AUBURN — Steve Ouellette has stepped away from coaching the Saint Dominic Academy boys’ ice hockey team, leaving one of the highest profile coaching jobs in Maine open for the third time in the past 10 years.

“I’ve been at the high school level for 17 years, it’s a long time,” Ouellette said. “It takes a high energy level to keep going.”

Ouellette took over as the Saints’ head coach in 2008. In seven seasons under Ouellette, St. Dom’s went 82-39-5 in the regular season, and 16-7 in the playoffs. During that stretch, the Saints were the only team to reach the regional final six times, winning four of them. They fell in the state final all four times, once each to Watervile (2009), Thornton Academy (2012), Falmouth (2014) and Scarborough (2015).

“I am very proud of that, personally and for the rest of the coaching staff,” Ouellette said, “and to have done it with different players over that time period. In today’s game, I think that’s a bit of a statement. And I think we ended on a high with it. Yes, I would have loved to get No. 25, both as an alum invested in the school as well as being the coach. At the end of the day, we gave ourselves multiple opportunities. The boys played hard, they’ve done a lot and they’ve been great kids to have.”

Ouellette also coached four players who were finalists for the Travis Roy Award, given annually to the Class A player who best exhibits strong play on the ice, and solid academics and citizenship off the ice. Richard Paradis won the award in 2009, while Alex Parker (2011), Grant Carrier (2013) and Brad Berube (2015) were among the final four players under consideration.

Losing Ouellette stung the school’s administration.

“I sensed there was a great deal of pressure, not only to have a successful program, which I believe he did, but the pressure was there to do better than that, to, when you get there, you have to win it,” outgoing St. Dom’s Athletic Director Gene Keene said. “And the problem with that is, having been in the business for 37 years, God love these kids, they’re still high school kids, and sometimes they play like high school kids. There’s so many variables that affect a championship situation. And you have to give the other teams credit. They tie their skates up the same way.

“I feel (he) ran a great program,” Keene added. “He gave kids a great opportunity not only to play in quality program, but to travel around and be seen, and for those who may want to pursue hockey, have that opportunity as well. It’s disappointing for me that he stepped down.”

“Steve just thought it was time for a change,” St. Dom’s Principal Joline Girouard said. “Steve was a great asset to us. He’s one of our parents, one of our alums, and he’ll still be visible in our community.”

Ouellette called the respect “mutual.”

“I’ve had a great relationship with Gene,” Ouellette said. “I felt he supported me as a coach, I felt he supported the program. I felt he brought a lot of energy with him, I thought he looks at things with a vision. He does have to make a lot of tough calls in that type of position. But I’ve had a great relationship with him and I’m very happy to have had him as my AD.”

One reason Ouellette cited for stepping down is family.

“I have three kids who all play hockey, too,” Ouellette said, “in three different age groups. Every weekend that means three kids playing in three spots and only two parents, so the math doesn’t add up too well there, either.”

But he also hinted at being overwhelmed by the time commitment, and by some of the expectations.

“This is my school, being an alum,” Ouellette said. “I think stepping aside and recharging will be a good thing. I don’t think people always realize how much time it is. A typical week, you’re probably putting in 20 to 25 hours to do a job like that at that level. You have conditioning sessions, you have team events, factor in the bus rides and meeting parents and everything else. It’s a long season, a grueling season, and it’s also been 17 years of doing it.”

Prior to assuming the role of head varsity coach, Ouellette was a junior varsity coach at St. Dom’s. Prior to that, he spent seven seasons at Cape Elizabeth, helping the Capers win the 1999 and 2003 Class B state titles.

“It’s been a long ride, and sometimes it comes to that point where, it takes that energy, it takes that drive every year,” Ouellette said.

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