Lewiston’s Cole Ouellette passes the puck to a teammate during the 2017-18 season opener for the L/A Nordiques at the Colisee. Cape Cod’s Joshua Malin moves in to disrupt the play. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

Cole Ouellette and JP Chauvin will get a chance to show their talents to the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League.

The Nordiques top pairing on defense have a two-day tryout with the Tomahawks, who are the top team in the NAHL, a Tier II league under the USA Hockey umbrella, with a record of 33-6-2.

Ouellette, the top scoring defenseman in the NA3HL, has 15 goals and 59 assists. Chauvin is second among the league’s defensemen with 16 goals and 52 assists.

The Nordiques’ hope to have Ouellette back by Saturday’s contest with the Northeast Generals.

“Ouellette has another year of junior eligibility, so they are taking a peak at him for next season,” Robichaud said. “Chauvin, they are taking a peak at him — he has earned a call-up as someone who can help them out for the remainder of the season. At the end of the day, if he doesn’t stick, it’s a good opportunity for him and good to put on his resume with his (college) decision.”

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Robichaud said Chauvin, who’s in his final year of junior eligibility, has at least eight college offers on the table. He visited New England College this past Saturday, a NCAA Division III school that plays in the New England Hockey Conference, the same conference as the University of Southern Maine.

Former Lewiston standout defenseman Patrick DeBlois, who is a junior, plays for New England College (Henniker, New Hampshire).

So, the Nordiques will be without their top two defensemen for Wednesday’s game against the Maine Wild, but Robichaud has a plan in place.

“We have made proper adjustments,” Robichaud said. “We practiced Sunday, Monday and today, and we have created (defensive) pairings, assuming (Ouellette and Chauvin) aren’t with us. We had a lot of focus with our defensive zone coverage and preparing for our games as if they weren’t in the lineup, whether it be Wednesday or Saturday.”

Also going to the NAHL is goaltender Owen Liskiewicz, who has latched onto the Maryland Black Bears for now and could stay with the Black Bears for the remainder of the season, or another NAHL team.

Liskiewicz, a native of Red Bank, New Jersey, was 4-1 with a 2.07 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage after joining L/A just prior to the NA3HL Showcase in the middle of December.

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The plan all along was for him to go up to a Tier II team after the showcase.

“The plan was to come in, get in shape, get an opportunity,” Robichaud said. “He came in, got in shape and he got an opportunity in the NAHL, and he has an offer on the table to play in the (State University of New York Athletic Conference — a NCAA Division III conference) with Morrisville. He was extremely appreciative and happy with his time here in Lewiston.”

Robichaud is looking to bring another goaltender to replace Liskiewicz, an addition to the three already on the roster in Jason St. Pierre, Hunter Raye and Daniel Miller.

L/A forward Jared Katz has had interest from a couple NAHL teams, the Jamestown Rebels and the New Jersey Titans. Unfortunately, he’s suffering from a hernia injury and will be sidelined for a few more weeks. He’s back home in New Jersey, and Robichaud expects him to report to Jamestown when he’s healthy.

Robichaud coaching Top Prospects

On Tuesday, the NA3HL announced the coaches and rosters for the six divisions’ teams for the NA3HL’s Top Prospect Tournament on Feb. 18-19 in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

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Robichaud will lead the Coastal Division squad, which includes Nordiques defensemen Ouellette, Chauvin and Andrew McCormick.

Two L/A forwards also were named to the team, Joe Bisson and Colby Audette.

L/A game postponed

The Nordiques were suppose to have a home-and-home series with the Northeast Generals this weekend, but that has been changed.

Saturday’s game at the Colisee is still on for a 7 p.m. puck drop, but Sunday’s game in Attleboro has been moved to March 6.

Thunder making roster moves

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The Twin City Thunder on Tuesday announced they have acquired Tristan Mock from the Richmond Generals, also of the USPHL for Matt Hanlon.

The 19-year-old, 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, had two goals and five assists in 15 games with the Generals. He also spent time with the Niagara Falls Thunder of the USPHL, where he had nine goals and five assists in 12 games. He also spent time with the Niagara PowerHawks of the NA3HL, tallying three goals and an assist in two games.

Mock spent 20016-18 with the Southern Tier Xpress of the NA3HL, recording 21 goals and 39 assists over two seasons.

The Thunder sent Matt Hanlon, a 18-year-old, 5-foot-11, 170-pound forward to Richmond. In his first year of junior hockey, the Chicago, Illinois, native had four goals and 13 assists in 31 games for Twin City.

On Wednesday the Thunder will announce their first-ever signing for the Tier II team that will play in the USPHL’s National Collegiate Development Conference starting next season.

South Shore 3, Twin City 1

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AUBURN — The South Shore Kings scored three unanswered goals and defeated the Twin City Thunder 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Derric Trudeau gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead with 6:47 remaining in the first period on the power play.

With 5:10 remaining in the first period, Curtis Judd tied the game for the Kings.

The game remained tied at one until the final five minutes of the game when Johnny Dorio found the back of the net for South Shore with 4:59 remaining, and Huck Sorock scored with 48 seconds remaining in the contest.


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