The Maineiacs and the coaching staff got a bit of help this week from some interested NHL-affiliated folks.

Paul Vincent, who’s been affiliated with several NHL clubs and is now working with the Bruins, attended the team’s practice Tuesday and helped out on the ice with some skating drills.

“They wanted to come up with Denis Reul here, and I asked if they would mind doing it with the whole team, and they loved that idea,” Maineiacs coach Ed Harding said.

Harding talked to Don Sweeney, the Bruins’ Executive Director of Player Development, and made it happen.

“It worked out great,” Harding said.

Also there was Doug Smith, a Massachusetts-based coach who specializes in teaching the art of defending yourself on the ice.

“Doug Smith has worked with a lot of the tough guys around the New England area,” Harding said. “He helps players learn how to defend themselves, maybe who have to drop the gloves at the pro level. He was here to show them a few tricks of the trade.”

Time off

Danick Paquette was out of the lineup in Baie-Comeau last Sunday, turning a few heads. According to Harding, Paquette was officially suspended for one game by the league for receiving a second “code-50” penalty furing the season.

“On the second one, he’s automatically suspended for one game,” Harding said. “He’s got to learn. I told him, ‘You’re suspended by the league, and even if you weren’t suspended by the league, you weren’t going to play anyway.’ I said, ‘You have got to learn to be a positive force on this team and not hurt this team.’ He’s a young kid, he’s a great kid, he’s a super talent, but he has to learn that. If he’s going to continue to take dumb penalties, like when we’re on a power play, hitting guys from behind … he has to learn that, and when he does, he’s really going to round his game out.”