LEWISTON – Even if you couldn’t see the numbers on the back of the players’ helmets at Lewiston Maineiacs practice Tuesday, some simple math would tell you something was different.
Lewiston has nine defensemen on its roster. Shane Peterson has been sick in recent weeks and was not practicing. Alex Sousa is out until at least mid-January with a broken arm, Chad Denny is playing in the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge, and Kevin Marshall is taking part in a three-day camp for the Quebec Under-17 team, leaving five defensemen.
Tuesday, there were six skaters wearing white, the standard color worn by Maineiacs defensemen in practice.
The answer to the riddle? Lewiston native Scott Geoffroy.
The former Lewiston High School defenseman, who tried out for the Maineiacs in August, only to leave abruptly after two days, was back on the ice in practice gear, running drills with the rest of the team.
“I haven’t been on the ice for a good month, month and a half,” said Geoffroy. “I played men’s league a few times, but that’s it. I don’t think I did that bad considering, but I need to get in shape in the next couple of weeks.”
Geoffroy’s initial departure shocked a number of people after he said heading into camp that his goal was ultimately to make the team.
“I had tryouts (in Ottawa) that next week,” said Geoffroy. “The vibe I got from them was that I wasn’t going to play, but once I talked to (Maineiacs’ assistant) Coach (Jeff) Guay after, he kind of said it wasn’t really that, that it was just a waiting game. I guess we just kind of got wires crossed there.”
The way he got back to Colisee ice this time isn’t necessarily complicated, but it took longer than both he and Guay would have liked.
“I came home and pretty much thought I was done hockey for good,” said Geoffroy. “I planned on just hanging up the skates and playing men’s league, and then Coach Guay found out I was home and gave me a call, asked me what happened and stuff. He said he wished I had talked to him earlier.”
What did happen was a falling out between Geoffroy and the administration of the Ottawa Junior Senators. Geoffroy didn’t go into specifics, saying only that they “promised a few things off the ice, and there was nothing wrong on the ice.”
“A couple things fell through off-ice,” said Geoffroy.
In six games with Ottawa, Geoffroy has one assist and 21 penalty minutes.
“We haven’t signed him,” Guay quickly pointed out. “We’re just going to take a look at him, see how he does, and at Christmas-time we’ll make some decisions. I just told Clem that he was around, that he’d had some problems with some billets or something, and that he was around and we’ll see what happens, if he can adjust.”
How long it takes for the 19-year-old defenseman to come up to speed is still uncertain. Geoffroy has skated only in a men’s league in recent weeks, and had let his time in the gym lapse, too.
“We know he’s been off the ice for a while,” said Guay. “But he can skate, he can move the puck. Clem liked him in training camp. He’s a little bit behind, you know, two or three months, but we’re going to take a close watch and see how he does.”
For Geoffroy, the chance allows him one more chance at a sport from which he nearly walked away.
“(Guay) asked me what I wanted to do,” said Geoffroy. “I told him I didn’t want to end hockey like that. He asked me if they had a spot, would I like to play, and I said yeah, definitely.
“I’d like to get in shape as fast as possible and get on the ice and hopefully play in some games,” added Geoffroy. “That’s what I’m looking forward to. I’m pretty pumped just to be here, so I’m really going to have to work hard in the next couple of weeks.”
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