LEWISTON – It’s going to be a long – but hopefully fruitful – two days for two Maine hockey players.

Cam Robichaud of Auburn and Nick Broadwater of Portland are the lone Maine hockey players on the Lewiston Maineiacs’ training camp roster this year.

Only one – Colby Gilbert – has ever cracked the lineup and played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

This year, it appears as though there will be none.

“I’ll make the decision when I have to,” Robichaud said. “Right now, I’m just here to have some fun and play some hockey.”

The decision Robichaud and Broadwater face is whether to leave training camp after 48 hours, which will protect their eligibility to play NCAA hockey.

“I know I can’t come this year anyway,” said Broadwater. “I spoke with Coach Harding about that when he talked to me, and I told him I was signed on with the Portland Junior Pirates already for one more year. After that, we’ll see.”

Both players went through the paces as members of the team at Monday’s first sessions, though, and they had nothing but good things to say about Day 1.

“I feel pretty comfortable, I had a lot of fun and (Monday) morning was a great skate,” said Robichaud. “It’s such a difference from high school. It’s a lot quicker out there, there’s a lot of skill.”

“It’s a lot quicker,” said Broadwater.

“These kids have shots that are unbelievable. I felt pretty good out there, but we’ll see how I play in the exhibitions. I got lit up by a couple of guys out there, but that’s going to happen. I just have to adjust to it as camp goes on.”

Robichaud will likely play for the Junior Monarchs out of Manchester, N.H. this season, while Broadwater will continue on with the Junior Pirates.

Familiar face

Maineiacs fans looking to find alumni playing in the National or American Hockey Leagues may not have to look far this season.

Defenseman Jonathan Paiement, who made a guest appearance at training camp, has signed a deal with the Boston Bruins to play either in Providence or with the team’s East Coast Hockey League affiliate.

“When New York let me go, I was a free agent, so my agent looked around,” said Paiement. “He called me up and told me Boston signed me.”

The news was met with cheers among local hockey fans.

“Everybody here is all happy because that’s their team here,” said Paiement, who showed up to camp in better shape than he has ever been. Location was a prime motivating factor, Paiement said.

“I don’t want to go to the East Coast League because I want to step it up and play in Providence,” said Paiement. “I trained hard this summer and I hope to go to the NHL, and if not, to the AHL.”

Blue 5, White 2

Eric Castonguay scored twice and added an assist, and a gaggle of newcomers filled in the rest of the scoresheet as the half of the Maineiacs’ squad clad in blue jerseys claimed victory in the first of three intrasquad matchups Monday night.

Kevin Marshall, Sebastien Piche and Kirk Harris had the other three Blue goals, while Francis LaHaie and Samuel Metevier potted the two White tallies.

In net, Portland’s Nick Broadwater and Marc-Andre Perron each allowed one goal. On the other side, Mike Muir allowed three goals in the first half of action, while Peter Delmas saw two squeak by in the latter half.

More importantly, the game was the first chance for the coaching staff to fan out across the building, watching from all angles while the prospective players battled it out on the ice.

Tuesday and Wednesday will follow a similar schedule, with an intrasquad game at 7 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, Lewiston will host Saint John in a pair of split-squad exhibition games.

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