LEWISTON — Starting on the road has been a blessing for the Lewiston Maineiacs. It’s given the team a chance to come together. With so many players coming from so many different backgrounds, it was an experience the team needed, its coach said.

 “I like the way it was this year, with the season opener on the road,”
MacAdam said. “It gives us a chance to work some things out before the
home opener, in front of our fans.”

One player in particular was also happy to get the first-game jitters out of the way early.

“It’ll be a lot different here in Lewiston,” defenseman Eric Bonawitz said. “Everyone I’m talking to tells me they’re coming here, and it’s going to be all eyes on me, and I’m ready for that.”

Bonawitz, from Lewiston, will play his first regular season game Friday in front of his hometown fans.

 “It’s been great so far, in Chicoutimi and Quebec, the places were packed, everyone loves hockey there,” Bonawitz said. “We have a great group of guys here, and that helps a lot.”

The Maineiacs earned two points of a possible four during a season-opening, two-game road trip to Chicoutimi and Quebec last weekend, earning an overtime win over the Sagueneens, and suffering a two-goal loss to the Remparts.

“We had an opportunity to get a third point in Game 2, minimum, and we
didn’t,” MacAdam said. “There was a lot of good to take out of that
second game, where we battled back from down two goals two different
times, and we learned our special teams need to get better.”

The Maineiacs open at home Friday and Saturday nights against Baie-Comeau. The Drakkar are 1-2, and are coming off a 2-1 home loss to Victoriaville on Wednesday.

“They have a really good first line, decent goaltending and an overall good team,” MacAdam said. “We have to be ready.”

One key area the Maineiacs have worked on is on special teams. While Lewiston is fifth in the league on the penalty kill through one weekend (10-for-12), the Maineiacs have yet to score a power play goal (0-for-12).

“We missed too many chances,” Lewiston captain Billy Lacasse said. “We had some chances but we were shooting on the crest and not putting them away. This weekend we have to put more importance on the offensive zone.”

MacAdam is hoping the team’s physical side comes out, too.

“I certainly hope we play physical at home,” MacAdam said. “In both
games last weekend, physical play was not a factor. It could have been,
and maybe we should have a couple times, particularly when we got down
so quickly. We’ve got a couple of players who, it’s difficult for them
to play their game, to contribute the way they can and they need to if
they’re not playing physical.”

Another source of motivation, not only for this home-opening weekend but for the season in general, has been the league-wide chatter regarding predicted finishes. Most media outlets and fans have predicted the Maineiacs to finish in the bottom two in the league, and to miss the playoffs.

“We look at every Web site, and they’re putting us last or second to last, but we all know we can be an above .500 team, so I think it’s a good challenge to us,” Lacasse said.