Maineiacs hope a week of hard work pays off in tonight’s opener
LEWISTON – On Thursday, with new paint just below the surface of the ice representing several new advertisers at the Central Maine Civic Center, what was happening on the ice was much more eye-catching than the bright paint.
Players dressed in multi-colored practice jerseys whizzed back and forth, cutting deep into the ice as they carved their turns.
Assistant coaches Ed Harding and Jeff Guay ran the drills, while goaltending coach Stephane Waite barked out observations to Matt Davis and Brandon Verge. Head coach Mario Durocher looked on, jumping in when he felt it necessary.
This week has not been an easy one for the Lewiston Maineiacs. After suffering two losses in their first two games, the players were greeted this week with four straight days of tough, two-hour practices in addition to off-ice conditioning.
“We have a good transition game, and we have a good defense,” said Durocher. “I told them that, and I stressed that this week. We worked hard at skating with intensity and finishing off checks. We can’t stop moving our legs.”
Any sign of the extra work will show, one way or the other, tonight as the Maineiacs play host to the Drummondville Voltigeurs at the Central Maine Civic Center. Drummondville last year finished behind Lewiston in the standings, but both teams are considerably different now.
“They went out and traded for a lot of players,” said Durocher. “They have a lot of good talent at forward that we need to stop in order to do well against them.”
With a veteran defense, weakened slightly due to the absence of Richard Stehlik, the Maineiacs will match strength against strength in their own zone. Another asset the Maineiacs will welcome is the addition to the lineup of Matt Davis. Donning new pads this week in practice, Davis was away for the first two games of the season.
“I’m not coming back in to be Superman,” said Davis. “All I can do is go out there and stop the puck the best I know how. I am going to have to adjust to the speed again after a week at the NHL level,and I know that it will take some getting used to.”
Last weekend, the team allowed nine goals on 44 shots, one into an empty net. Both teams will be looking for their first win of the season tonight. Drummondville comes in with a loss and a tie to open the season.
In all, the Voltigeurs have scored just five goals in their two games, and their points leader is Yannick Riendeau, a center, with three assists. The Maineiacs have two players, Alexandre Picard and Gabriel Balasescu, with four points each on the season.
According to team officials, all of the “old” seats, those that existed prior to the renovation, have been filled for the game tonight. Bleacher seats, which were being assembled as they were being sold, were also going fast on Thursday. In all, over 3,000 tickets had been sold at last count. Lewiston will follow Friday’s game with a Sunday matinee at 4 p.m. against the Shawinigan Cataractes.
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