LEWISTON – Speakers above the ice at the Colisee hissed as a crew worked on them. Lighted advertisements in the far corners hummed with thousands of volts of electricity. From inside the Lewiston Maineiacs’ locker room there was the sound of casual banter among teammates, and from the weight room, music.
On the ice, alone with a bucket of pucks and two nets, was 17-year-old rookie Jonathan Paquet, firing puck after puck from close range into the top corner of one of the nets. The occasional clang of the hard rubber discs hitting the iron posts added to the rest of aural clutter.
“I am just working hard and waiting to get my chance,” said Paquet, who has split time with 16-year-old rookie Rob McCarthy so far this season. “If it’s not this season, it will be next season. I know this season I am not the core of the team, I am a rookie, and I will play when I get the chance.”
Paquet, McCarthy, Mathieu Ricard and Shane Peterson have, as a group, seen more time in suits during games than in actual hockey equipment. But they also understand they have a role on this year’s team.
“It’s all about what the coach wants us to do,” said Peterson. “Practices are making us better, and if he wants the others in, then they are the ones that are going to play. The only thing we can do to get into a game is to play better in practice.”
Or, maybe, be willing to suit up as a goaltender, as Ricard did last Sunday against Moncton after immigration issues forced the Maineiacs’ hand. League rules require a backup goaltender dressed for each game, and the Maineiacs currently do not have a goaltender on the roster from the United States.
“He was happy to do it,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin. “The rules had changed again (for crossing the border as a call-up). We went through the proper channels and it didn’t work, so Mathieu stepped in.”
While Ricard was understandably sour regarding the team’s recent winless skid, he also acknowledged the necessity of doing everything that was asked of him.
“It’s tough,” said Ricard, “but when you sign your contract at the beginning of the year, you know pretty much what your days are going to be like, what your role is. You know you are not going to be playing every day. You have to deal with that because it’s your first year.”
According to Jodoin, Ricard was the last defenseman cut last season after a freak injury at the end of training camp.
As for Peterson, his surprising run through camp this year turned some heads, and the opportunity that has arisen this season is not lost on the lanky defenseman.
“All summer I had it in my mind that I was going to come in and make the team,” said Peterson. “I was training with two ex-QMJHL players, and they walked me through what to do. When I found out I made it, I was happy, but sticking around now is the hard part.”
Jodoin already told the 6-foot-9-inch defenseman that he will not see action prior to Christmas.
“He accepted the challenge,” said Jodoin of Peterson. “If he is ready to accept the challenge, then he can stay. He knows exactly where he stands.”
“It does wear on you a little bit,” admitted Peterson. “I’d like to play, but again it’s up to the coaches, and what they want and what the rest of the players do, too, so I’ll just work hard in practice and see what comes out of it.”
McCarthy and Paquet are in a different situation. As forwards, they split time on a fourth line, each getting into alternating games.
“It’s definitely tough watching from the stands,” said McCarthy. “You want to be out there, but you just have to play your hardest when you do get a chance and hope that everything comes out good.”
For Paquet, the extra practice is just another day at the office.
“I have a chance,” said Paquet. “All I can do is give it what I’ve got. It’s up to me whether or not I will gain anything, and what happens, happens.”
All four players admit that the challenge to play every day and make an impact on this Maineiacs’ season is what drives them, especially as rookies.
“We have to work harder, even after every other guy is gone,” said Ricard. “You have to work on everything, your shot, your skating. You have to work hard.”
“One day, when they get the whole carrot, they won’t want to lose it,” said Jodoin.
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