PORTLAND – The most talked-about subplot as the Portland Pirates open their 2003-04 season involves a jarring check, the enforcer who leveled it and the squad’s efforts to accept its most hated rival as a teammate.

Darcy Verot became a marked man in Portland last season after his head-rattling hit left Matt Libby, a crowd favorite from Saco, outstretched on the ice with a concussion. The subsequent bad blood continued through the final three months of the American Hockey League season.

Then in the offseason the Washington Capitals, Portland’s NHL parent club, signed Verot, a 26-year-old center who played for the Saint John Flames last season, to a one-year contract. The Radville, Sask., native was assigned to Portland on Wednesday.

The one-time nemeses practiced together Friday, and they say bygones are bygones as the team prepares to open its season against the Lowell Lock Monsters on Oct. 10.

“Obviously you never like to see anybody get hurt. And unfortunately it happened,” Verot said. “(Libby’s) now on my team, and I’m going to try to look after him.”

“It’s a new year, a new season, a new team,” Libby said. “As far as Darcy’s concerned, it’s something we’ve been able to handle in a professional manner.”

But Libby, a defenseman who was sidelined for about three months following the Dec. 26 concussion, and whose coach says he hasn’t returned to his pre-injury level of play, said he hasn’t discussed the incident with Verot.

Healing the locker-room rift will probably take some time. That was evident during a bloody brawl at the Capitals’ training camp on Sept. 13, when Verot went toe-to-toe with Pirates’ left wing Mel Angelstad, who ended up with 10 stitches in the nose.

But Angelstad, whose led the Pirates with 139 penalty minutes last season, said he and his teammates have stopped nursing old grudges.

“I’ve fought 300 guys before, and I’ve probably played with 80 of them. So it’s just part of hockey,” he said.

Pirates Coach Tim Army sent a videotape of Verot’s check to the AHL offices, which leveled a two-game suspension. But he said he does not think Verot was trying to hurt Libby when he leveled the crushing hit behind the net.

“Did I think it merited a suspension? Yes,” said Army. “I did not think it was excessive. I did not think it was a premeditated attempt to injure.”

Libby said he’s now 100 percent healthy and ready to move on, though he understands it may take Portland fans longer to forgive and forget.

“I think (Verot) was Enemy No. 1 for our entire team,” Libby said. “Obviously it’s going to be tough for some fans to accept.”

Verot, who recorded five goals and 11 assists for the Flames last season, said he hopes to win the crowd over with hard work and team play.

The Pirates, hoping to improve on a fourth-place finish in the AHL’s North Division last season, are currently 2-0 in the preseason. Their preseason continues Saturday against Lowell at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

AP-ES-10-03-03 1711EDT