LEWISTON — There was a spare face on the bench and in the locker room this weekend, if only for a few hours.

Tyler Piercy, the last goalie cut from Lewiston Maineiacs training camp this fall, was the backup of record Saturday in the second of back-to-back games against PEI at home.

“After the night Jordan Kennedy had Friday, and with the uncertainty of whether Adrien (Lemay) was going to be able to finish the whole game, it’s something we felt we needed to do,” Lewiston coach Don MacAdam said.

Piercy, who attended North Yarmouth Academy last season, has played three games this season for the Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League this season, going 3-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage, stopping 73 of the 80 shots he’s faced this season.

“He’s been hurt a lot, he left here hurt and then he got sick,” MacAdam said. “And, he’s playing behind a 20-year-old, and the team is winning.”

The Maineiacs are also expected to see a few more potential call-ups in the coming weeks. The team will also be without Francis Beauvillier and Sam Henley as well as Kennedy during the Under-17 championships. 

Looking ahead

With the mid-season trade period approaching, the Maineiacs are already thinking ahead, and they’re not ashamed to admit it.

“There are buyers and sellers in this league, let’s face it,” Lewiston GM Roger Shannon said Saturday. “I think this year, looking at it, there are going to be more sellers than buyers, and it’s really no secret about where we stand. When you;re dressing five rookies every night and four 16-year-olds, you have to look at it realistically.”

Shannon said the team isn’t about to give its players away, but if the right offer comes along, he’ll listen.

“It’s no secret we’re building, every team can see that out there,” Shannon said. “We’re after young studs. If we’re going to make any moves, we are going to be getting a good young buck in return, there’s no question. We’re honestly in a position right now where we feel, if we need to, we can stand pat.”

Don’t look twice

Normally, hockey fans attending Maineiacs games have to wait until after the new year to see the team in its black uniforms. Thanks to a special promotion Friday, the newly-streamlined blacks went on display a bit early this year in honor of the day after Thanksgiving, commonly known as “Black Friday” to retailers.

This summer, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League followed the NHL’s lead and adopted the new Reebok Edge jersey system, prompting minor changes to several of the teams’ jerseys, including Lewiston’s. The new dark jerseys have more black in them, and the blue isnt quite as bright, stretching underneath the arms and down the side of the players’ bodies.

Back with a fury

Billy Lacasse returned to the lineup Friday after missing seven of the previous eight games with a leg injury, and he made himself a factor early.

“Billy was tremendous out there, a few players were,” MacAdam said. “He really showed why we missed him out there.”

Lacasse tried to return to the lineup after missing just two games, but couldn’t finish the contest and returned to the injured list. The Maineiacs’ penalty kill fell off the map after Lacasse’s injury, and has struggled since, falling from third in the league to 12th at 77.6 percent.

His return helped the Lewiston PK on Friday, but a couple of ill-timed goals from tough angles ruined the unit’s attempt at perfection.

Bottom watching

With the Maineiacs’ recent losing streak, it’s become necessary for the team’s followers to watch the bottom of the standings of each of the other divisions in the league, to keep tabs on where the team stands in relation to the playoffs. At 21 points through Friday, Lewiston was alone in 15th place among the league’s 18 squads.

The highest the Maineiacs reached this year was fourth overall early, and they were as high as eighth a month ago, though they’ve fallen steadily in the last eight games.

The bottom two teams in the league’s overall standings miss the playoffs and are in a lottery for the No. 1 pick in the league’s entry draft. Playoffs, like last year, remain divisional for the first round, meaning the top team from each of the four divisions will play the lowest seed in the division.