MAINEiacs GM & Head Coach Ed Harding was on record in Saturday’s Lewiston Sun Journal that top goaltender Jonathan Bernier and top defenseman Kevin Marshall are going nowhere, which again, is not a huge shocker. The club continues to hang onto assets in hopes of some postseason magic. Heck, it worked last year, right?

This club is different this season, though, and to add in a potential Memorial Cup bid for 2009, no moves in this trade period will likely be the wrong move for the franchise looking ahead… for the rest of this season, and next.

Here’s a look at reality here. This season’s version of the Lewiston MAINEiacs have not lived up to their billing. The unforseen losses of Eric Castonguay, Sebastien Piche and the back-breaking loss of David Perron really put the screws into the season that was the defense of the President’s Cup. If it was known at the draft table in Drummondville that the club would have to endure those subtractions, one would guess that things would have been handled a little differently, but this is junior hockey and as the saying goes, “it happens”.

Knowing this, the team trudges through the year doing the best that Stefano Giliati and Stefan Chaput can carry it, and with the loss of Perron, the team lacks at forward depth in a big way, not only for this year, but next season as well. The Dynamic Duo that have dazzled us for the past three years will surely be gone, as age will take Giliati out and the likely possibility of the AHL is ahead for Chaput. Add to that, Bernier will certainly play for Manchester if not LA next season, and our 20 year olds look like defensemen Tom Michalik and Guillaume Durand. That is all. For a team that is serious about hosting the Holy Grail of junior hockey, which it should because it has a helluva shot at it, one would think that someone in the organization would be a bit concerned about that.

Think about it. May comes and QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau announces that the Lewiston MAINEiacs will host the 2009 Memorial Cup, and the club has no bonafide cash-in forwards, two average defenseman as it’s only overagers, and a goaltender in Peter Delmas who has not lived up to expectations that he set himself last season in Bernier’s absence in the World Junior Championships. All these years of hanging on to players and not moving them could haunt this team in a big way at the draft in Sydney, NS this June. The cost of acquiring much needed bodies then will go through the roof as other teams GM’s lick their chops of the windfall that will come their way. For Lewiston to compete in the Memorial Cup, the club will likely pay for seasons to come.

The buzzword at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee Saturday night was that of, “Why don’t we trade Bernier?” Really, it this simple. Cost.

The deal that sent Brad Marchand to Halifax was the bell weather sign of what it was going to take. A couple bodies, a couple high picks. Add another body with strong upside and another high pick, and that is the likely cost for the services of Bernier. Inquiring GM’s hang up the phone and say “forget it”. Can’t blame them, as most teams can’t afford that. A stud that Bernier is with proven experience, any GM offering less that that could be tagged as being a pinhead.

But the thought of Delmas or a defenseman like Michael Ward being dangled in a deal is one that has intriguing from a couple angles. For one, both have an excellent upside, and could bring value that isn’t ridiculous for teams to afford. A deal involving an 18 and 19 year old forward that can put points on the board seems fair and reasonable, and would help the team this season and next. With forward Jakub Bundil in likely his last season in Lewiston, the chances of getting a good goaltender in the European draft (a la Jaroslav Halak) is a fair bet to fill the hole that Bernier and Delmas leave behind. From there it is a matter of adding veteran offensive depth as three lines worth of role players and grinders are already here.

Chances are though, nothing is going to happen, judging by Harding’s comments to Justin Pelletier of the Sun Journal on Saturday:

“If we’re going to go after a bona fide goal-scorer, what are we willing to give up?” Harding asked rhetorically. “Do we want to give up the young guys, do we want to give up the draft picks? We don’t want to do that. We’re looking at different options, and if there’s something we like, then we’ll make a move on it.”

All that is left to be said on that is better hope Lewiston doesn’t get the Memorial Cup bid with that kind of logic, or else the team might embarass itself on the biggest stage in the league. If your going to host the Memorial Cup, better be in it to win in. If this team is serious about hosting the 2009 tournament, then it should position itself accordingly now and address as many issues as it can before the cost goes years and years down the road.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com

Currently, Halifax’ top picks in 2008 & 2009 are frozen by the league awaiting whether or not forward Brad Malone ever finds his way to the Metro Centre in a deal made with Acadie-Bathurst on draft day in 2006. If Malone does decide that it’s time to dawn a Moosehead jersey in time for Christmas, Patenaude is going to have a mess on his hands, as his top picks in 2008, 2009, 2011 & 2012 are now spoken for. While chances of that are unlikely, anything is possible, and one must tip his hat to the Halifax GM for having the guts to try. If Malone does not report by the end of the season, the league will thaw the 2008 & 2009 first rounders and they will go to Val-d’Or and the Mooseheads 2011 & 2012 top picks will be returned to them.

The Moosehead faithful are an understandably desperate lot. The region has not won a major championship in hockey since 1977 when the Nova Scotia Voyageurs won their third American Hockey League Calder Cup in six seasons. The next time the city would get a whiff of a championship was the 2000 Memorial Cup, losing to the Barrie Otters of the Ontario League in the semi-final as the host team. In 2005, Halifax would be the runner up to Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Oceanic who held no prisoners in a four game sweep for the Presidents Cup trophy.

With Jakub Voracek (16-34-50), Ryan Hillier (21-22-43), Peter-James Corsi (20-21-41), Tomas Knotek (13-28-41) and Bryce Swan (13-12-25), then add Marchand (21-23-44), it makes the Mooseheads a bonafide contender, no way around it. Conceivably, five out of the six could easily finish in the top 10 in scoring in the league when game 70 arrives in March, which would be unheard of since the 1970-71 season when Guy Lafleur, Michel Briere, Andre Savard, Jacques Richard and Richard Grenier did it for the Quebec Remparts.

When all is said and done at this point, the next time Halifax will pick in the first and second rounds will be 2010. Sure, after the run this year, there will be a firesale of mostly spare parts of what is left in Sydney at the draft next June in order to jumpstart the rebuilding process, but it could be another five to six years after that before the Mooseheads become a factor again. Val-d’Or went for broke in 2001 and it proved successful, but they fell off the charts and weren’t heard from again until last season. When GM’s play these games with the future in order to win now, it comes at a hefty price tag in the forseable future. All in all, when you factor in that each pick / player usually yields 4-5 seasons worth of service, 26 seasons worth (+/-) of service was given up here for roughly a half season of use of just one player.

The trade here could indeed win the Mooseheads the Presidents Cup and Memorial Cup, but only one man remaining in the league holds the key of just how much of a battle it is going to be.

