LEWISTON — With a host of newcomers and invites dotting the rosters at the L/A Cup intrasquad competition, it was a group of veterans that shone the brightest in the first vigorous competition of training camp.
Twenty-year-old forward Antoine Houde-Caron scored on a penalty shot late in the third period to lift Team Auburn to a 9-8 win in regulation in Game 1 of two in the L/A Cup series. In the shootout, Auburn padded its lead with two goals to Lewiston’s one.
Stefan Fournier led all scorers with four on the night for Team Lewiston, while Team Auburn’s Pierre-Olivier Morin netted three in the winning cause.
Team Auburn went ahead by one goal in the first period on the strength of four markers. Marc-Antoine Rousseau had two of those for Team Auburn. Matthew Bissonette and Morin had the other two.
Team Lewiston never led, but kept things close all period. Fournier, Connor Anthoine and Cole MacDonald connected for that squad in the first.
Tyler Piercy allowed four goals against, while Jordan Kennedy let three slip by on the other end.
Rousseau completed his hat trick in the second, as did Fournier, and the sides went into the third period knotted at 5-5.
The teams will meet again Friday night at the Colisee after another set of practices Friday morning.
Long day
Andrey Makarov’s day started in Russia. It ended in Lewiston, and on Friday, he’ll be doing what he came here to do: He’ll be stopping pucks.
The Maineiacs drafted Makarov in this year’s Import Draft. He’s widely regarded to be the best goalie in his age group in Russia. There’s only one small problem: He arrived in Lewiston on Thursday, and he speaks no English — or French.
“It was a long flight,” Makarov told owner Mark Just through an interpreter Thursday night.
When told he’d be right out on the ice Friday, he replied, “That’s OK.”
It’s a small world …
Jimmy Rodgers has seen plenty of training camps in his lifetime, but probably not too often has the former NBA player and coach been as cold as he was Thursday morning at the Colisee.
Rodgers, who coached the Boston Celtics for two seasons and the Minnesota Timberwolves for nearly a season and a half, sat behind the home goal at the Colisee beside friend and former college roommate Mark Just, principal owner of the Maineiacs.
“He was in Boston, called me up and asked if he could come by for a day,” Just said. “I told him, of course he could.”
Rodgers was one of the league’s top assistants for the better part of two decades. He served as an assistant on staffs that won six NBA championships (1981, 1984 and 1986 with the Celtics, and 1996, 1997, and 1998 with the Chicago Bulls).
He also at one time coached Phil Jackson, under whom he served as an assistant in Chicago.
Training staff finalized
The Maineiacs this week finally filled out the remaining pieces of its hockey operations staff, hiring Brian Morrison as the team athletic therapist, and retaining Matt Flaherty as the equipment manager.
Brian Morrison will be the team’s athletic therapist, and Matt Flaherty will be the team’s equipment manager.
A Nova Scotia native, Morrison attended the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Athletic Training. He has worked for two teams in the QMJHL, performing his collegiate field work with the Moncton Wildcats in 2008 before serving as the athletic trainer for the Halifax Mooseheads from 2008-10.
“The great leadership that this organization has portrayed is absolutely outstanding, and I am thrilled to have the privilege to work with these individuals,” Morrison said.
Flaherty enters his third season with the organization, after serving as an intern in 2007-08, as well as the assistant equipment manager in 2009-10.
Last season, Flaherty worked alongside Tom Bourdon, who recently accepted a position with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons.
“Tom is a great guy who I had the honor of working with and learning a lot from,” said Flaherty. “I plan to bring the same to the team, and hopefully do as good of a job as he did.”
Eric Michaud and Kevin Shrader will work with the team as part-time assistants in the locker room.
-
- Maineiacs’ majority owner Mark Just, left, chats with his former college roommate, Jimmy Rodgers. Rodgers won six NBA titles as an assistant coach in the 1980s and 1990s, including three with the Boston Celtics, and was one the head coach of the Celtics.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.