BIDDEFORD — In the coming weeks, questions surrounding what happened with the Mt. Ararat varsity boys hockey team hopefully will be answered. Was there bullying, hazing, or something more benign that spun out of control? Was it an isolated incident or an example of systemic problems? There’s an ongoing investigation, and those questions will be answered in time.

But for now, after a five-day pause to their season, the Eagles are back on the ice. It’s a piece of normalcy in a situation that isn’t normal.

Then again, this is the second time in a few months the state has seen an investigation of this type involving a high school team, so maybe it’s unfortunately too normal.

Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse teammates and coaches watch from the bench during their game against Biddeford/Old Orchard Beach/Massabesic on Saturday night at Biddeford Ice Arena. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Mt. Ararat, a cooperative team with players from Lisbon and Morse high schools on the roster, took on Biddeford/Old Orchard/Massabesic on Saturday, after a week in which all team activities were suspended as the school launched a hazing investigation. Erik Baker, who was named interim coach on Thursday, was behind the bench for the Eagles. The team played without two senior captains.

Ryan Guay, the father of a Mt. Ararat player, said Saturday night from the stands in Biddeford Ice Arena that he was relieved the team was able to resume activity.

“It’s been horrible. My son, he cares about this team so much,” Guay said. “I live in Lisbon, and as soon as this happened, my wife said ‘They’re going to bring up the football team.’ And rightfully so.”

The Lisbon football team forfeited the second half of its season after officials began investigating hazing allegations. The report filed by Drummond Woodsum, the law firm that oversaw the investigation, found a pattern of hazing in the program. Seven players were removed from the team.

Erik Nelson, the father of another player on the Mt. Ararat co-op team, said it’s been a difficult week, but he felt it was handled about as well as it could be.

“We got daily updates from (Maine School Administrative District 75 Superintendent Heidi O’Leary) on the progress of the investigation,” Nelson said. “I thought the communication was good.”

By allowing the varsity hockey team to play Saturday, is O’Leary confident that what she’s seen in the investigation so far is pointing in the direction of no big deal? We won’t know until the investigation concludes and a report is released.

If what is alleged to have happened actually did, it’s a big deal all right. Especially on the heels of the Lisbon High hazing investigation.

Mt. Ararat school officials have not provided any details about the allegations, but they were described in a conversation between a school district attorney and a player on the team who saw the incident. The interview was recorded by a parent and shared with the Portland Press Herald on the condition that neither the parent nor the child would be identified.

In it, the player described an incident in which two senior players held down a freshman and assaulted him with pickles in the locker room at an opposing school late last month.

Guay said he expects more to come out that will shed light on what did or did not happen.

“There’s two sides to every story. I don’t believe all the parents have the whole truth,” he said.

Whether or not there’s more to come, we don’t know. What we know is, this is the second investigation of a high school sports team in just a few months. What are we going to do to ensure the athletes know this behavior won’t be tolerated?

What makes this maddening is it’s happening so soon after what happened in Lisbon, just one town over from Topsham, the home of Mt. Ararat. It’s maddening because the team includes players from Lisbon, who one would think would be extra mindful of bullying, whether or not they were members of the football team. It’s maddening because it feels like all the talk about making changes was just talk, with no desire for real follow through.

Right now, it feels like all we do is say stop, with a firm don’t make me stay stop again. If that doesn’t change, we’re just rubber stamping the behavior we’re investigating.

Guay said his son has had two interviews with investigators. In a senior year in which the Eagles already have three wins — one more than the last two seasons combined — he just wants to play hockey, Guay said.

In that regard, O’Leary’s decision to resume the season is the right one. When the investigations concludes and all the facts are in, we’ll know if it’s still the right one.