LEWISTON – Lewiston will have a different look behind the bench and on the ice for the next month.

Mario Durocher left Monday to begin his duties as the head coach of the Canadian National Junior team that will participate in the World Junior tournament in Helsinki, Finland at the end of December.

In his absence, assistant coaches Ed Harding and Jeff Guay will take over the team. In all the Maineiacs will play nine games without Durocher, who will return for Lewiston’s home series against Rimouski in early January.

Two players, Richard Stehlik and Vladislav Balaz, will also leave the team soon, probably after the weekend Maritimes swing. Balaz and Stehlik will join the Slovakian Junior team, and will skate against Durocher’s team Canada in Helsinki.

Paiement recognized

It took a while, but the Lewiston Maineiacs are starting to collect some accolades.

Last Friday, the league announced that defenseman Jonathan Paiement is the QMJHL Defensive Player of the Month for November.

Paiement, a Montreal native, tallied five goals and added eight assists for 13 points in 11 games. He also had a goal differential of plus 4 for the Maineiacs and often broke down plays in front of Lewiston’s sometimes-shaky goaltending. Paiement bested James Sanford of the Moncton Wildcats for the award.

On offense, Sidney Crosby was awarded his second player of the month honor, compiling nine goals and 16 assists in nine games.

The league also announced its players of the week, and Maineiacs’ blue-liner Richard Stehlik garnered the first defensive award for the month of December.

Stehlik tallied two goals and three assists in three games last week, and was a plus-4.

In Friday’s game, he added a goal and two assists and was a plus-2. The veteran Slovakian defenseman added another goal and an assist and was a plus-3 in the Maineiacs’ 9-3 win over Victoriaville Sunday.

Josh Hennessy of Rockland, Mass., was the offensive player of the week. Playing forward for the Quebec Remparts, Hennessey tallied eight points in three games and was a plus-4 in three wins.

Around the league

The QMJHL continues to dominate the CHL standings. In the most recent top 10 poll, Gatineau retained the top position, while Cape Breton, P.E. I. and Rimouski also stayed within the top seven. Joining the rest of the Q teams this week is Moncton, putting five QMJHL teams in the top 10, all of which have fewer than 10 losses on the season through at least 30 games.

Within the Eastern Division, there has been some movement recently, as Quebec upended division-leading Rimouski twice in a home-and-home series last week.

Currently, Quebec occupies the second spot in the division with 31 points, just 12 back of Rimouski. The rest of the division is stacked up right behind the Remparts. Before the conclusion of Monday’s games, Chicoutimi was next with 29 points, followed by Lewiston with 28 and Baie-Comeau with 27. Lewiston, however, has played 32 games, while Baie-Comeau is at mid-season with 35. Quebec has played 33 games, while Chicoutimi still has a game in hand with 31.

jpelletier@sunjournal.com

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