SACO — The Portland Pirates’ second home has treated the team well in recent years.

With the team’s longest-ever stay at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee looming to begin this season, everyone involved is hoping for multiple repeat performances.

With a renovation project at the Cumberland County Civic Center in full swing, the Pirates worked out a deal to play at the Lewiston facility for the first third of the season, a total of 12 home dates on their American Hockey League schedule.

By the time the season schedule was released in full, construction delays had pushed the availability of the Civic Center in Portland back far enough that the team requires a 13th date in Lewiston.

Now, with legal action pending as animosity between the Civic Center’s Board of Trustees and the team’s ownership group escalates, there is some question whether the Pirates will play any games at all in Portland this season.

Whatever the scenario, team officials are preparing squad to play hockey on a regulation-size ice surface — no matter where that surface is located.

“I like those old buildings, I like the setup of (the Colisee),” Portland forward Brett Hextall said. “It’s a nice building, for sure, and we liked it up there last year.”

Lewiston isn’t the only new-to-them building and facility to which the Pirates are being introduced this season. The team’s training facility has shifted to the MHG Ice Centre at the OA Performance Center in Saco, a facility out of which the Junior Pirates program is run that recently underwent a major expansion of its own, to include swim training facilities, a turf training field, a small running track and a weight-lifing facility equipped with state-of-the-art training aids.

“This is a new experience here for us, and it’s actually a pretty sweet setup,” Hextall said. “We’re kind of excited about this, with the awesome track and turf and the gym.”

Many of the players arrived Sunday for the team’s orientation, with a handful more arriving Monday and Tuesday after being cut from the Phoenix Coyotes’ NHL roster over the weekend. That meant a quick turnaround, with the team’s first exhibition matchup slated for Wednesday.

“Preseason starts pretty quick,” defenseman James Melindy said. “We got here (Sunday), orientation was (Sunday), and our first exhibition is Wednesday and then again Saturday, so you jump into stuff pretty quickly.”

For players like Hextall, new rinks and training facilities aside, having some background knowledge of the greater Portland area has helped ease the transition, and has given the veterans the ability to help the newcomers find their way, as well.

“It’s kind of nice, you start to feel settled a bit,” Hextall said. “A lot of us, we’re already familiar with our surroundings, with the city and with the area.”

Familiarity, Hextall hopes, that will help everyone find comfort nearby. In Saco. Or in Lewiston. Or in Portland.

“It’s kind of a tough situation, but, the other team has to go a bit further (to the rink in Lewiston), too, so it’s fine for us. It’s not really an issue in terms of hockey. Now, we’re all just trying to figure out where we want to live.”

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