ROCKPORT — The Midcoast Ice Cats are excited to be starting the 2017 season with Bill McClellan, who is being assisted by Phil Bellows, at the helm of the program. 

The Midcoast Ice Cats high school hockey club is a regional athletic club sponsored by Oceanside High School and provides students attending schools without a varsity, junior varsity or club ice hockey team the opportunity to play, practice and promote high school-aged ice hockey at the junior varsity/club level. 

Below are biographies of the two coaches provided by the Midcoast Ice Cats organization. 

Bill McClellan Biography
Bill McClellan has been playing ice hockey since the age of six. He started out playing with the Princeton Pee Wees. There was a New York Times article about his playing hockey with a picture of him and his mother. As a Pee Wee, Bill's team won the Lawrenceville Pee Wee tournament. Bill went on to play bantams, and then in ninth grade was selected to play varsity defense at his high school team, the Princeton Day School Panthers. Bill was elected captain in his junior and senior year, and MVP in his senior year. He went on the play college hockey at Lake Forest College. He has played continuously since.

Bill has been promoting ice hockey in the area for the past 18 years. He was an integral art of the fund raising group, "Think Rink," which led to our current rink at MRC. Bill started coaching at the Maine Sport Rink for a couple of years before MRC was built. When MRC opened Bill jumped into USA Hockey coaches training and over the years went from level 1 to Level 5, Master Coach. This will be Bill's thirteenth year coaching. He has coached all ages and sexes. He is very excited to be coaching for the second year, this year as head coach.

Ice hockey is his # 1 passion but Bill has a lot of other interests. He is a full time teacher at Oceanside Middle School in Thomaston, teaching math to eighth graders. Bill drives the Zamboni and coaches at MRC. In the summer, Bill is a registered Maine Guide working for Maine Sport, and his own guiding company, Maine Guided Trips. Bill is married to Nelda and has a daughter Kate, who is quite a hockey player herself.

Phil Bellows Biography
When I was four years old my dad started teaching me how to skate and play hockey on a pond in Hodgdon, Maine. In 1994 my family and I moved down to Waldoboro, I was seven years old and tried to get on the nearby pond whenever I could. From age nine to eleven I played my first organized hockey at Maine Sport’s outdoor rink in Camden. Once that rink closed down I was back on the pond until the MRC was built. Shortly after the MRC was built, I played all four of my high school years for the MRC's Midcoast Storm team. I first met Bill McClellan during one of those seasons when he became head coach of our team. In 2006 I graduated high school and continued playing Friday night pickup games and started playing full-time in the men‘s league here at the MRC. While in that league I had the opportunity to play a few years along side Bill for the Seahawks.

Today, I live in Waldoboro with my beautiful wife Katie and our two amazing kids, Silas (age 5) and Rebekah (age 3). Our son Silas is quickly falling in love with the game of hockey just as I did. He is currently playing in the U6 (under six) hockey program here at the MRC and it’s been great watching him grow as a little hockey player. Sweet little Rebekah has been on the pond a couple times and she seems to really enjoy it, maybe she will be joining Silas in the U6 group next year... For now she loves to spend her time building with mega-blocks, playing with her kitchen set, coloring, and giving her brother a run for his money. Katie spends most of her time home schooling both Silas and Rebekah and keeping me in line (I still don’t know how she does it all). She also works part time at Camden National Bank in Waldoboro.

Since 2010 I have been working in Rockland at Fisher Engineering building sand/salt spreaders, snow plows, and working with lasers. Currently I still play pickup games every weekend at the MRC, and I still play in the men’s league from time to time. Some other things that I enjoy doing when I cannot find any ice to play on include: spending time with my wife and kids, working on our house, motorcycle riding, camping, and hiking, The latest highlights of my life have been helping Jesse Simko coach in the U6 hockey program that my son plays in and now I am very excited to be assistant coach for the Ice Cats! I am looking forward to getting to know all the Ice Cat players and have a fun season of hockey!

Midcoast Ice Cats Schedule
Nov. 25 Tournament vs. Bangor JV and Old Town/Orono 
Dec. 2 Tournament in Brewer
Dec. 12 vs. Kents Hill at 4:30 p.m.
Dec. 16 vs. Gardiner at 3:20 p.m.
Dec. 18 vs. Brewer at 4:20 p.m.
Dec. 23 @ Camden Hills at 5 p.m.
Jan. 9 vs. NYA at 4:30 p.m.
Jan. 16 vs. Camden Hills at 4:30 p.m.
Jan. 17 @ Kents Hill at 4:30 p.m.
Jan. 19 @ NYA at 4 p.m.
Jan. 20 vs. Poland at 3:20 p.m.
Feb. 1 @ Poland at 4 p.m.
Feb. 9 @ Brewer at 5 p.m.
Feb. 15 @ Gardiner at 4 p.m.

Reach the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com.