Watch The Huskies

GM & Head Coach Andre Tourigny of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies has the assets to tip the scale, and after six seasons of coming up short, it may just be time for him to go for broke. This years Huskies squad is one that resembles last seasons MAINEiacs in the way that they approach the game, and have many contributors to the scoresheet.

After acquiring netminder Jhase Sniderman from the Moncton Wildcats in mid-November, Rouyn has gone 9-3 and is battling it out with perrenial favorite Gatineau Olympiques in the Telus Division for the top seed. While the addition of Sniderman was great for the short term, the question remains of if the 20 year-old can get it done in the post season.

In comes the MAINEiacs and the services of one Jonathan Bernier. If there is one team in the league remaining that hasn’t put all their eggs in one basket in trades, it’s Rouyn-Noranda. Knowing Lewiston and their conservative history around trading star players, it would take a kings ransom to pry the 19 year-old away from here, and Rouyn is the only one left that can come up with the assets necessary to pull the trigger on a deal.

Not saying that there are rumours going around, or anything imminent about to happen, but it makes too much sense that Tourigny would be inquiring on a possible deal. With the Mooseheads adding Marchand, he would be foolish if he wasn’t.

Another factor is next season’s Memorial Cup bid placed by the MAINEiacs. For Lewiston to be competitive next season, they are going to have to make deals to get offense into the team. With Stefano Giliati not returning and Stefan Chaput likely destined for the AHL, coupled with only two 20 year-olds to be considered that are both on the blueline (Michalik & Durand), Lewiston is going to need to make some serious moves to contend for the Memorial Cup if they indeed get the bid. The MAINEiacs will have to make deals just to be competitive regardless if they get the bid or not.

Judging from the past of how these teams make deals, chances are if anything gets done, it won’t be until after the World Junior Championships conclude, and could even be a deadline deal. A short list of who could possbily come this way in a deal would likely include 17 year-olds Jarrad Struthers (9-13-22) and Jean-Sebastien Berube (5-7-12) and 18 year-old Maxime Macenauer (11-20-31), although Macenauer would likely not come until the draft as he is an integral part of the Huskies.

Again, this is all pure speculation, but it makes too much sense that something could happen between the two teams.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com

Dave Taylor Dealt

Even though I haven’t been around, I have kept an eye on what has transpired with the whole Dave Taylor situation, a most unfortunate one at that. Taylor says that MAINEiacs GM & Head Coach Ed Harding is anti-Francophone. Here’s a memo to you Dave: Don’t fight the separatist movement down here. It might fly in the Maritimes, but here in the US? When it comes to the Quebec political scene, the Lewiston MAINEiacs aren’t the enemy in the culture struggles fanned by the Parti- and Bloc- Quebecois parties.

Sure, we’ve seen players that voiced frustrations of being in a dominantly Francophone in the majority Anglophone world that demanded to be moved, but much as in the case this time, they end up running to the media and run their skimmers which embarasses the organization for no good reason. If you want out because you don’t like being in an Anglophone world? Keep your mouth shut to the media and quietly ask to be dealt. Don’t run home to Quebec and find a news reporter that is just salavating to write up your anti-Anglo hate rant. The language in Lewiston is hockey. You perform to the best of your ability, you get ice time. You act like a dope, take a night off and do dumb things on and/or off the ice, you sit. As it should be.

In this case, I’d like to give Taylor the benefit of the doubt. Facing facts, there are just some players that struggle to perform under certain systems. Some players who are invisible under one coach could flourish with another. Speedy forwards with a lot of creative ability don’t work in trap or defense first mindsets. Smart forwards who are willing to pay the price in front of the net get rewarded by getting rebounds and goals. Taylor, to his credit, really never fit under the Jodoin or Harding regimes. That is not to blame him, or the coaches he played under. He just seemed to be in his own world on the ice, and didn’t look all that comfortable on most nights. So be it. Leave town with some class and dignity by quietly requesting a deal, and don’t run your mouth to a media about a bias that clearly does not exist in Lewiston.

Durand Comes to Lewiston

The flip side of this deal is that of Guillaume Durand, a 19 year-old defenseman, who had 19 points in 67 games for Shawinigan last season. The former 1st round pick of the Cataractes in 2004 played in only 5 games in the 2007-08 campaign and has not seen QMJHL action since October, when he decided he couldn’t play for Cats coach Eric Vellieux. Durand was the second player to leave Shawinigan since the start of the season, the other being goaltender Marc-Andre Perron. Reading a translated column that ran in L’Hebdo of Saint Maurice, Durand showed up to training camp not in the best of condition and wasn’t ready to make sacrifices, according to Vellieux.

Durand left the Cataractes and joined Les Patriotes de Saint-Eustache, and had 14 assists and 70 penalty minutes in 20 games. Durand will bring an element of toughness and grit to the MAINEiacs, as he is not afraid to drop the gloves in judging his history.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com

Perron Sticks With St. Louis

I have to admit, this one surprised me. At the begining of the season when camp opened, there was little doubt to me that Jonathan Bernier was going to return, and David Perron was another that I figured would be back by October, November at the latest. That wasn’t to be, as the St. Louis Blues announced they were keeping the former MAINEiac forward for what could be the rest of the 2007-08 season.

The popular question that I have received of late is why Perron stuck and Bernier didn’t. I am not in the decision making process with how these teams operate and inject youth into the system, but from witnessing patterns of GM’s and organizations for a number of years, the answer is pretty simple: forwards graduate quicker than any other positional player. The reasons for that is numbers needed for the position (i.e. 12 forwards versus 6 defense and 2 goaltenders can dress on any given night), and front line guys with multiple tools (vision, passing, shooting, physical, speed, size) generally get longer looks much like Perron did. Goaltenders tend to mature at a slower pace, much by design. Most netminders move on from junior to a couple seasons in the minors, then progress in a back up role in the NHL before eventually taking the reigns. Being a goaltender is much more mentally demanding, which is the reason why in most cases they are brought along more slowly.

St. Louis is trying to rebuild itself under new ownership and direction, and needs to compete in the NHL’s Central Division, arguably the most exciting division in the league at this point. After a couple of bad seasons, the Blues are looking to the future. Perron was the perfect fit for them at the right time. Willingness to learn, effort to put behind it, the tools to work with, positive results on the scoresheet, and a bright smiling face would put any player like him in position to make the team, and that is exactly what he did.

Bernier’s is going to have his day, and as I have outlined in the column before, it’s not a bad thing that he’s back. Sure, Jo may disagree when he picks up his junior level paycheck, but most great goaltenders that played in the NHL really don’t burst onto the scene and have any success with regularity until the ages of 23-25, (that is the ones that don’t get rushed). GM Dean Lombardi isn’t going to be swayed to throw him in between the pipes in any sort of a hurry, and although Bernier would love to have a few extra Greenbacks in his wallet, the third contract he signs in his career will surely more than offset the deficit in his rear pocket now.

