Orono, Maine -- The early 1990s was the heyday of the University of Maine men's hockey program. The Black Bears, under charismatic head coach Shawn Walsh, established themselves as a national power. 

 

UMaine produced back-to-back Hobey Baker Award winners in Scott Pellerin (1992) and Paul Kariya (1993) and won the program's first national championship during the 1992-93 season.

 

And while the spotlight was often on the likes of Pellerin, Kariya and Jim Montgomery, there was a common thread in their success and that of the team: Cal Ingraham.The early 1990s was the heyday of the University of Maine men's hockey program. The Black Bears, under charismatic head coach Shawn Walsh, established themselves as a national power. 

 

The diminutive forward from Georgetown, Massachusetts, was instrumental in his linemates' incredible success and in the Black Bears' run to a 42-1-2 record and the NCAA title. Ingraham's talent, tenacity and leadership are among the qualities that have earned him a coveted place in the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame.

 

"I was obviously incredibly fortunate to play with those guys that I got to play with," Ingraham said, saying the team's collective focus and commitment were incredible.

 

"You look back at it now, we didn't enjoy it as much as we should have at the time, but it was an honor to be a part of that," Ingraham said.

 

Ingraham played three seasons at UMaine after transferring from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He amassed 90 goals and 97 assists in 131 games for the Black Bears, earning second-team All-America honors in 1993 before captaining the team as a senior.

 

Now, 30 years later, Ingraham still owns UMaine records for goals in a season (46) and power-play goals in a season (22), both of which were set during the championship campaign.

 

"I have no doubt that Cal Ingraham is the most underrated hockey player ever as far as how elite he was," said Montgomery, who is the coach of the NHL's Boston Bruins.

 

"There's not many people that had the poise that he had, especially from the top of the circles down in the offensive zone, to score goals and to make finishing plays," said Montgomery, who captained the 1992-93 squad.

 

At 5-foot-5, Ingraham likely was the smallest player in college hockey during his career. But what he lacked in stature he made up for with speed, intensity and toughness.

 

"Cal had a lot of skill, a ton of smarts, was always in the right place and saw the ice incredibly well," said former Black Bears player and assistant coach Bruce Major. "His vision and his playmaking were extraordinary."

 

Major said Ingraham excelled in spite of taking a considerable number of hits. That's because he often had the puck or was working to get open near the net.

 

"He always went to that far post hunting goals and got to the dirty areas and took a lot of punishment to make plays," Major said. "He had tremendous heart."

 

Dealing with the physical rigors of hockey was nothing new to Ingraham. He learned how to better stay out of harm's way, although he admits taking his share of lumps.

 

"You definitely learn to protect yourself, for sure," Ingraham said. "I think I was just lucky to have the hockey sense to think ahead of the game a little bit and try to be in the right places and not put yourself in certain situations where you're vulnerable to get hurt."

 

Ingraham proved to be the perfect complement for linemates Montgomery and Kariya during the 1992-93 season, and also when playing with Pellerin and Eric Fenton the previous year.

 

"He was just a terrific teammate, an unbelievable talent and a guy that was really big as far as how close our dressing room was," Montgomery said.

 

Ingraham relishes his experience with UMaine hockey, especially the historic 42-1-2 championship team. He was surrounded by incredible talent.

 

Pellerin wound up playing 536 NHL games, Kariya is enshrined in the Pro Hockey Hall of Fame and Montgomery, who played in the NHL, is a successful coach.

 

"I wasn't even sure I was going to play, never mind have that go on," Ingraham said of heading to Orono, winning a title and leading the nation in goals.

 

But with some tremendous leaders in the program and an insatiable quest for excellence instilled by Walsh, he committed himself to working hard.

 

"I don't think anything was given to us at Maine. We had to earn our stripes and we had to be accountable and take care of things," Ingraham said. "If you did that, everything was good. If you didn't, you had Walshy on your back and I surely didn't want that," he said with a laugh.

 

Ingraham mentioned Walsh and coach John Gardner at Avon Old Farms School as being instrumental in his development.

 

Ingraham is an insurance executive and lives in Star, Idaho, with his wife Kimberley, who is a native of Standish. They have a daughter Sarah, 23, and a son Jack, 21.

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The 2023 UMaine Sports Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted at a banquet held at Jeff's Catering on Friday, Sept. 29. For more details on this year's class, please click here.