News and Notes 2/25/13: Bowdoin to host 2014 D3 Frozen Four, Trinity coach interview and more

Bowdoin to host 2014 Division-III Men's Hockey Frozen Four in Lewiston, ME
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has selected a bid from Bowdoin College to host the 2014 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey National Championship.  It will be the first ever D-III men's hockey finals held in the state of Maine and only the second time Bowdoin has hosted an NCAA Championship, the first time being the 1989 Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.

While Bowdoin is the host school, the host city will be Lewiston, ME, and the host venue will be the 3,667 seat Androscoggin Bank Colisee (pictured). Bowdoin's state of the art Sidney J. Watson Arena, first opened in 2009, cannot house the event because of its size. The Sid has a capacity of 2,400, but the NCAA has a minimum capacity requirement of 3,000 for championship sites. 


The Andorscoggin Bank Colisee is about 20 miles from Bowdoin. Lewiston will be familiar to NESCAC fans, as it is home to the 'CAC's only non-hockey member, Bates College. Bowdoin will host the event, to be held on March 21-22, 2014, with support from the Maine Sports Commission, a newly-formed agency established in 2012 to bring more sporting events to Maine. 

The Colisee, formerly the Central Maine Youth Center, was built in 1958-59. The multi-purpose facility has hosted many events, sporting and otherwise over the years, from NBA exhibitions to AHL games and concerts. 

Get up and fight, sucker!

The venue's most famous event was the much anticipated WBC Heavyweight Title Fight rematch between champion Muhammad Ali  and challenger Sonny Liston in May of 1965. The fight, originally scheduled to be in Boston, was postponed six months after Ali needed emergency hernia surgery just three days before the bout. In Maine, Liston went down midway through the first round on what became known as the "phantom punch," because no one is sure  (not even Ali) the knockout punch actually landed. Ali stood over a fallen Liston and said "Get up and fight, sucker"!, a moment that was captured on camera and became one of the most famous sports photos of all time (pictured). 

Conspiracy theorists conjecture that Liston threw the fight, for one of several reasons: he bet against himself, he owed money to the mob or he feared the National of Islam members who supported Ali. None of the claims have been substantiated and it remains one of sports' great mysteries. It also still stands as the only heavyweight title fight held in the state of Maine. 

Most recently the Colisee was home to the now defunct (and appropriately named) Lewiston Maineiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2003-2011. Some challenges need to be overcome before hosting the event, including updating the facility built in the 1950s for television coverage, but Jim Cain (CEO of the company that owns the Colisee)  is confident they will be prepared. 

For more on the bid process and preparation for the event, check out Maine Hockey Journal's article. And here's Bowdoin's official release. 

Trinity coach Matt Greason interview 
Trinity alum ('92) and Bantam coach Matt Greason will be interviewed on WRTC 98.3 FM Trinity College radio today at 4 PM. The third seed Bantams defeated sixth seed and travel partner Wesleyan, 5-4, in a dramatic NESCAC Quarterfinal game on Saturday that went to OT. The Bantams will play second seed Williams in the semifinals, hosted by Bowdoin, at 1 PM on Saturday. Click here to listen.

Bowdoin Video 

In honor of  Ali's "Phantom Punch" win in the Maine venue Bowdoin will host the 2014 D-3 Frozen Four in, as well as the Polar Bears hosting this weekend's men's NESCAC ice hockey championship, we present you with this three year old video from Bowdoin Sports (embedded).

It is an HD Video of scenes (pre-game, fans, game action) from Bowdoin's 2-1 OT victory over Colby in the 2010 NESCAC men's hockey Quarterfinals, the first ever playoff game at Sidney J Watson Arena. The video is set to the Hours catchy and motivational sports friendly lyric song "Ali in the Jungle".