The Maine Nordiques have shaken up their roster by trading for a pair of experienced junior hockey players.
The Nordiques added forward Henry Thrun and defenseman Martin Marnauzs to the roster. Both players have North American Hockey League experience.
Thrun began the year with the Cranbrook Bucks of the British Columbia Hockey League. The 20-year-old from Grand Rapids, Michigan, had a goal and four assists in 12 games.
He’s committed to Western Michigan University, a Division I school that plays in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Former Hebron Academy standout Luke Grainger is currently on the Broncos’ roster.
“I think he was looking for a change in scenery,” Maine Nordiques coach Matt Pinchevsky said of Thrun. “We have a lot of familiarity in his game (from playing against him two seasons ago) and how he goes about his business and where he is headed. The NCHC is a deep conference, and he’s headed to Western Michigan next year.”
The Nordiques acquired Thrun’s NAHL rights from the Kenai River Brown Bears, where he played from 2019-21, in exchange for forward Kristopher Zapata.
Thrun played with current Maine Nordiques forward Patrick Schemedlin during a call-up to the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League in the 2019-20 season.
Zapata had an assist in 12 games with the Nordiques this season. Last year with the Maine Nordiques Academy 18U team, he had 12 goals and 18 assists in 48 games.
Marnauzs comes from the Northeast Generals, in exchange for future considerations. The left-shot defenseman had three goals and four assists in 21 games with the Generals. Pinchevsky has coached him in the past in summer youth hockey tournaments.
“(Marnauzs) has been in the league for two years, and he’s a (2002-born player),” Pinchevsky said. “He’s an experienced defenseman that’s going to help us in multiple situations and give some stability and competition on our back end.”
To make room for Marnauzs on the roster, the Nordiques have released defenseman Hank McDonough who the team acquired from the El Paso Rhinos on Nov. 5. McDonough had one assist in seven games with Maine. Pinchevsky said the team will work with McDonough to find another team to play for this season.
Thrun and Marnauzs will be in the lineup for the Nordiques against the Jamestown Rebels at The Colisee on Friday and Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m.
NORDIQUES LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The Nordiques also added forwards Oliver Genest of Sanford, Laurent Trépanier (Saint Basile-le-Grand, Quebec) and defenseman Seth Murch (Lee, New Hampshire) to the team’s affiliated list. All three play for the Seacoast Performance Academy 17U team in Exeter, New Hampshire.
Genest leads the 17U team with 25 goals and 11 assists; Trépanier is the team’s third-leading scorer with 12 goals and 19 assists. Murch has five goals and 14 assists.
The three are practicing with the Nordiques this week, and they may be called up later in the year.
“The coaching staff and our GM (Eric Soltys), we are very happy (with) what we saw (from them in practice),” Pinchevsky said. “They are very professional; they are very driven within their game and academics. All three are Ivy League-student candidates.”
Pinchevsky coached all three at the Seacoast Performance Academy in 2018-19.
MOORE COMMITS TO NORTHEASTERN
Andy Moore of Greely go against Gardiner defender Jon Flynn while approaching the goal during a boys hockey game at Family Ice in Falmouth on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald file photo
Andy Moore, who helped Greely win the Class B state championships in 2019 and 2020, will play Division I college hockey at Northeastern next year.
Moore was a Twin City Thunder draft pick in 2019 and played for games with the Thunder in 2019-20, recording one assist.
Moore has scored three goals and recorded three assists this season in 19 USHL games with Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, who drafted him in May.
Last year, Moore played for the Boston Jr. Rangers, who won the Eastern Hockey League championship. He had 19 goals and 28 assists in 38 regular season games. Moore was the EHL’s rookie of the year and named to the league’s all-star team.
Biddeford native Jack Williams is also set to play for Northeastern next season. Williams is currently with the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL.
THUNDER’S TIERNEY HONORED
Twin City Thunder defenseman Blake Tierney has been selected as the USPHL National Collegiate Development Conference North Division Defenseman of the Week.
Tierney had an assist and was plus-two in a 6-4 loss to the Boston Jr. Bruins on Friday. On Saturday, he played nearly 22 minutes in a 3-1 win over the Northern Cyclones.
Tierney has four assists in nine games since joining the Thunder in early November.
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