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Road Report From Victoriaville

December 28, 2010 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Good morning from Colisee Desjardins, where the Lewiston MAINEiacs have taken the ice in preparation for their game against the Victoriaville Tigres tonight.

First off, I just want to say that I hope everyone had a terrific holiday season, and regardless of what holiday you celebrate, I hope that you had a chance to spend some quality time with your family, while also receiving some pretty neat gifts! I accomplished both of those tasks, spending Christmas Eve in Methuen, MA with my aunt and uncle, while spending Christmas Day with my parents in Scarborough. As for the presents, two more MAINEiacs shirts found their way into my wardrobe, as well as some gifts centered around the Boston Bruins and Boston College Eagles.

Now that the break is over, I'm sure everyone is excited as I am to get back to the hockey. To put it simply, yesterday was a rather interesting day, thanks completely to Mother Nature. We were scheduled to leave Lewiston at 12:00, but had to wait until 1:30, as Roger Shannon's crew battled the weather and the border on their way down from New Brunswick. When they arrived, the first thing we noticed was the fresh new face of Bryce Milson. Captain Cameron Critchlow is helping to make the adjustment easy for Bryce, as the two played together in Acadie-Bathurst. Milson also shared the ice with Olivier Dame-Malka and Nicholas Champion, as chemistry continues to be a strong asset for this hockey club. In talking with Bryce, he is definitely looking forward to playing here.

Once we got going, we inevitably hit snow. Typically, the trip to Victoriaville takes about five and a half hours. At one point, because of how slow we were traveling, our GPS said that we would arrive at 10:00. Luckily, it didn't take that long, as the coast was pretty much clear once we got to Canada. The arrival time ended up being 8:00. With the extra time on the bus, we got to enjoy a few movies, including "Happy Gilmore" which was brought on board by Critchlow. I am a big Adam Sandler fan, so I was pretty pumped. He always has good lines in his movies, such as, "Is that goal regulation size, or what !" After the movies, I busted out my Sudoku book (I am a Sudoku master), drawing the interest of Brian Morrison and Zach Shannon, who I think both left the bus with brain cramps from trying to figure it out.

The late arrival time had an impact on the team, as the originally scheduled practice had to be canceled. That will create an interesting dynamic to tonight's game. With the exception of this morning's skate, Lewiston has been completely off since the game at Shawinigan on December 18th. Meanwhile, Victoriaville played last night, falling 5-2 at Montreal. Darren Rumble and I talked about who that will favor more, and neither of us are sure, so I'll let JF Houle answer that during tonight's pregame show.

Speaking of JF, this arena and this time of year both have special meanings for he and I. One year ago yesterday, the two of us made our debuts in this building, as the MAINEiacs pulled off a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Tigres. I filled in for Alex Reed, who was traveling back from Virginia, while JF needed a few extra weeks to shift his job and family from Clarkson University to the Lewiston MAINEiacs. I am such a statistical dork that I can tell you almost anything about that game from memory, including both goalies (Lemay, Poulin), all seven goal scorers (Brodeur, Finn, Lacasse, Fournier, Hinse, Hynes, Goulet), and the fact that Lewiston killed off a 6-on-3 (delay of game & slashing) in the final minute to preserve the win.

Since that wonderful day last winter, Colisee Desjardins has gone through some renovations. Luxury suites have been added on the end to my right, adding to the ones that were already on the end to my left. Also, all of the seats have been changed, meaning the picturesque color scheme of orange, brown, and green is now a thing of the past (thank God!). Most of the seats are black, with the exception of one row of yellow at the top on one side, as well as the word "TIGRES", which is spelled out in yellow seats across from me.

The idea of having the team's name in the seats is definitely cool, however, let me throw a logical curve ball into the equation. The goal of every organization is to sell as many seats as possible for every game. If said team is successful in achieving that goal, most or all of those seats will be filled, meaning the only time the word would be seen is when the building is empty. Again, nice idea, but I'm sure I can find a better use of money in an arena. In fact, you might just see one of those better uses when you arrive to the game on Thursday!

As for the broadcast booth, I love Lewiston, but this is my absolute favorite so far. I am slightly to the left of the red line at center, the counter is at the perfect height, the booth itself is at an ideal height, I have a clear view of everything, and the icing on the cake is that I have a TV screen above my head for replays during play, and other sporting events during pregame and intermissions. Jackpot!

Don't forget that you can catch the audio and video of tonight's game at Gippers, which I'm sure will be a great time had by all. Even though I won't physically be there (although you'll all be listening to me), I'm excited for it, because just me saying the word, "SCORE!" could lift the roof off of an entire restaurant. That's pretty awesome!

The pregame show gets things started at 6:40, with face-off scheduled for 7:00. Enjoy the broadcast, and we'll look forward to seeing everyone back at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee for a five-game homestand starting on Thursday!

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from December 28, 2010


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