LEWISTON – Danick Paquette and Dominic Savoie stayed on the ice, even as a pair of rookies carried the milk crate full of pucks off the ice.

Paquette, the captain of the Maineiacs who’s been in his share of scraps in his first couple of seasons, was helping Savoie, a forward who will be looked upon to score, learn how to, if nothing else, defend himself in the case of a fight.

Assistant coach Jeff Guay appeared from the locker room and yelled at the players to get off the ice.

“We’re out of here in 40 minutes,” Guay yelled.

Paquette and Savoie glided off, still talking about their little lesson.

Plenty of nervous tension swirled around the locker room at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Wednesday, from the players on up to the coaching staff.

The season is here.

“Everything is in place now,” Maineiacs’ coach and GM Ed Harding said. “There are a few little things we’ll add in when everyone is back in the next couple of weeks, but otherwise, we’re ready to go.”

The Lewiston Maineiacs open their 2008-09 campaign on the road this weekend with games against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, and they’ll do it without four key players, who are at professional rookie camps.

Paquette and Patrick Cusack are on the roster of the Atlanta Thrashers’ entry in a rookie tournament in Traverse City, Mich., while Michael Ward will suit up against his teammates as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s entry.

Goaltender Peter Delmas will skate with the Colorado Avalanche’s rookie camp and, possibly, in the team’s full training camp, too.

“We’ll have them back in the lineup sooner rather than later,” Harding said. “This is a good thing for our organization, and this is what, ultimately, we are here to do, is to move kids on and give them a chance at the next level.”

That will leave either Phillip Wright or Jonathan Connely to start this weekend’s games and, as usual, Harding was mum on which goaltender toward which he might be leaning.

The loss of Cusack and Ward for the weekend on defense will allow the rookies on the blue line – Sean Stagles, Dany Coulombe and Garrett Clarke – to step right in and play, alongside veterans Tom Michalik, Eric Gelinas and Denis Reul.

“We’re taking 20 guys on the road,” Harding said. “Everyone who’s coming is going to play, so there are no ice-time issue this weekend.”

Reul and sniper Maxime Gratchev will also leave for professional camps, but not until the Maineiacs return to Lewiston on Sunday.

The forward corps, led by Gratchev, is a patchwork of veterans and speedy, talented rookies, but even Harding conceded playing on the road, and especially in Baie-Comeau, will make for some interesting feelings among the players in the locker room.

“Baie-Comeau’s going to be pumped up to open the season at home,” Harding said. “That building is always tough to play in, especially where we have some young guys, some of them might be in awe at first.”

Friday’s season opener starts at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s date with Chicoutimi is a matinee, beginning at 4 p.m. Lewiston opens its home schedule Friday, Sept. 19, against Shawinigan.