The Portland Pirates will be faced with plenty of challenges this season, many in the form of solid opponents, hard hits and quick shots.

But perhaps the team’s largest obstacle will have nothing to do with a sheet of ice, but rather the location of the one they call home.

In a surprising turn of events late in the summer, the Pirates and the Cumberland County Civic Center’s board of trustees went public with a disagreement over lease negotiations, the breakdown of which ultimately led to the team announcing that it will play its home schedule 35 miles to the North, at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.

The move either elated or enraged fans, businesses and sponsors, depending on their location.

For the hockey operations staff and the team’s players, at least on the surface, the shift in home game location isn’t ideal, but it’s manageable.

“We got to play six games there last year, we had success there last year,” Pirates’ coach Ray Edwards said. “A lot of our guys understand the environment, I think it’s a good environment, and we hope it’s conducive to us having a great home record. We’re going to have to play well, we’re going to have to do the right things, play the right way and all those things, but because we’ve been there and had some success there, our group feels confident having that as our home ice.”

Veteran Tim Kennedy, signed this season by the Pirates’ NHL parent club, the Phoenix Coyotes, played well in Lewiston for the Worcester Sharks last season against the Pirates. He said his sentiments echoed many of his teammates’ thoughts, that “we’re not going to let the whole situation with the rink and where we’re playing and all of that get in the way, and it’s not something we’ll use as an excuse.

“We just have to come out of the gate ready and we want to win,” he said.

“When it comes down to it, all the rinks are the same size, and when the puck drops, it’s go time,” defenseman Brandon Gormley said. “It doesn’t make much a difference to us. We’re excited to have the fan support in a smaller rink. We’re looking forward to it.”

Logistics, at least early in the season for the Pirates, are going to be tricky.

“The whole thing in Lewiston, we’re going to try to treat it like we would if we were in Portland,” Edwards said. “There will be some games we bus to, the games where we have road games right afterward that we have to leave for, or anytime we see weather approaching, we’ll probably get a bus for the guys so they’re not driving in the weather, and we may have to stay overnight in a hotel if the weather is poor or if there’s an afternoon game the next day. But for the other games, we’re going to let the guys drive up there, we’re going to let them treat it like a normal home game and we’ll see how that goes. It’s a little trial and error for us.”

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