LEWISTON – There was a face in the stands on Friday night that wasn’t just an average fan.

Karl Fournier is one of the best 20-year-old players in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Now, he is a Lewiston Maineiac.

Late Thursday night, Lewiston General Manager Normand Gosselin completed a trade with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, sending the rights of Nicolas Corbeil to Cape Breton in return for Fournier and a fifth-round draft pick in the 2004 QMJHL entry draft.

Last season, Corbeil was a star in the playoffs for Sherbrooke, scoring nine goals and adding 16 assists for 25 points to lead the team in 12 games. Corbeil was one of just three players last season to be on the positive side of the plus/minus ratings for the Castors in the playoffs.

In return for ceding Corbeil to the Memorial Cup-hopeful Screaming Eagles, the Maineiacs have added Fournier to the lineup in hopes of producing some more scoring from its forwards. Fournier this season has 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points in 37 games played. He was third on the team in total points, and carries with him a plus-12 rating.

“We feel that he was one of the top two 20-year olds available,” said Gosselin. “We wanted to try and help out the scoring at forward, and by doing that we think we got what we needed.”

The catch is that Fournier will not be available to play for three weeks, due to an injury to his knee.

To create roster room in Lewiston, officials decided to cut Kevin Talbot, but continue to keep him on the protected list. Talbot will report to a Midget AAA club in Canada and immediately see ice time.

“With Kevin, we wanted him to play more than he had the opportunity to play here,” said Gosselin. “He will develop better by playing every day instead of one or two shifts here and there.”

As for Cape Breton, they moved another 20-year-old on Thursday, shipping Maxime Lessard to Baie-Comeau for a draft pick, ostensibly to make room for Corbeil.

The trade was the only move the Maineiacs made during the month-long trading period that ended at Noon on Friday.

“Our goal was to improve the team this year and not sacrifice anything for next year,” said Gosselin. “We did not get rid of any young players and we have made the team better. We are a better team now than we were on Thursday. The fans will notice it, and hopefully it helps in the standings, too.”

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