LEWISTON — To hear Sebastien Trudeau and Sam Carrier speak about Sunday afternoon’s game against Quebec, you wouldn’t at first think the pair of Lewiston skaters had feelings different from any other game they were about to play.

But to see them paints a different picture. After practice Saturday morning, a practice where they were both among the final five skaters to leave the ice almost an hour after the formal session had ended, the mere mention that the Remparts are going to be in town brought a wry smile to their faces. It also brought about a change of heart in their words.

“It’s my old teammates and I still have friends on that team,” Carrier, a 17-year-old defenseman, said. “It’s special, and I want this game more than anything.”

“There are no friends on the ice,” Trudeau, an 18-year-old forward, was quick to point out. “I had fun there, in Quebec, but this is my team now. We have a good young team here.”

Lewiston coach Don MacAdam didn’t feign ignorance of the trade’s impact on the individual players, either.

“It’s not something we think about on the coaching level too much,” MacAdam said, “but it’s got to be in the back of the players’ minds. They were drafted by the other team, they played for the other team, they have a history with the other team, now they’re playing against the other team. It’s got to be something that would be mentally challenging for the players.”

Carrier and Trudeau were two pieces of a blockbuster trade at last June’s QMJHL entry draft. The Maineiacs also received two first-round picks in the draft from the Remparts in the deal. Gone the other way were Danick Paquette, Patrick Cusack, Dominic Savoie and Peter Delmas.

Cusack now wears an ‘A’ on his jersey for the Remparts, Delmas has seen action in five games as the team’s goaltender, and Savoie and Paquette have made regular appearances on the scoresheet in the games they’ve played.

In some cases, a change of scenery was necessary. The move to Quebec, while bittersweet in one sense, was welcome in others.

In their final tuneup before facing the Maineiacs, the Remparts downed Baie-Comeau 9-1 Friday night at the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec. Cusack recorded a pair of assists in the game, Paquette had his first goal of the season and a pair of helpers (and no penalty minutes), and Savoie, who’s tied for eighth on the team in scoring, had a fight against the Drakkar.

Delmas, who again attended the Colorado Avalanche’s training camp this fall, sat in favor of Jean-Philippe Gagnon on Friday, meaning it’s possible he’ll get the start in Lewiston on Sunday.

To avoid any additional distractions, the Remparts stayed out of town Saturday night, and didn’t schedule any practice time at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee for Sunday.

But the feeling for the four Remparts and two Maineiacs skating against each other Sunday will be distracting enough. For those six players, their ability to play through the distraction will go a long way toward how they’ll play come game time.

“Sam and Sebastien are very level-headed individuals, and they do well to keep their emotions in check,” MacAdam said. “It’s not a concern with any of the guys, really.”

The puck drops for the contest between Quebec and Lewiston on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Colisee.