AUBURN — It’s a reunion that silently begs those involved to hum or sing along to the decades-old Muppet refrain “Together again.”

More than a decade after Auburn Youth Hockey and the Lewiston Area Youth Hockey League parted ways, the two organizations are coming back together to form one of the largest youth hockey organizations — if not the largest — in Maine.

“I have no idea what year they separated, and I couldn’t even tell you the main reason they separated,” LAYHL President Andy Guerin said.

The important thing now, he said, is that there is no longer a separation.

“We see this as an opportunity to grow the programs and make it better for the kids,” AYH President Denis Berube said. “It presents opportunities that weren’t there before.”

Last season, the LAYHL had more than 500 players enrolled in its youth programs, along with an additional 100 or so in an affiliated travel program, the Gladiators. Auburn Youth Hockey had better than 350 players in its programs, which included a Tier II midget program, the Bolts.

According to Guerin, the leagues had discussed merging in the past, but talks were slow and sporadic until two weeks ago, when the Portland Junior Pirates and the Androscoggin Bank Colisee jointly announced that the Pirates’ organization had purchased all of the ice time for next season at the Lewiston rink, rendering it unavailable for LAYHL use.

“Auburn was one of the first organizations to step up and offer us support and ice time,” Guerin said. “As we talked, it became clear that both organizations would be stronger and do a better job for the kids if they were managed together.”

The organizations said they plan to use Auburn’s Ingersoll Arena and some time at Bates College’s Underhill Arena for the majority of their games and practices, with additional ice time being sought at other area rinks.

Berube and Guerin also hinted that a second sheet of ice at the Auburn facility, or perhaps elsewhere within the city limits, is a possibility.

“The city of Auburn has really stepped up and is trying to meet our needs,” Berube said. “(Having a second sheet) would be the ideal situation, certainly the best-case scenario for us would be to have a municipally-owned facility that we can call our home and have some exclusivity back and forth. That would really allow us to grow our program. Short of that, we’ll have to seek other alternatives, but that’s our first option.”

The first and most immediate on-ice impact for the two programs will be the creation of a girls’ travel team through the Gladiators program, as well as a full girls’ house program. While a separate entity, the Gladiators program is closely affiliated with the LAYHL, and the girls’ programs for both organizations have been steadily on the rise.

“Girls’ hockey is our fastest-growing segment,” Berube said. “Between the two programs, there’s probably 150 girls playing. The merger will facilitate interleague play for these kids. Both organizations had previously sent girls up to become top college level players, and this will help make that success even stronger.”

The merger, Guerin said, will be exactly that, a true merger. Both organizations stressed that they are on solid financial footing and, as a result, don’t see any significant changes to the current cost structure.

“Both organizations are community-based, run by volunteers and not-for-profit,” Guerin said. “We expect that we’ll be able to hold the line on costs, maybe even reduce them a bit. We’ll continue to provide financial support for families in need.”

“We plan to take the best of both programs going forward,” Berube added. “Each has strengths that will add to the overall program. The training, the games and the tournaments like the Lions Tournament will move forward, and we expect them to be better than ever.”

Ultimately, Guerin said, the goal revolves around the players themselves.

“Our goal is to keep as many young kids playing as possible,” he said.