Hard work is a necessity, not an option, Lewiston Maineiacs’ coach J.F. Houle reiterated Monday.

This weekend, the Maineiacs suffered a pair of defeats, one each to Quebec and Chicoutimi, and Houle said his players needed to learn to work harder on a more consistent basis.

“There’s no substitute for hard work, and at every level of hockey, the team that works harder will always have the better chance to win,” Houle said.

With the additions of a pair of players from camp, and the additional time to see the players perform on the ice, Houle has again juggled the team’s lines.

Matthew Bissonnette and Stefan Fournier continue to play alongside each other on the top line, with 20-year-old Antoine Houde-Caron in the middle. Cam Critchlow and Sam Henley continue to hold down the fort on the second line, and joining them is Francis Beauvillier.

Line 3 included Etienne Brodeur, Alex Zafiris and Cole Hawes, while the fourth, for now, includes Jonah Coonishish-Coon, Jess Tanguy and Christophe Lalonde, who is eligible to return from his season-opening five-game suspension on Saturday.

“That can all change if we get more guys back, though,” Houle said. “It might even change if we don’t. It depends on this week’s practices.

Comings and goings

Two more names reappeared in the lineup of players on Houle’s white board Monday.

Sam Finn, who was released late last week after San Jose Sharks rookie camp, and Nicholas Champion were reinserted into the lineup, leaving three Lewiston skaters — Sam Carrier, Michael Chaput and Pierre-Olivier Morin — away at camps.

Houle said Monday (and the team later confirmed) that Champion, who was at Montreal Canadiens’ camp, would be on his way back in time for this weekend’s games.

At the same time, the Maineiacs announced Monday that forward Marc-Antoine Rousseau has returned to his Junior AAA team, the Valleyfield Braves.

Rousseau was originally selected by the Maineiacs with the 199th overall pick in the 2009 QMJHL Entry Draft.

Last season, he made his QMJHL debut on December 27th and went on to play in five games during the 2009-10 campaign, finishing with two penalty minutes, three shots on goal, and a plus/minus rating of +1.

The remainder of Rousseau’s 2009-10 season was spent in Valleyfield, where he recorded 16 goals, 12 assists and 41 penalty minutes in 48 games.

This season, the 18-year old played in three games with the Maineiacs, finishing with four penalty minutes, one shot on goal, and a plus/minus rating of -2.

Also gone from the team is Brayden Wood, an affiliated 16-year-old defenseman, who was called up for the first four games of the season with the team missing a pair of defensemen.

Still camping

PO Morin remains at Vancouver’s camp, and he is scheduled to play on the third line of the team’s traveling squad that will face the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. The teams are each playing a home preseason game Tuesday, with approximately half of each squad at each location.

Michael Chaput appears to be on his way back soon, according to a report from The Hockey News.

On that organization’s Web site was the following:

“He handled himself very well,” said Flyers director of player development Don Luce, regarding Chaput’s performance at the Flyers prospect camp. “I think for him it’s going to be just growing. He can skate well. He handles the puck well. He’s got good vision. It’s just a matter of honing skills and what the player wants to put into it to get better. Everything is good. He’s just got to make it better.”

And Chaput agrees his game still needs some work before he’s ready for the next level.

“I think my size is good and I bring a lot of work ethic to my game,” Chaput said. “I work hard every game. I give 100 percent. I tend to be a bit nonchalant in the defensive zone, though. I have to get better with my defensive game.”

Off the ice, Chaput learned from his older brother, Stefan, who currently plays for Albany in the American League, and spoke with his brother on the phone every day during prospect camp.

“He has a lot of impact on me,” the younger Chaput said. “I see where he’s at now and how hard he works. I work out with him every summer. I see what you have to do to get there. I speak to him every day. I tell him what goes on and what happens. He’s been through everything, so he just tells me to keep working hard and keep going at it.”

While Chaput has returned to Quebec for one more season of junior eligibility before attempting to turn pro, Luce has his expectations for the young center.

“I expect him to simply improve,” Luce said. “He has to learn to be more responsible in his own end. He’s going to get stronger with time and he’ll become more confident. He’ll just improve as the years go by.”

Finally, Sam Carrier is playing on Team C in the Washington Capitals’ main camp, and he got to play on the power play on Sunday with one of his favorite players in the league, Mike Green. Team C had another scrimmage Tuesday.

Look out for animals

The Maineiacs’ averted disaster early Sunday morning when the team’s bus came upon three moose in the roadway south of the U.S./Canada border and north of Jackman, Maine. Two of the moose managed to move in time, the third was not so lucky as the bus attempted to miss all three of them.

The damage to the vehicle was minor, and after game wardens and border officials (who were on their way home on shift change) made sure the scene was secure, the Maineiacs continued, event-free, on their way home, arriving in Lewiston at about 3:30 a.m.

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