LEWISTON — After winning back-to-back Class A state titles, the Thornton Academy boys hockey team might be taking a step back this season. The Trojans graduated 13 seniors, including Travis Roy Award winner C.J. Maksut, and are looking to reload with a lot of fresh faces.

That mix of returning players and newcomers went winless against Lewiston and Bangor at a preseason tournament at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston on Saturday.

The Trojans earned a 3-3 tie against Lewiston in the morning, then fell to Bangor 7-3 in the afternoon.

The team has only been practicing for one week, so head coach Jamie Gagnon said he isn’t too worried about the results, which have no bearing in regular-season or postseason standings.

“We’re only in week one, so we have a long way to go. But they worked hard today, and that’s the bottom line,” said Gagnon.

After battling to tie the perennial Eastern Maine powerhouse Blue Devils, the Trojans twice held leads against the Rams before Bangor broke a 3-3, second-intermission, tie game with four third-period goals.

Justin Cloutier, Owen Lamoine and Owen Elliot had goals for Thornton in the second game.

Gagnon said he was pleased to see the players working hard from start to finish of both games, and said the playing time that’s up for grabs should keep the players hungry.

“There are very few things you can tell in the first week, but one of the things you can tell is their willingness to work,” said Gagnon. “I think you see we have a lot of guys who are fighting for spots out here, and I thought that was evident today, too.”

The Trojans showed they could handle a more experienced Bangor team for two periods, both skill-wise and physically. Sophomore goalie Andrew Huot held his own against a handful of odd-man rushes. But the Trojans stumbled out of the gates in the third period, and that’s something on which the team needs to work, Gagnon said.

“I think they learned that, number one, it’s going to take a good full three periods worth of effort on every game, every night,” said Gagnon. “But I think they also learned that they can play with some of the better teams here in the east, and hopefully in the state. That’s one of the things every year, we’re just looking to compete, compete, compete.”

For a team that went 20-1-1 last year, going 0-1-1 in a preseason tournament is new territory. But for many of the players, facing the caliber of competition that Bangor and Lewiston bring is new territory as well. The Trojans will have some growing pains, as they showed at the Colisee, but as Gagnon said, they’ve already progressed in just one week.

— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.