the school. Edmond’s squad
played a five-game schedule during that winter and earned two wins and a tie during that
stretch. The program only lasted for one season, and ice hockey had its second incarnation
beginning in 1983.

Thornton Academy enjoyed one of its most successful periods during the coaching
tenure of Shawn Rousseau. The Golden Trojans won 47 games in three seasons under
Rousseau’s guidance and competed in two regional championship games. In 2012, the
Golden Trojans defeated rival Biddeford in the Western Maine Class A championship
contest and faced powerhouse Lewiston on their home ice in the state title game. An
exhausted Thornton Academy team rode the clutch goaltending of Jameson Finch into
overtime and won the contest when C.J. Maksut redirected a Samuel Canales drive into the
net for the game-winner.

The Golden Trojans posted their finest season in 2011-2012 under Jamie Gagnon.
The team compiled a school record twenty victories and a tie in 22 contests en route to its
second consecutive state championship. Longtime Thornton Academy ice hockey assistant
Michael Roux directed the varsity from 2017-2020 and won thirty-four games in that time.
Roux’s 2018-2019 squad won the Southwestern Maine Activities Association
championship. Jamie Gagnon returned to the bench for the Golden Trojans in the 2020-
2021 season and led the Golden Trojans to state championship games in both 2022 and
2023; Thornton Academy defeated South Portland/Waynflete/ Freeport to win the 2023
Class A state championship.

Thornton Academy ice hockey has featured some of the finest players to ever lace
up skates in the area. Sam Butts was a star defenseman for the Golden Trojans from 2005-
2009 and was a finalist for the Travis Roy Award (given to the state’s top senior boys ice
hockey player). C.J. Maksut is the all-time leading scorer for Thornton Academy; he won
the Travis Roy Award and was profiled in Sports Illustrated magazine’s “Faces in the
Crowd” feature. Scoring standout Chandler Bilodeau and playmaker Luke Chessie are
recent all-state performers for Thornton Academy.

Girls interested in playing ice hockey have the opportunity to participate in a
cooperative team effort with Biddeford. The girls’ season begins two weeks earlier than
that of the boys.

The Thornton Academy boys and cooperative girls ice hockey teams play eighteen-
game schedules against some of the best competition in the southern and central Maine
areas. The boys team also competes in two preseason tournaments, including its own Earl
Goodwin Icebreaker Tournament, which also serves as a fundraiser for “Toys for Tots”. All
boys and girls ice hockey practices and home games take place at the Biddeford Ice Arena.

Participation in Thornton Academy ice hockey is a six-day per week commitment with
several regular season contests taking place on Saturdays.
Tryouts for Thornton Academy ice hockey teams take place in the month of
November. The highest skilled players compete for the varsity team while less
experienced players participate at the junior varsity level.

Season: Winter
2023-2024 Opening Date:
Girls (Cooperative Team) – November 6
Boys - November 20

Boys Team: Varsity, Junior Varsity
Cooperative Girls Team: Varsity, Junior Varsity
Varsity Boys Coach: Jamie Gagnon
Junior Varsity Boys Coach: Robert Downing
Cooperative Varsity Girls Coach: Josh Williams