Can’t help be proud of David and his accomplishment, and although it would have been a huge shot in the arm for the MAINEiacs if he returned to Lewiston, it’s time to look ahead and play with the cards that have been dealt.

File This Under ‘Moronic’

In a story that is getting considerable play up north, a match between the Niagara Falls Thunder Novice AAA team and the Duffield Devils in a tournament in Guelph, Ontario ended in a bench clearing brawl between the two teams. According to the intital report in the Globe And Mail, the Thunder took exception to the cheap shots the Devils displayed in Duffields’ 8-1 blow out of Niagara, and at the end of the match, emptied the bench. One Niagara coach allegedly spit on a Duffield coach, the police had to be called in to break up the fracas, and likely charges are going to be filed against coaches on both clubs, as well as player suspensions.

In a follow-up column in the Globe and Mail, the assistant coach from the Thunder who spat at the Devils coach was more or less forced to resign as a result of his actions, which is as it should be. Any coach at any level engaging in that kind of activity shouldn’t be allowed to participate in the game, period.

Just the idea of 8 year-old kids engaged in this sort of conduct is enough for anyone to do a double take at what is going on with the game and the adults involved with it. Sure, it’s one incident, not enough to blow out of proportion and say that the game of hockey is going to hell. The question I have is, what are the coaches thinking here? Regardless of how it all started during the course of the game, it’s how it ended up. It takes two to dance and both coaching parties decided it was time to do the “salsa”. It’s idiots like these guys that give the game a big black-eye at the amateur level, and will no doubt have parents rethinking if they want to subject their children to that kind of atmosphere.

Hockey is an emotionally charged game. The higher the level, the more emotion gets funneled into it. Eight year-olds getting the sticks up, roughing up other players and ultimately brawling isn’t what this game needs.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com

Media: ESPN 1470 AM in Lewiston/Auburn; ESPN 870 AM in Portland;
Audio Stream; Webcast on TELUS

Quick Stats

Lewiston MAINEiacs
3rd Place, Eastern Division
Record: 10-7-1-0 (21 pts)
Streak: Won 2
Last 5: 2-2-1-0
Power Play: 19.5% (26 PPGF) 6th (3 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 83.1% (23 SHGA) 10th (2 SHGF)

Players to watch:

11-LW- Stefano Giliati (14-10-24) 4 PPG; 7 GWG
34-C- Stefan Chaput (8-12-20) 2 PPG; 2 GWG
22-LW- Chris Tutalo (3-15-18) 2 PPG
47-RW- Danick Hudon-Paquette (6-5-14) 6 PPG
46-D- Kevin Marshall (5-8-13) 4 PPG; 1 GWG
9-C- Alexander Beaton (5-8-13) 1 PPG; 1 SHG

1-G- Jonathan Bernier (2-2; 2.98 GAA; 0.879 SAV%)
30-G- Peter Delmas (9-6; 2.65 GAA; 0.911 SAV%)
33-G- Kirk Rafuse (1-0; 5.86 GAA; 0.773 SAV%)

Halifax Mooseheads
2nd Place, Eastern Division
Record: 11-3-0-5 (27 pts)
Streak: Lost 3
Last 5: 1-0-0-4
Power Play: 21.7% (26 PPGF) 3rd (3 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 82.8% (17 SHGA) 13th (5 SHGF)

Players to Watch:

20-RW- Jakub Voracek (4-24-28) 1 GWG
17-LW- Ryan Hillier (13-8-21) 5 PPG; 3 SHG; 1 GWG
14-C- Tomas Knotek (7-10-17) 2 PPG; 1 GWG
19-C- Peter-James Corsi (6-11-17) 3 PPG; 1 GWG
16-RW- Bryce Swan (10-5-15) 5 PPG; 2 GWG

35-G- Pier-Olivier Pelletier (4-6; 2.94 GAA; 0.900 SAV%)
31-G- Mark Yetman (6-1; 3.08 GAA; 0.895 SAV%)

Head-to-Head
Series tied 1-1

September 28 MAINEiacs 2 @ Mooseheads 3

September 29 MAINEiacs 2 @ Mooseheads 1

Media: ESPN 1470 AM in Lewiston/Auburn; ESPN 870 AM in Portland;
Audio Stream; Webcast on TELUS

Quick Stats

Lewiston MAINEiacs
4th Place, Eastern Division
Record: 10-7-1-0 (21 pts)
Streak: Won 2
Last 5: 2-2-1-0
Power Play: 17.5% (21 PPGF) 8th (3 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 83.2% (20 SHGA) 10th (2 SHGF)

Players to watch:

11-LW- Stefano Giliati (11-9-20) 3 PPG; 6 GWG
22-LW- Chris Tutalo (2-12-14) 2 PPG
34-C- Stefan Chaput (6-7-13) 1 PPG; 1 GWG
47-RW- Danick Hudon-Paquette (7-5-12) 5 PPG
46-D- Kevin Marshall (5-6-11) 4 PPG; 1 GWG
21-C- Dave Taylor (4-6-10) 1 PPG; 1 SHG

1-G- Jonathan Bernier (1-2; 2.97 GAA; 0.882 SAV%)
30-G- Peter Delmas (8-6; 2.70 GAA; 0.910 SAV%)
33-G- Kirk Rafuse (1-0; 5.86 GAA; 0.773 SAV%)

PEI Rocket
8th Place, Eastern Division
Record: 7-10-1-0 (15 pts)
Streak: Lost 3
Last 5: 2-3-0-0
Power Play: 13.1% (14 PPGF) 15th (5 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 85.2% (18 SHGA) 7th (8 SHGF)

Players to Watch:

17-C- Brett Morrison (9-18-27) 1 PPG; 2 SHG; 1 GWG
8-RW- Geoff Walker (8-17-25) 2 PPG; 1 SHG
10-C- Chris Doyle (10-10-20) 3 PPG; 1 SHG; 1 GWG
11-LW- Martin Latal (9-10-19) 1 PPG; 1 SHG; 1 GWG
19-RW- Jan Kana (7-5-12) 2 PPG; 1 SHG; 1 GWG
14-LW- Lucas McKinley (5-7-12) 2 SHG; 1 GWG

30-G- Marc-Antoine Gelinas (4-1; 2.97 GAA; 0.909 SAV%)
35-G- Antoine Lafleur (3-10; 4.62 GAA; 0.850 SAV%)

Head-to-Head
PEI leads season series 1-0

September 19 MAINEiacs 1 @ Rocket 4

The Rocket Set Sights On Lewiston

The PEI Rocket and Lewiston MAINEiacs battle in a pair this weekend at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in what will be the only visit by the club from the island in the regular season.

