Some players will get another day or two to impress the Maineiacs.
LEWISTON – The blades sliced through the ice a little deeper Tuesday. The hits were harder and hurt more, and flashes of red and white from players’ jerseys whizzed past at a higher rate of speed.
Tuesday was cut day.
“The easiest cuts to make are the ones we have to make tonight,” said Maineiacs head coach Mario Durocher, who attended training camp for the first time Tuesday night. “We aren’t cutting many kids tonight because we want to make sure we have enough players to get through the next few days of games. Also, it lets us see them a bit longer.”
In all, 48 players were skating by Tuesday, with four left to arrive at camp for various reasons (including lost luggage on a flight from Slovakia). The original plan was to whittle the team down to 40 for Wednesday, and then make sporadic cuts as the week progressed. Now, just a few players will be told their fate early Wednesday morning, with a host of others learning one way or another if they will play Thursday.
“We don’t want to kill the players that we do take,” said general manager Normand Gosselin. “The season is a long one and we play a lot of games then, so we don’t want to risk injuries. That’s why for (Wednesday’s) game we need to keep more players.”
Players will be exposed to real-game situations Wednesday, with 20-minute periods, full two-minute penalties and stricter rules involving penalties.
“On Thursday, we are looking at around 30 players,” said Durocher. “That is a good number that we can bring to the tournament in New Hampshire this weekend.”
The team extended the cut deadline because of injuries. Several players were hurt during the first round of games Tuesday morning. Included in that list of players was Alex Sousa of Billerica, Mass. with a wrist injury, Frederick Dion of Delson, Quebec with a shoulder or clavicle contusion, Travis Mealy of Brandon, Manitoba with a hip flexor injury, Francis Trudel of Drummondville, Quebec with an ankle injury, Brandon Roach with a sore lower back and Dylan Wiltermuth of Morell, Prince Edward Island with an elbow injury. Vladislav Balaz was still waiting for his equipment to arrive from the airport after a flight from Slovakia, and goaltender Matt Davis was a healthy scratch.
“We don’t want to risk them getting injured further,” said team athletic trainer Tom Bourdon. “Some of them wanted to play, and maybe a few of them could have, but we don’t want to take that chance.”
Team administration assured the players that they would not be cut for getting injured.
“Our concern is with the health of the players first,” said Gosselin. “If they are not ready, we won’t let them go. Besides, you look at the players, there are some defensemen and some veterans there. Those kinds of players are harder to find, so we wanted to be careful.”
Local players Zach Tyburski and Jamie Gilbert both had exceptional training camp games Tuesday, and both have a legitimate shot at advancing past the first cut. The decision both have to make, however, is whether or not to stay with the team and play in a scrimmage or a game, which would affect their college eligibility.
The revamped team will split into two squads for two closed-door morning practice sessions before playing another exhibition game at 7 p.m. Wednesday night.
jpelletier@sunjournal.com
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