LEWISTON — It didn’t take long for Matt Boyle to feel like a Lewiston Maineiac.

Boyle arrived in Lewiston from Moncton, where he’s spent each of the last three seasons, on Friday morning.

“I got a half hour to skate with my new gear, and then it was on the bus and to Shawinigan,” the 20-year-old defenseman said.

There, the newest Lewiston skater endeared himself quickly to his new teammates, picking up a five-minute fighting major in the second period after a Shawinigan skater started giving an earful to rookie Oskar Orrpars.

“European players, they come over here, they’re not really used to the
physical style of play, and one of the bigger players on the other team
was after him, kind of in his ear,” Boyle said. “I just wanted to let
him know we’re here to back him up. I’m a Maineiac now, I’m playing on
this team and I’ll stick up for all of them. That’s the way the game’s
going to be played, and it’s a big key to what’s going to keep us
together.”

As first impressions go, coach Don MacAdam was also impressed.

“He’s an excellent defensive defenseman, and the maturity he’s brought already, it’s exciting,” MacAdam said.

Boyle wasn’t a points machine in Moncton, accumulating only one goal and 11 assists in 120 games played. But that’s not why he’s here, MacAdam said.

“If there’s one thing that’s underrated more than anything else in
hockey, it’s the value of a steady, stay-at-home defenseman,” he said. “Every team, in some situations all season long, are looking for
that type of player, and we don’t seem to value that kind of player as
much as we should.”

Boyle seems content to continue in that role for the Maineiacs.

“I play a good, honest game,” Boyle said. “I just try to limit
mistakes, keep it steady and always make the right play, not the one
you hope might work out … if need be, when somebody needs to be tuned
up, that’s part of my game as well.”

Boyle’s first full practice with the team came Saturday afternoon. There, he started helping some of the others on the team learn a few tricks when it comes to fighting.

“Some guys are very able, they’re big enough and they can fight, but
the confidence isn’t there yet,” Boyle said. “The more you work on it
in practice, the more players are encouraged to work on it, the more
confident they feel and the more they’ll try it out in a game.”

Boyle said he hopes this year will help him come out of the shadows a bit and provide him with some exposure in the hopes of gaining employment at the professional level beyond his final season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

But first, he said, there’s work to be done here.

“This team, what’s going to win the games is energy and teamwork,” Boyle said. We have a very good skating team. As long as we’re in shape and we forecheck, we’ll be OK.”

Almost there

The Maineiacs cut two more players from the active roster Saturday, bringing the total number of players still with the team down to 25.

Julien Houle, a late-round draft pick this summer, and Steeven Jacques, who spent last season playing for the Maineiacs, were both released Saturday. Both players will be affiliated and play at a lower junior level.

“Both of them, they were tough to see go,” Lewiston GM Roger Shannon said. “They both had qualities that we really liked. At the end of the day, we had to consider what was better for them, to play a lot of minutes with a first or second line in junior AAA, or sit in the stands probably too often.”

The move leaves Lewiston with 15 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies. Shannon said Saturday there may be another cut or two, but perhaps not.

“We’re probably going to go with 24,” Shannon said, “but we can never say never.”

Among the 25 players still with the team are three 16-year-old forwards — Francis Beauvillier, Jean-Francois Plante and Sam Henley.

“We really like our 16-year-old skaters, they are going to be a big part of our team down the road, and we wanted to make sure they got the chance to start playing now,” Shannon said.