As documented here in ‘Off The Post’, the Rocket have gone through some changes in the past couple of weeks as coach Yanick Jean was shown the door and replaced with 17-year QMJHL bench boss Guy Chouinard. Just three games on the job, Chouinard was promoted this week to director of hockey operations as the club went through more internal musical chairs, as team president Serge Savard, Jr. took over as governor, forcing him to relinquish the GM role to his recent hire. Chouinard has worn both hats before with the Sherbrooke Faucons in 1994-95

Since Chouinard took over the helm, the Rocket have lost all three games he’s coached, most recently a 6-5 decision at the Metro Centre in Halifax. PEI entered the final frame leading 4-2, just to see the Mooseheads score four unanswered goals and take the game away.

Rocket goalie Antoine Lafleur has had a start to the season that he would much rather forget. In 6 of his 13 games, the third year netminder has given up 5 goals or more, with PEI only winning one of those games. The 19 year-old has not won a game since October 17, that coming in long relief against the St. John’s Fog Devils, a 4-3 shootout victory. In his last three starts, he was pulled in favor of Marc-Antoine Gelinas after giving up two quick goals against the Rimouski Oceanic on October 19th, and lost 3-0 to the Fog Devils last Friday and the 6-5 loss to Halifax on Saturday. Gelinas has fared well overall in backing up Lafleur, picking up 3 wins in his last five appearances. The 18 year-old rookie lost his last start against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on October 24th, giving up 5 goals in the Eagles 6-4 win over the Rocket.

Brett Morrison, PEI’s top center, is third overall in the league in scoring at this juncture with 27 points, trailing the Eagles’ Dean Ouellet (31 points), and the Gatineau Olympiques’ Claude Giroux with (29 points). Making strong impressions for the Rocket is 17 year-old Chris Doyle, as the Charlottetown native has 20 points in 18 games in his second season for his hometown team.

The MAINEiacs enter the game winners of thier last two games, most recently a dramatic 2-1 shootout victory over division rival Saint John Sea Dogs at Harbour Station on Tuesday. Rookie Marc Bourgeois as the 12th shooter won it for Lewiston, as MAINEiacs goalie Jonathan Bernier outlasted his former teammate Travis Fullerton for the victory. Defenseman Denis Reul scored his second goal in a Lewiston uniform in the win.

Lewiston just wrapped up a decent October overall, going 8-2-1-0 for the month after a 2-5 start in September. The MAINEiacs have outscored opponents 41-29 in the previous 11 games while gaining 17 of a possible 22 points in the standings.

The team posted an impressive 87.0% penalty kill for the month, which has advanced the club from 17th in the league at the end of September to 10th at the end of October. Power play success increased fractionally from 17.0% the season opening month to 17.8% last month.

MAINEiacs / Pirates Place Bid for 2009 Memorial Cup

Beating the deadline by 7 1/2 hours, the Lewiston MAINEiacs, in a collaborative effort with the Portland Pirates, have submitted a bid for the 2009 Memorial Cup along with five other QMJHL teams. If awarded, the nine-day tournament celebrating the very best of Canadian junior hockey would be played exclusively at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The Lewiston / Portland group, made up of MAINEiacs owner Mark Just andn Pirates owner and CEO Brian Petrovek, is in competition with Shawinigan, Rimouski, Halifax, St. John’s and Chicoutimi. QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau will create an independent committee to visit all the candiates starting in January, going through March, with the winner announced in April.

CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – week 6

1. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (14-4-1-0)
2. Sault Ste-Marie Greyhounds (12-3-1-0)
3. Calgary Hitmen (11-5-0-1)
4. Kitchener Rangers (11-2-0-0)
5. Windsor Spitfires (11-3-0-2)
6. Tri-City Americans (12-4-0-0)
7. Halifax Mooseheads (11-3-0-2)
8. Baie-Comeau Drakkar (12-4-0-2)
9. Spokane Chiefs (11-2-1-1)
10. Medicine Hat Tigers (11-3-2-0)

48 Years Ago - November 1st

At approximately 7:10 p.m. on Nov. 1, 1959, ‘just another game’ turned into one of the landmark moments in NHL history. The streaking, first-place Montreal Canadiens (8-2-3) were playing the struggling New York Rangers (2-7-2) at Madison Square Garden. All-Star Jacques Plante, in goal for the Canadiens, was struck in the face with a shot by Rangers forward Andy Bathgate at 3:06 of the first period. Stan Fischler, who was covering the contest for The Hockey News and The New York Journal-American vividly remembers the play: ‘I watched Plante crumble to the ice in a pool of blood. It was obvious that this was serious stuff and the Canadiens’ trainer skidded out to the crease,’ Fischler added. ‘With a trail of blood behind him, the goalie was escorted to the Montreal dressing room. Read More.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com

Media: ESPN 1470 AM in Lewiston/Auburn; ESPN 870 AM in Portland;
Audio Stream; Webcast on TELUS

Quick Stats

Lewiston MAINEiacs
4th Place, Eastern Division
Record: 9-7-1-0 (19 pts)
Streak: Won 1
Last 5: 2-2-1-0
Power Play: 18.7% (20 PPGF) 6th (3 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 82.9% (19 SHGA) 10th (2 SHGF)

Players to watch:

11-LW- Stefano Giliati (11-8-19) 3 PPG; 6 GWG
22-LW- Chris Tutalo (2-12-14) 2 PPG
34-C- Stefan Chaput (6-7-13) 1 PPG; 1 GWG
47-RW- Danick Hudon-Paquette (7-4-11) 5 PPG
46-D- Kevin Marshall (5-6-11) 4 PPG; 1 GWG
21-C- Dave Taylor (4-6-10) 1 PPG; 1 SHG

1-G- Jonathan Bernier (0-2; 4.10 GAA; 0.837 SAV%)
30-G- Peter Delmas (8-6; 2.70 GAA; 0.910 SAV%)
33-G- Kirk Rafuse (1-0; 5.86 GAA; 0.773 SAV%)

Saint John Sea Dogs
3rd Place, Eastern Division
Record: 10-4-0-1 (21 pts)
Streak: Won 1
Last 5: 3-1-0-1
Power Play: 14.6% (13 PPGF) 11th (2 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 85.6% (13 SHGA) 6th (3 SHGF)

Players to Watch:

25-C- Christopher DiDomenico (12-9-21) 4 PPG; 2 SHG; 3 GWG
19-LW- Payton Liske (3-12-15)
27-LW- Scott Howes (4-8-12) 3 PPG; 1 GWG
14-RW- Francois Gauthier (1-11-12) 1 PPG
55-C- Francois Leduc (5-6-11) 2 PPG; 1 GWG
4-LW- Ryan Sparling (3-7-10) 1 PPG; 1 GWG

34-G- Robert Mayer (6-1; 2.51 GAA; 0.907 SAV%)
1-G- Travis Fullerton (4-4; 3.13 GAA; 0.895 SAV%)

Head-to-Head
(Saint John leads series 2-1)

MAINEiacs Head To Harbour Station

Lewiston and Saint John will face-off for the fourth meeting between the two Eastern Division rivals on the early QMJHL season tonight. The game tonight will be the last game for both teams in the month of October. The month overall has treated both teams well as Lewiston looks to improve on a 7-2-1-0 record, and Saint John with a 6-2-0-1 stretch since October 1st has added to the Sea Dogs best ever start in their two-plus year history.

