Less than a half hour after the Lewiston Maineiacs’ bus crossed the border into Canada on Monday, the snow stopped falling. The roads were a bit more clear, and travel was much safer.

“We got stuck in the storm in the U.S.,” Maineiacs’ coach J.F. Houle said from the team’s bus Monday night.

“After the border it was fine,” he quipped. “See, in Canada, the weather stops. It’s beautiful.”

Kidding aside, Monday’s storm made travel difficult across the region, and across the world. Thanks to injuries, hockey tournaments and Mother Nature, the Maineiacs will begin the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s unofficial second half shorthanded.

Forward Cole Hawes suffered an upper-body injury just before the break and will miss the next two months. Zachary Evans-Renaud had surgery on his knee earlier this month and he is on the shelf for the season.

Meanwhile, Christophe Lalonde and Dillon Fournier are in Manitoba this week to represent Quebec at the World Under-17 challenge, and potential call-up defenseman Brayden Wood is also there with Team Atlantic.

The team’s Russian contingent — forward Kirill Kabanov and goalie Andrey Makarov — are stranded in Europe, victims of foul weather there and along the eastern seaboard of the United States.

“We’ll have exactly 12 forwards, but only five defensemen,” Houle said. “Plenty of teams play with just five defensemen for a game or two, even if they dress six sometimes, so as long as it’s only for a game, we should be fine. We’re coming off a break, so the players should be relaxed and rested.”

Houle’s just hoping the players aren’t a bit too rested. The long day of travel Monday meant the team skipped its first practice back from break, and will only have a morning skate Tuesday to prepare for the game.

Because Makarov is held up in Europe, the Maineiacs are bringing draft pick Antoine Bibeau back into the fold this week.

“Bibeau will practice with us (Tuesday) morning and at least back up for the game, maybe play, I’m not sure yet,” Houle said.

Lewiston starter, 20-year-old Nick Champion, has been a rock for the team this season. His 19 wins are second-best in the QMJHL, he’s fifth in total minutes played, and he’s sixth among goalies with at least 20 games played with a 2.85 goals-against average.

But, at the tail end of the first half of the season, Champion looked fatigued. Houle pulled him from his final two starts, and rested him in the team’s final game before Christmas.

“He was tired. He shouldered a lot of the load because Makarov was hurt for a while,” Houle said. “We’re probably going to rest him a little bit more this half, make sure he’s mentally and physically ready to play every time he goes out there to play, and play Makarov a bit more.”

Bibeau, meanwhile, has played well when he’s been asked, allowing just three goals against in about 83 minutes of playing time, including earning his first career QMJHL victory.

Hawes, Lalonde and Kabanov’s collective absence leaves a sizable gap up front, but it’s a gap the Maineiacs addressed with a trade last week as the mid-season transaction window opened. Lewiston acquired Bryce Milson from Acadie-Bathurst for a second-round pick in 2012, and Milson was on the bus Monday night, and is expected to make his debut with the team Tuesday.

The Maineiacs begin their second half with a pair of games against Victoriaville in a home-and-home set. Tuesday’s contest will be the Tigres second in as many nights to open the back half of the season. They traveled Monday to Montreal, where they lost to the Junior.

“They’re a team we haven’t seen too much of yet,” Houle said, “but we know they have some great players on that team in Brandon Hynes and (Philip-Michael) Devos, who can really put the puck in the net. They’re a good team. We’ve seen them on video, and we have to be really well-prepared.”

Devos is second in the league in goals scored behind Lewiston’s Etienne Brodeur with 26, and Hynes is tied for third overall in the league with 25. Devos leads the league in total points with 67 through 37 games.

The teams will square off again Thursday, this time in Lewiston at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, on State Farm Teddy Toss night. An annual tradition, Maineiacs’ fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to the game Thursday. When the Maineiacs score their first goal, fans then toss the animal(s) onto the ice. They are then collected and given away to area charitable organizations.

“It’s usually pretty exciting for the fans and it adds to the excitement,” Houle said. “I just hope we score the first goal, and we do it quickly.”

Lewiston also skates at home three times next week: Tuesday against Drummondville and Friday and Saturday against Rouyn-Noranda. Game time for all of the team’s home games is 7 p.m.