The return of Richard Stehlik and Vladislav Balaz have kept the Maineiacs right on course.
By Justin Pelletier
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – It started with a rebound in front of goaltender Brandon Verge.

Richard Stehlik picked up the puck, turned and started to skate into the neutral zone. The 6-foot-4-inch Slovakian noticed no opponents jumping up to get in his way, so he continued to skate into the Victoriaville zone. Still unchallenged, Stehlik fired a wrist shot over the goaltender’s glove and into the net for the team’s first goal of the game, a win over the Victoriaville Tigres.

“No one came after me,” Stehlik said casually, a smile starting to form across his square jaw. “I just skated to find a good shot and fired the puck.”

Later in the game, Vladislav Balaz regrouped with the puck in the center zone, firing it into the lower left corner behind the Victoriaville net. Now in a scrum, Balaz dug the puck out, shifted back and forth and zipped a pass across the slot to Alexandre Picard, who scored the team’s second goal.

“It doesn’t bother me when I don’t score, Balaz said. “I would like to pass the puck as much as score, like with that play with Picard from the corner.”

And while the Maineiacs’ current winning streak (six games) started with both Balaz and Stehlik out of the lineup, their return has provided a spark that has helped the team persevere.

“They are both 19-years-old,” Maineiacs coach Mario Durocher said. “We are not an old team, and getting them back made us better right away. They both have speed and size, and they both are a presence on the ice.”

Where they went

Early in December, both Stehlik and Balaz conspicuously disappeared from the lineup, returning just over a week ago after representing their native Slovakia at the World Junior Championships in Finland.

“It is an honor to play for your country like that,” Stehlik said. “It’s a different type of game, it’s faster, the ice is bigger, and you have to react to everything quicker.”

Stehlik was the captain of the Slovakian team, and Balaz was named an assistant captain, both for the leadership the team knew they could provide.

“That was a big role on the team for me,” Balaz said. “They expected a lot from me. I played first line, PK, power play. Also, because I was one of the older guys there, I helped lead them.”

“I have the same role with them that I had here,” Stehlik said. “Here, I have an ‘A’ on my jersey, means the same thing. I have to help lead the team.”

In Finland, Team Slovakia advanced to quarterfinal play after a 2-1-1 record in pool play. There, the Slovaks fell to the Czech Republic, pushing them into the fifth-place game, where they lost again, this time to Russia.

“I don’t know what it is about the Czech’s” Balaz said. “It seems we never beat them.”

A look ahead

Now, both Balaz and Stehlik have 25 games to look forward too as members of the Lewiston Maineiacs, something that neither of them take for granted.

“My role on this team is to be a leader for then rookies,” Balaz said. “The older guys helped me out last year here, and now it is my turn. If I step up, they will.”

Stehlik echoed Balaz’s sentiments.

“I have to play defense,” Stehlik said. “That is my role. I have to win one-on-one’s, I have to play solid at the blue line and shoot the puck.”

Both Stehlik and Balaz are being watched closely by the National Hockey League teams that own their rights. Stehlik made an impact at Nashville Predators camp in the preseason, and this could be his last season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Likewise for Balaz, who auditioned for the Los Angeles Kings last summer.

“For now, the focus is to win with this team,” Balaz said.

“Of course, I would like to sign a contract for next season,” Stehlik added, “I heard about rumors of trades and things when I got back, but I am still here, and I am just as happy to play hockey here. At least I am playing.”

The Maineiacs and their fans can at least appreciate that fact.

jpelletier@sunjournal.com

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