The tide has certainly changed for the MAINEiacs as the Sea Dogs have outscored Lewiston 9-2 in their last two meetings, arguably two of the worst games that the MAINEiacs have played all season. In both contests, Lewiston coughed the puck up in situations too numerous to count, struggled to maintain puck posession, and had difficulty moving the puck out in breakout situations.

While the Sea Dogs have yet to turn the corner to ‘contender’ status in the QMJHL, thier club has improved to the point where they are going to cause teams problems any night they square off against them. No longer the road-kill of the division and league, Saint John has already put the rest of the league on notice that if teams want two points from them, then better show up to play.

While it could be real easy to focus on Christopher DiDomenico & Payton Liske for a majority of the Sea Dogs offense, all in all 18 players have registered at least one goal for Saint John, showing that depth does indeed pay off in the ‘W’ column when it all adds up. The Sea Dogs aren’t scoring a lot of goals yet, but they will continue to get stronger with every game.

For Lewiston, the gutsy 4-2 victory over Moncton on Sunday was a pleasant turnaround after the dreadful games with Saint John and Chicoutimi last week. The MAINEiacs made a switch in net, with Peter Delmas getting the nod and the Bedford, Nova Scotia native was solid when it mattered late in the game. Lewiston did a better job handling and controlling the puck, but struggled to hold the puck in the offensive zone at times. Most importantly, the club looked much more comfortable on the ice and it showed with a better effort.

The MAINEiacs are seeing the emergence of 17 year-old Alexander Beaton with five points in his last three games (3-2-5) with a shorthanded goal against the Sea Dogs last Wednesday evening that started his upswing. The rookie from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia has 9 points in 16 games (4-5-9) overall. Working on a line currently with Chris Tutalo and Marc-Andre Daneau, the scoring champion of the Nova Scotia Major Midget League last season for the Dartmouth Subways could play a key role in Lewiston’s success for the season.

Around the QMJHL

Players Of The Week

Michael Frolik of the Rimouski Oceanic earned offensive honors and Timo Pielmeier of the St. John’s Fog Devils defensive honors as TELUS players of the week by the QMJHL on Monday.

Frolik returned to the ‘Nics line up after an early season injury and made a big impact, scoring six goals and adding an assist in three games last week. The 2006 first round draft pick of the Florida Panthers had a hat trick against Chicoutimi last Tuesday, as Rimouski ouscored opponents 15-6 and went 2-1 last week as they slowly turn their season around.

Pielmeier is turning into a rock for St. John’s (excuse the pun) after two road wins over Moncton and PEI last week. Last Thursday against the Wildcats, he turned aside 37 of 39 shots in the Fog Devils 3-2 win. On Friday, he blocked all 42 shots, earning his first QMJHL shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Rocket.                                     

The MAINEiacs’ Alexander Beaton was an honorable mention.

More Changes On the Island

Reorganization of the PEI Rocket front office continues as Serge Savard, Jr. takes over as Governor of the club, replacing his brother, Marc, who recently took a five year position with the Quebec provincial lottery and gaming system, and was forced to resign. The junior Savard retains his title as team President.

With Savard kicking himself upstairs, recently hired coach Guy Chouinard is now taking over GM duties and is now director of hockey operations for the team.

The Rocket will face Lewiston for their only visit to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee this weekend on Friday and Saturday.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com

Media: ESPN 1470 AM in Lewiston/Auburn; ESPN 870 AM in Portland;
Audio Stream; Webcast on TELUS

Quick Stats

Lewiston MAINEiacs
5th Place, Eastern Division
Record: 8-7-1-0 (17 pts)
Streak: Lost 3
Last 5: 2-2-1-0
Power Play: 19.6% (21 PPGF) 6th (3 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 84.0% (15 SHGA) 10th (2 SHGF)

Players to watch:

11-LW- Stefano Giliati (10-8-18) 3 PPG; 5 GWG
22-LW- Chris Tutalo (2-10-12) 2 PPG
34-C- Stefan Chaput (6-5-11) 1 PPG; 1 GWG
46-D- Kevin Marshall (5-6-11) 4 PPG; 1 GWG
47-RW- Danick Hudon-Paquette (6-4-10) 5 PPG

 1-G- Jonathan Bernier (0-2; 4.10 GAA; 0.837 SAV%)
30-G- Peter Delmas (7-6; 2.75 GAA; 0.909 SAV%)
33-G- Kirk Rafuse (1-0; 5.86 GAA; 0.773 SAV%)

Moncton Wildcats
7th Place, Eastern Division
Record: 7-9-1-1 (16 pts)
Streak: Won 1
Last 5: 2-3-0-0
Power Play: 12.7% (15 PPGF) 15th (3 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 78.0% (24 SHGA) 17th (2 SHGF)

Players to Watch:

36-C- Matt Eagles (8-10-18) 3 PPG; 1 SHG
61-LW- Matt Marquardt (10-5-15) 4 PPG; 2 GWG
77-C- Phil Mangan (3-12-15) 1 PPG; 1 GWG
17-C- Randy Cameron (5-6-11) 2 PPG; 1 GWG
44-D- Mark Barberio (3-7-10) 2 PPG

29-G- Nicola Riopel (6-7; 2.98 GAA; 0.905 SAV%)
31-G- Charles Lavigne (1-4; 2.42 GAA; 0.920 SAV%)

Head-to-Head
(Lewiston leads season series 1-0)

Wildcats 2 @ MAINEiacs 3

MAINEiacs Tangle With Wildcats

The roller-coaster ride that is the 2007-08 season for the Lewiston MAINEiacs continues this afternoon at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. Lewiston looks to snap a three-game losing streak at the expense of the Moncton Wildcats, who have had problems of their own.

