Normand “Pete” Lacasse gives credit to those around him for his outstanding hockey tenure as a forward at St. Dominic Academy and a long career playing senior hockey, mostly with the LA Twins.
“We had good coaching: Ray Marcotte, who played for Bates (Mill senior hockey team), and Larry Charest in my senior year,” Lacasse said of his time at St. Dom’s. “We had the best — that helped — and I had a good line, Leo Bergeron and (Roger) Sinclair.”
Normand “Pete” Lacasse, a recent inductee of the Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame, stands outside The Colisee in Lewiston, where he once played high school hockey for St. Dominic Academy. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Lacasse was recently inducted as a member of the 37th Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame class in a small ceremony at Gipper’s Sports Bar in Auburn. He and fellow inductees Lynn McNutt-Girouard and Dick Strong were originally chosen to join the A-L Hall in 2020, but their induction was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lacasse was on the St. Dom’s varsity team all four years he was at the school, from 1958-61. After the Saints lost to Dixfield in the state title game his freshman season, he helped them win the 1959, 1960 and 1961 state championships. He put up astronomical numbers during his senior season: 41 goals and 42 assists in 37 games.
“We went to New Englands and all that; it was (a) good hockey (team),” Lacasse said.
The Saints played Lewiston in the best-of-three state final and the Saints won the series in two games. Lacasse amassed three goals and two assists.
After winning the state championship, the Saints went to the New England Championship in Providence, Rhode Island, where they lost to Rhode Island’s LaSalle Academy 4-1 in the final. Lacasse scored St. Dom’s lone goal. He finished the tournament with four goals and two assists in three games.
Once Lacasse’s high school career ended, he played senior hockey, starting with the Waterville Bruins in 1961-62 and then with the LA Twins from 1962-73.
Senior hockey is considered amateur hockey. The Twins played teams from throughout New England and Quebec.
Normand “Pete” Lacasse, right, and his son Gary Lacasse stand in front of The Colisee in Lewiston Monday afternoon. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
“It was quality (hockey); you had college guys, you had Canadians coming down to play, and they had Canadians come on their team,” Gary Lacasse, Pete’s son, said. “It was some good hockey.”
The Twins had an affiliation with Bates Mill.
“When you think about the Twins, it’s an extension of Bates,” Gary said. “They brought players in, you worked at the mill, but you were a hockey player. … If you go to all these mill towns (in New England and Quebec), it was something for their workers to do and (community) to root for.”
Senior hockey, to Pete Lacasse, was more than what happened on the ice; it also provided camaraderie off of it.
“The thing about the Twins is, (Pete) would always say, ‘They all liked hockey, but they had a lot of fun, even off the ice,'” Gary said.
Pete Lacasse said the games were very competitive, especially against Berlin, New Hampshire, which he said was similar to facing Lewiston High School when he was at St. Dom’s.
“The competition was there; they were good, just like Lewiston was good,” Lacasse said.
Gary said the games with Berlin were rough.
“I hear stories, they beat the crap out of each other, and after the game (the teams) ended up at the same place having dinner and a few beers,” Gary said. “The next day, they play again.”
Pete Lacasse’s breakout year with the Twins came in 1964, when he was named to the New England Amateur Hockey Association all-star team. He racked up 32 points (15 goals and 17 assists) in the regular season, and helped the Twins to a New England Championship title and to a national championship appearance in Rochester, Minnesota. The Twins lost to St. Louis Parks, Minnesota — the eventual national champions — and Detriot, Michigan, at nationals.
The Twins and Lacasse won another New England championship and returned to the nationals in 1966, this time in Eveleth, Minnesota. They lost to the host Eveleth and St. Louis Parks, which captured its second national championship in three years. Lacasse tallied 13 points (six goals and seven assists) during the regular season.
Lacasse gives credit for a lot of his success with the Twins — he was the third-highest scorer in the program’s history — to two linemates.
“The best line I ever played with was Bert Jalbert and Yvon Pellerin,” Lacasse said. “We clicked so good sometimes we would say: ‘Why didn’t you shoot? I thought you had a better shot.’ It wasn’t like it was a one-man team. Sometimes we passed too much; we would skate right around the (net).”
He said he protected Jalbert and Pellerin and was willing to drop the gloves when needed.
As his playing career started to wind down, Lacasse began officiating in 1972. He worked as a linesman in the old North American Hockey League, in which the original Maine Nordiques played, and as a referee for high school games.
While officiating in the NAHL, he broke up fights that included Steve, Jack, and Jeff Carlson. The characters Jeff and Steve Hanson in the movie Slapshot were based on Jeff and Steve Carlson.
“He broke up fights with the Carlson brothers, (Allan) Globensky (the Nordiques’ all-time penalty minutes leader),” Gary said.
Pete officiated until 1980. He also was an assistant coach for one of the first girls hockey teams in Lewiston from 1975-76, when his daughter Cheryl played.
Lacasse said there isn’t one memory from his playing, officiating or coaching career that stands out above the rest.
“It was fun; I enjoyed every moment of it,” Pete said.
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