LEWISTON – The Lewiston Maineiacs knew they were in trouble before the sun even rose to greet them Saturday morning.
With seven players attending NHL camps and another three on the injured list, the 26 players left on the active roster became 16 this week.
Acadie-Bathurst, meanwhile, dressed several of its top players – 16 of the Titan’s 20 players in uniform were 18-years-old or older, while the Maineiacs had six players with a combined one year of QMJHL experience among them.
Getting goals from four different players, Acadie-Bathurst defeated Lewiston 4-0 at the Colisee.
“The first two periods were good, we skated with them,” said 17-year-old forward Pier-Luc Champagne. “We all just got tired in the third, though.”
The Maineiacs’ short lineup upset more than just the home coaching staff. Titan coach Mario Durocher, who coached Lewiston in the team’s first season here, was criticized the Maineiacs’ situation.
“We make the eight-hour trip to play an exhibition game down here, and we only see them dress three lines and five defensemen,” said Durocher. “This is no way to prepare for the regular season. Mr. Just (Maineiacs’ majority owner Mark Just) has enough money, he should be able to bring some players in to fill in. It’s not my fault that they have seven guys drafted to the National Hockey League and some injuries. This is not a good way for teams to get ready for the season. I am going to ask the league about this.”
Told of Durocher’s comments, Maineiacs assistant coach and assistant general manager Ed Harding fired back.
“You can go back and tell Mario congratulations,” said Harding. “He can have the trophy for winning the preseason. To me, having seven guys at NHL camps is a feather in our cap. When he gets seven guys going to camps, he can come down here with 14 guys if he wants to.”
As if being short 10 players weren’t enough, the Maineiacs may have lost another defenseman, when Mathieu Ricard took a blast off his right ankle from close range in the third period. Following the game, Ricard could barely put pressure on the leg.
“Now he’s day-to-day,” Harding said of Ricard. “So we may be even smaller (tonight) against Moncton.”
Harding said that the staff was looking into recalling a player or two to help out in tonight’s game against the Wildcats, but there may be complications because other leagues have already started playing.
Players who finish the game Saturday, including 17-year-old Sebastien Piche and 19-year-old Maxime Mathieu, took the loss and the long night hard. Piche apologetically declined to be interviewed, and proceeded to bench press 145 pounds several times. Mathieu wouldn’t even acknowledge anyone’s presence, even Piche’s when his teammate asked him a question.
For the Titan, Thomas Beauregard, Ryan Seymour and Olivier Labelle each had a goal and an assist, and Steven Goulet had the other goal.
Lewiston netminder Jonathan Bernier finished with 33 saves. Travis Fullerton will likely get the start tonight in Moncton.
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