The ‘Cats are just 2-8 in October with a six-game losing streak to start off the month. Moncton is 2-2 in their last four games, with a 3-2 win over Rimouski on October 20th, and Friday night’s 7-2 pounding of Cape Breton.

In Friday’s game against the Screaming Eagles, the Wildcats’ sagging special teams woke up in a big way, going 5 for 8 (62.5%) on the power play, while killing off 6 of 7 (85.7%) on the penalty kill. Moncton’s near bottom rating on the advantage and disadvantage is a little deceiving, as the ‘Cats have scored 8 goals in thier last 25 chances (32.0%) and have killed of 17 of their last 21 (80.1%) a man down. Prior to Friday’s game against Cape Breton, Moncton was 4 of 24 (16.7%) on the power play heading into that contest and had started to turn in around.

Matt Eagles has a three-game point streak for Moncton. The 19 year-old center has a goal and four assists in his last three contests. The native of Quebec City had a three point night Friday (1-2-3) against Cape Breton.

Lewiston enters the game trying to shake off a pair of bad games against Saint John and Chicoutimi, where high frequency turnovers, indicipline and selfish play ruled both losses. Somewhere since the return to Lewiston from Val-d’Or last week, the ‘Team Concept’ switch was turned off and the ‘I’ll Do Everything On My Own’ light was flipped on, and as a result, two very bad games.

No point in naming names, as everyone is responsible. It’s going to take everyone to turn it around, and the sooner that locker room figures that out, the better. There is no need for the kind of display of the previous two nights, especially for a team far more talented, and far more the team, than what was shown.

MAINEiacs Upcoming Bus Trips

Nov 18-19 Drummondville & Shawinigan
Dec 8 Chicago Wolves @ Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Dec 16 Victoriaville
Jan 11-13 Quebec & Chicoutimi
Feb 2-3 Quebec Winter Carnival
Feb 22-24 Moncton & Saint John

See Sheila under the Lee Auto-Fan Attic (Section 7) at the game this afternoon or call her at 783-9650.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com

Media: ESPN 1470 AM in Lewiston/Auburn; ESPN 870 AM in Portland;
Audio Stream; Webcast on TELUS

Quick Stats

Lewiston MAINEiacs
4th Place, Eastern Division
Record: 8-6-1-0 (17 pts)
Streak: Lost 2
Last 5: 3-1-1-0
Power Play: 20.7% (19 PPGF) 5th (3 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 84.0% (15 SHGA) 10th (2 SHGF)

Players to watch:

11-LW- Stefano Giliati (10-8-18) 3 PPG; 5 GWG
22-LW- Chris Tutalo (2-10-12) 2 PPG
34-C- Stefan Chaput (6-5-11) 1 PPG; 1 GWG
47-RW- Danick Hudon-Paquette (6-4-10) 5 PPG
46-D- Kevin Marshall (5-5-10) 4 PPG; 1 GWG
 
1-G- Jonathan Bernier (0-1; 3.07 GAA; 0.842 SAV%)
30-G- Peter Delmas (7-6; 2.75 GAA; 0.909 SAV%)
33-G- Kirk Rafuse (1-0; 5.86 GAA; 0.773 SAV%)

Chicoutimi Sagueneens
7th Place, TELUS Division
Record: 7-9-0-0 (14 pts)
Streak: Lost 1
Last 5: 1-4-0-0
Power Play: 8.6% (9 PPGF) 17th (1 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 87.7% (9 SHGA) 4th (1 SHGF)

Players to Watch:

9-C- Francis Pare (7-6-13) 1 PPG
64-C- Joel Champagne (4-6-10) 1 SHG; 1 GWG
25-LW- Antoine Roussel (2-7-9)
10-LW- Jacob Lagace (5-3-8) 1 PPG; 1 GWG
22-D- Mathieu Bolduc (2-6-8) 1 PPG

38-G- Bobby Nadeau (4-6; 2.08 GAA; 0.916 SAV%)
30-G- Francois Levesque (3-3; 3.70 GAA; 0.879 SAV%)

MAINEiacs Look To Rebound Tonight Against Sagueneens

‘Puzzling’ is the word that comes to mind after Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Puzzling as to why the team didn’t play more inspired in Jonathan Bernier’s return to the line up. Puzzling as to why a sudden shuffling of the line up after an eight game point streak. More puzzling as to why GM & Head Coach Ed Harding accepted full responsibility for the loss in the quotes  printed in Thursday’s Sun Journal in a story by Justin Pelletier:

“If it wasn’t working, that’s my fault,” Maineiacs’ head coach Ed Harding said. “There’s some things we need to work on; there’s some things we need to address. The players weren’t prepared, so I look at myself right in the mirror and do a better job tomorrow.”

Hopefully the mirrors didn’t shatter when the players and thier head coach looked at them Wednesday night after what was one of the poorest overall efforts of the season, since the last time Sea Dogs and MAINEiacs played in Harbour Station in September. At that time, Lewiston got off the bus and had an early morning skate to work on the issues that plagued them in that game. Maybe that was needed Wednesday night, too.

The Sagueneens, like the Sea Dogs, aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut. In fact, Saint John (42) has only scored two more goals than Chicoutimi (40) as both clubs are near the basement in the league in goal production. The Sags power play is as dreadful (8.6%), as the penalty kill is impressive (87.7%).

Gone from the Sags is the name of David Desharnais due to age, and his loss has been a tough one to overcome for GM & Head Coach Richard Martel. While the pick up of Francis Pare from the Shawinigan Cataractes helped a little, the void left by Desharnais has had a noticeable affect on the Sags approach to the game.

The club plays a much more defensive game this season, something uncharacteristic for Martel who in the past has opted more for the run-and-gun game. Given the Sags recent teams with the weapons of Desharnais, Maxime Boisclair, Stanislav Lasek, Marek Zagrapan & Francis Lemieux, the 2007-08 version is a shell of it’s former self in a big way.

But don’t be fooled. With goalie Bobby Nadeau, the Sags have been in most games all season, with 7 games decided by one marker. Since Nadeau found a home in the Saguenay area of Quebec after being on three other QMJHL clubs before his 18th birthday, he’s settled down into being one of the leagues more steadier performers, despite not having a whole lot of offensive support in the past season-plus.

There are no easy teams to play in the QMJHL. Take a night off, lose games that should be won, all have a way of coming back to bite you in the long run. Every point in October will have an influence in March. Hopefully for the MAINEiacs, coaches and players will be on the same page when the game starts tonight and Wednesday’s game will be just a small crack in the mirror.

CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – week 5

1. Sault Ste-Marie Greyhounds (12-0-1-0)
2. Calgary Hitmen (11-3-0-1)
3. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (12-3-1-0)
4. Windsor Spitfires (10-1-0-2)
5. Tri-City Americans (10-3-0-0)
6. Kitchener Rangers (8-2-0-0)
7. Halifax Mooseheads (10-3-0-1)
8. Vancouver Giants (9-2-1-1)
9. Niagara Ice Dogs (9-4-0-0)
10. Baie-Comeau Drakkar (9-4-0-2)

Quick Hits Around The QMJHL

Jean Brousseau, Governor for the Moncton Wildcats, was named President of the QMJHL’s Board of Governors at a meeting in Dorval, Que. yesterday. Brousseau takes over for Marc Savard of the PEI Rocket, who had to resign as a result of a new career venture.

MAINEiacs Upcoming Bus Trips

Nov 18-19 Drummondville & Shawinigan
Dec 8 Chicago Wolves @ Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Dec 16 Victoriaville
Jan 11-13 Quebec & Chicoutimi
Feb 2-3 Quebec Winter Carnival
Feb 22-24 Moncton & Saint John

See Sheila under the Lee Auto-Fan Attic (Section 7) at the game this weekend to book your trip or call her at 783-9650.

Join the new voice of the MAINEiacs Alex Reed and yours truly tonight for the call of the game begining at 6:40 for the pregame show on ESPN 1470 AM in Lewiston/Auburn and ESPN 870 AM in the Portland area. If your attending the game tonight, make sure you turn us on for complete pre- and postgame coverage on your ride home.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com

Media: ESPN 1470 AM in Lewiston/Auburn; ESPN 870 AM in Portland;
Audio Stream; Webcast on TELUS

Quick Stats

Lewiston MAINEiacs
Record: 8-5-1-0 (17 pts)
Streak: Lost 1
Last 5: 4-0-1-0
Power Play: 21.3% (19 PPGF) 5th (3 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 83.1% (15 SHGA) 10th (1 SHGF)

Players to watch:

11-LW- Stefano Giliati (10-8-18) 3 PPG; 5 GWG
22-LW- Chris Tutalo (2-10-12) 2 PPG
34-C- Stefan Chaput (6-5-11) 1 PPG; 1 GWG
47-RW- Danick Hudon-Paquette (6-4-10) 5 PPG
46-D- Kevin Marshall (5-5-10) 4 PPG; 1 GWG
 
30-G- Peter Delmas (7-6; 2.75 GAA; 0.909 SAV%)
33-G- Kirk Rafuse (1-0; 5.86 GAA; 0.773 SAV%)

Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 8-3-0-1 (17 pts)
Streak: Won 1
Last 5: 4-0-0-1
Power Play: 13.7% (10 PPGF) 12th (1 PPGA)
Penalty Kill: 87.0% (10 SHGA) 6th (3 SHGF)

Players to Watch:

25-C- Christopher DiDomenico (9-8-17) 2 PPG; 2 SHG; 2 GWG
19-LW- Payton Liske (2-10-12)
4-LW- Ryan Sparling (3-7-10) 1 PPG; 1 GWG
27-LW- Scott Howes (3-5-8) 3 PPG; 1 GWG
14-RW- Francois Gauthier (1-7-8) 1 PPG

34-G- Robert Mayer (5-1; 2.33 GAA / 0.908 SAV%)
1-G- Travis Fullerton (3-3; 2.76 GAA / 0.905 SAV%)

Head-to-Head (Season Series Tied 1-1)

September 13 Saint John 1 @ MAINEiacs 4

September 23 MAINEiacs 1 @ Saint John 6

Battle For Third Place Tonight

Both Saint John and Lewiston enter tonight’s game tied for third in the QMJHL Eastern Division, and both have won four of their last five games.

The lone setback for the Sea Dogs came at the hands of the Gatineau Olympiques Saturday night at Harbour Station, by way of the shootout. The ‘Piques put on a offensive showcase in the event decider, as Matthew Pistilli, Paul Byron and Claude Giroux all scored on former MAINEiac Travis Fullerton to seal the deal for Gatineau.

On Sunday, Saint John would rebound with a 1-0 victory over the hapless Rimouski Oceanic. In a game that had little to offer on the scoresheet, recent arrival Scott Howes scored his second goal as a Sea Dog and Swiss netminder Robert Mayer turned aside 24 shots to earn the shutout.

Lewiston enters the contest having scored 3 of 4 points from the Abitibi region of Western Quebec. With a 6-1 trouncing of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at the Dave Keon Arena on Friday, the MAINEiacs would return to the Air Creebec Centre and visit the Val-d’Or Foreurs for the first time since clinching the QMJHL title in May.

With goals by Jakub Bundil and Danick Hudon-Paquette powering Lewiston out to a 2-0 lead in the first frame, the Foreurs would scrape their way back into the contest. Julius Sinkovic would cut the lead in half in the second, and Marc-Andre Cote would tie it up early in the third period. Brad Marchand would seal the deal with a seeing-eye wrist shot that whistled past MAINEiac netminder Peter Delmas in overtime to cap off a three point night as Val-d’Or extracted a little revenge in a 3-2 OT win.

Prior to Sunday, Lewiston had won nine straight (including post season) against Val-d’Or as the win for the Foreurs was their first against the MAINEiacs since October 10, 2004.

The Sea Dogs last regulation loss came back on October 5th at the hands of the Halifax Mooseheads, a 5-2 defeat at the Metro Centre, and have scored points in each of their last 5 games. The MAINEiacs have not lost in regulation since September 28th, a 3-2 setback to the Mooseheads also at the Metro Centre. Lewiston has accumulated 15 points in thier last 8 games.

QMJHL Active Point Streaks

Giliati, Stefano  LEW  9 GP (10-8-18)
Ouellet, Dean CAP 9 GP (8-10-18)  
Latal, Martin PEI 8 GP (3-7-10)  
Morrison, Brett PEI 8 GP (4-9-13) 
Desjardins, Jeff  ROU  7 GP (2-8-10)  
Macenauer, Maxime ROU 7 GP (4-6-10)  
Chaput, Stefan LEW 5 GP (4-4-8)  
Kana, Jan PEI  5 GP (5-2-7)

MAINEiacs News

Goaltender Jonathan Bernier re-joined the MAINEiacs on the trip after his assignment by the Los Angeles Kings and could see game action at anytime… Bernier, Kevin Marshall, and David Perron have all been selected to play for Team QMJHL in the upcoming Canada / Russia Challenge and they will be guided by former coach Clem Jodoin. The two games will be played on November 19 in Chicoutimi and November 21 in Gatineau. For the full roster and information, click here… MAINEiacs defenseman Tom Michalik was named Lewiston’s Scholastic Player of the Month for September in a press release… Happy belated birthdays to MAINEiacs Stefano Giliati (10-7) and Marc-Andre Daneau (10-19)… Giliati & Marshall were runners-up in the TELUS player of the week for offensive and defensive players, respectively.

