Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse players line up before the start of a game Jan. 11. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Parents and supporters of the Mt. Ararat High School boys hockey team — which has been embroiled in bullying allegations for the last month — showed support for a suspended player Saturday by wearing matching shirts with his number on them. Some players put stickers on their helmets with the number as well.

That public show of support during the team’s senior night devolved into reports of taunting and unsportsmanlike conduct from both adults and players, and created what Superintendent Heidi O’Leary called “a highly charged and divisive environment on the ice, in the locker room, and in the stands.”

“As a result, the situation became unmanageable,” O’Leary wrote in a letter to community members on Monday.

The fallout was swift. O’Leary canceled the last game of the season, ensuring the team would not be in the playoffs. The forfeit also means the team — which is made up of players from Mt. Ararat in Topsham, Lisbon High School and Morse High School in Bath — faces a two-year suspension by the Maine Principals’ Association, the governing body for high school athletics. That suspension can, and likely will, be appealed.

After the game Saturday but before O’Leary announced the season was over, A.J. Kavanaugh — the coach who had been sidelined for more than a month since the bullying allegations first surfaced — announced his resignation in a social media post. His message was mostly positive, but he expressed some frustrations.

“Unfortunately, my coaching staff and I weren’t given the opportunity to bring our team, and our community, back together,” he wrote. “That will certainly be one of my biggest disappointments as a hockey coach. I feel strongly that if we were ever made aware of it initially, we could have addressed these issues directly with our student-athletes and families and resolved it before it became such a regrettable situation.”

Kavanaugh did not respond to a message Tuesday.

The “it” Kavanaugh referred to is an allegation of bullying that a freshman player made against two seniors regarding an incident that reportedly occurred in the locker room at an away game this season. Those allegations, which emerged in early January, prompted O’Leary to temporarily suspend practices and postpone one game while the district hired a Lewiston law firm, Brann & Isaacson, to conduct an investigation.

Although school officials have not provided any details about the original allegations, an audio recording of an interview with one player that was provided to the Press Herald suggested the situation involved two senior players holding down a freshman player in a locker room. The older players allegedly assaulted the younger player with pickles and tried to remove his pants as he screamed in protest, the witness said.

Parents who talked to the Press Herald on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect their children, disputed that version of events. O’Leary said she is still awaiting the results of the law firm’s investigation.

Play resumed a few days after the investigation was launched, but the two seniors were suspended from the team. Kavanaugh and his assistant, Todd Ridlon, were benched as well — although O’Leary always stressed that the decision to temporarily remove the coaches was not an indication that they had necessarily done anything wrong.

ONE PLAYER REINSTATED

O’Leary asked an interim coach to take over, Erik Baker, who is her brother. At some point, one of the two senior players was reinstated but the other was not. O’Leary has not said why.

In the time between when the investigation was launched and Saturday’s game, numerous parents have indicated their support for both Kavanaugh and the player who remained suspended.

Although most parents reached this week were reluctant to talk, many posted on social media about what happened Saturday and how their frustration got to that point.

“There are always multiple sides to every story. … But this isn’t about sides. This is about how this entire situation was handled,” wrote Andrea Cram, a parent and treasurer of the Friends of Eagles Hockey boosters’ organization. “You cannot determine that someone is responsible for accusations made against them until the investigation is over and the final report is out.”

O’Leary, in response to questions from the Press Herald on Tuesday, said she does not have the final investigative report.

“I am hoping that within the next week to two weeks, we should have it,” she said.

‘THERE IS SO MUCH HURT’

The stepmother of the suspended player also criticized the school district’s handling of the situation.

“The lack of due process and accountability in handling this case is appalling,” she wrote. “Careers and reputations were damaged, yet those responsible for this mess seem to face no consequences. This isn’t just mismanagement — it’s a complete failure.”

Referring to Saturday’s game, she wrote: “The division among families, players and the community was painfully obvious. There is so much hurt.”

The Press Herald has not identified the players involved.

Ryan Guay, also the parent of a player, said O’Leary’s characterization of what happened Saturday was not accurate. He said the “only people that were out of control” were the interim coaches, whom Guay said yelled at players during intermission. Other parents alleged the same.

Jim Trusiani is a Mt. Ararat alumnus and longtime broadcaster of the school’s hockey games. He stopped streaming and attending the team’s games last month when the allegations first surfaced. He’s been upset with how O’Leary has handled things.

“I just feel the whole process has been flawed,” he said. “This should never have taken seven weeks. My concern is the unprofessionalism, the lack of a chain of command and due process from the school board to the superintendent.”

As for what happened Saturday, Trusiani said it was overblown.

“Ending their season over shirts and stickers is childish, to me at least,” he said.

SUPERINTENDENT DEFENDS ACTIONS

O’Leary, for her part, has defended her decisions as tough but necessary, especially related to the initial investigation.

“It was my decision to initiate the investigation and file a complaint, not any family’s or student’s,” she wrote to the community Monday. “I did this because I was presented with information that if true would be totally unacceptable to our community. Also, it is very important that you understand that if the allegations are true there are multiple victims in this case, not just one student.”

Asked Tuesday about Kavanaugh’s resignation, O’Leary said she has “sincerely thanked him for his dedication and service to our students and community.”

O’Leary said her office will investigate what happened Saturday to determine if any action is needed. That will happen in-house, she said, and will be separate from the bullying investigation.

Looking ahead, O’Leary said although this season has been challenging, “we remain committed to ensuring the long-term success and integrity of our hockey program.”

Amy Spelke, chair of the board that oversees School Administration District 75, said in an email that she and other board members are bound by confidentiality requirements but that O’Leary has handled the difficult situation with professionalism and compassion.

“Nobody is happy about where we are,” Spelke wrote. “I completely understand that people, both those directly involved and generally members of the public, want more information and they are frustrated that they are not getting immediate answers. We have to respect the integrity of the investigation and let the process play out.”

Staff Writer Dylan Tusinski contributed to this article.