Lewiston hosts Val d’Or tonight at the Central Maine Civic Center.
LEWISTON – Dangerous teams can come in many shapes and sizes, and on Thursday, the Maineiacs may be up against one of the most dangerous kinds of opponents possible in the Val d’Or Foreurs: They haven’t won in three weeks.
“When you have a team like Val d’Or that started so well and then went on a streak like they are on, you know that they are due for a win soon,” said Maineiacs coach Mario Durocher. “You just have to make sure that you aren’t the team that they break out against.”
The Maineiacs, meanwhile, have won four games in three weeks and seem to have righted a ship that went astray during the first part of the season.
“We are playing much better now than we were to begin the season,” said Durocher. “I think that’s just coming as the players mature and get better and follow the systems that we give them better.”
Another factor helping the Maineiacs this weekend will be the relative strength at which their lineup is playing. With the exception of Matt Davis, who remains out with a bad back, the team is relatively healthy, meaning a solid group of forwards and tough defense awaits this weekend’s opponents.
Val d’Or plays a game similar to the Maineiacs’ in that the Foreurs like to use a solid defense to frustrate opposing forwards.
“They are very solid on defense, and like us they have experience there,” said Durocher. “It’s important, too, after a loss last week to bounce back for a win.”
Franois Gagnon, Mark Hurtubise, Mathieu Dumas and Erick Lajoie are the team’s top point producers, and two of them, Dumas and Lajoie, are also defensemen. Last week, Dumas was the QMJHL defensive player of the week and he has been solid on the blue line all season.
One thing that may point to an advantage for the Maineiacs is goal differential. This season, Lewiston has scored nearly as many goals (92) as it has allowed (95) while the Foreurs have allowed 92 goals and scored just 78.
On Friday, Drummondville comes to town for the first time. It will be the first meeting of the two teams since opening night in Drummondville.
“Both teams are very different since then,” said Durocher. “They have a new coach and they seem to be playing with good intensity since then, so it will be a tough game for us for sure.”
Neither Val d’Or nor Drummondville come to Lewiston with a winning record, and games against teams in that position are that much more valuable for a Lewiston team trying to solidify it’s hold on a playoff position just about midway through the season.
jpelletier@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.