Jean Out On The Island - Chouinard In 

The first coaching casualty of the season was announced Monday, as PEI Rocket President & General Manager Serge Savard, Jr. dismissed Yanick Jean from his post after 15 games.

In comments to The Guardian’s Charles Reid, Jean did not see the axe coming.

“I didn’t know. It wasn’t even a concern for me. It’s a shock,” Jean told The Guardian. “I don’t know if anyone got fired after a five-game (point) streak.”

While the Rocket have improved as of late with nine points in their last five games, the club got off to a lethargic start, winning just three games in their first ten.

With back-to-back losses to Halifax and Gatineau on the road earlier this month by a combined score of 13-7, that was likely the last straw in the mind of Savard. After two seasons of one-round-and-out in the playoffs, coupled with sagging ticket sales, fan disenchantment, and with the slow start, the Rocket GM decided it was time to make a change.

Change, he did.

In a Tuesday press conference, Savard introduced long time QMJHL coach Guy Chouinard as the clubs third head coach since the move from Montreal in 2003.

The 51-year old native of Quebec City brings with him an impressive resume of experience as a player and coach.

Chouinard played for the Quebec Remparts for three seasons from 1971-74, winning the Presidents Cup three times. He was drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Flames in the 1974 entry draft. He played in 578 career games in the NHL between Atlanta/Calgary and St. Louis, averaging nearly a point per game (205-370-575) in his career.

As a coach, Chouinard has coached in 988 QMJHL games (second to Real Paiement) and leads the league in wins with 515. He has one Presidents Cup to his coaching credit from the 1986-87 Longueuil Chevaliers, and has coached in Laval, Quebec & Victoriaville in his career. He was inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame in 2005.

Chouinard coached in the North American Hockey League from 2002-2006 for the Trois-Rivieres Vikings and Thetford Mines Prolab. He was fired from Prolab in January, 2006 and has not coached professionally since. He signed a three-year deal with the Rocket to coach through 2010.

One of the more animated coaches to sit behind the bench, Chouinard will be one to watch when the Rocket visit Lewiston for two games in early November.

CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – week 4

1. Sault Ste-Marie Greyhounds (10-0-1-0)
2. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (10-2-1-0)
3. Calgary Hitmen (9-3-0-1)
4. Windsor Spitfires (8-1-0-1)
5. Tri-City Americans (7-3-0-0)
6. Kitchener Rangers (6-1-0-0)
7. Baie-Comeau Drakkar (8-3-0-1)
8. Niagara Ice Dogs (8-2-0-0)
9. Vancouver Giants (7-1-1-1)
10. Halifax Mooseheads (8-3-0-0)

Quick Hits Around The QMJHL

TELUS players of the week for 10/7-10/13 went to forward Jean-Simon Allard of the St. John’s Fog Devils (4 goals, 4 assists, +2) and defenseman Sebastien Bernier of the Gatineau Olympiques (3 goals, 3 assists, +2)… TELUS players of the week for 10/14-10/20 go to forward Jakub Voracek of the Halifax Mooseheads (1 goal, 6 assists) and goaltender Kevin Defosses (2-0; 1.44 GAA; 0.956 SAV%).

Interesting NHL Stat from the Elias Sports Bureau

When the Canadiens played the Bruins on Monday in Montreal, Bryan Smolinski laced on the skates for his 1,000th regular-season game in the NHL. Smolinski, a native of Toledo, is the 27th U.S.-born player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-game plateau and the second player born in Ohio to do so. The first was defenseman Dave Ellett, who was born in Cleveland in 1964 when his father, Bob, played for the AHL’s Barons. The American players in the 1,000-game club were born in 10 different states:

Massachusetts (6): Jeremy Roenick, Scott Young, Bob Carpenter, Tony Amonte, Tom Fitzgerald, Bill Guerin.
Michigan (6): Mike Modano, Kevin Hatcher, Gordie Roberts, Doug Weight, Kelly Miller, Derian Hatcher.
Minnesota (4): Phil Housley, Neal Broten, Mike Ramsey, Dave Christian.
Illinois (2): Chris Chelios, Eddie Olczyk.
New York (2): Mathieu Schneider, Joe Mullen.
Ohio (2): Dave Ellett, Bryan Smolinski.
Wisconsin (2):Craig Ludwig, Gary Suter.
Missouri (1): Paul Ranheim.
Texas (1): Brian Leetch.
Virginia (1): Eric Weinrich.

Today In MAINEiacs History

October 24, 2003 The MAINEiacs hosted Halifax for the first time in Lewiston at the Central Maine Civic Center. The Mooseheads would take advantage of an early power play as Jimmy Sharrow (Manitoba Moose) would push Halifax ahead just 1:17 into the game with a feed from Freddy Cabana (Philadelphia Phantoms). Defenseman Steve Villeneuve would make it 2-0 Mooseheads just beyond halfway through the first with assists to Kenzie Sheppard (Quebec Remparts) & Matthew Augustine. The end of the period featured a battle between Sheldon Wenzel and “Crazy George” Davis. In the second period, another bout ensued between Nick Cowan and Justin Saulnier just prior to Marc-Andre Cliche (Manchester Monarchs) cutting the deficit in half for his third goal in his QMJHL career from Jonathan Paiement (Texas Wildcatters) and Ryan Murphy at the 7:06 mark. In the third, the Mooseheads Evan Jones would push Halifax ahead for good on the power play close to the halfway mark in the period (9:33) with assists to Sheppard and David Brine (Florida Everblades). Alex Bourret (Hartford Wolf Pack) would bring the MAINEiacs within one with helpers to captain Francis Trudel and Richard Stehlik (Milwaukee Admirals), but that is as close as Lewiston would get. After firing 20 shots on net in the final frame, Franklin MacDonald (Florida Everblades) would seal the deal for the Mooseheads with an empty netter from Sharrow and Petr Vrana (Lowell Devils), and end a frustrating night for the MAINEiacs as the puck did everything but get by netminder Jason Churchill only the one time in the period. Final score Halifax 4, Lewiston 2.

Join the new voice of the MAINEiacs Alex Reed and yours truly tonight for the call of the game begining at 6:40 for the pregame show on ESPN 1470 AM in Lewiston/Auburn and ESPN 870 AM in the Portland area. If your attending the game tonight, make sure you turn us on for complete post game coverage on your ride home.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com