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Road Report from Drummondville

February 25, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Good afternoon from Drummondville, where the Lewiston MAINEiacs will take on the Voltigeurs later on tonight.

Last night's contest was a tough one for the MAINEiacs, who played a very good game, especially in the final two periods. It's not very often that you see a team outshoot the opposition by 12, while coming up short on the scoreboard. Unfortunately for Lewiston, Christopher Gibson was on his game, and the Sagueneens capitalized on a couple of fortunate bounces. But, that's the way the game goes, and today is a brand new day.

One of the more amusing sights last night was goaltender Andrey Makarov, who decided to switch things up with his off-ice wardrobe. When Makarov first got off the bus, Darren Rumble made the comment, "Who was that that just walked past me Was that Makarov Wow, he looks good." Makarov's outdoor attire featured a thick dress coat, a nice pair of slacks, and a plain winter hat that matched everything else very well. While that looked great, nobody could have predicted what we were going to see next. Andrey was in the hall, working on his goalie stick with a dress shirt and a bow tie. Matt Flaherty and JF Houle were the first to notice it, leading Darren Rumble and I out into the hall immediately. This time, Rumble's quote was, "In 20 years of professional hockey, I've never seen anyone wear a bow tie to a game." As soon as we saw this, Matt knew what had to be done, as he snapped the picture that you see here. Kirill Kabanov's appearance in the picture was completely by accident, but I think it adds to it.

Following last night's game, the team hopped on the bus and traveled to Drummondville, arriving at the hotel between 2:30 and 3:00 in the morning. Needless to say, because of the travel, there was no morning skate, allowing the players to be well rested for tonight's battle. Roommate Tim Schurman and I welcomed the opportunity to grab some extra sleep, rolling out of bed at noon (noon is typical for me if I have a day off).

Of course, both of us knew what was coming up in roughly an hour - lunch at Boston Pizza. For those that don't know, Boston Pizza is one of our frequent dining stops on the road, as it is located in a good amount of the cities that we visit. Whenever we are in Drummondville, Boston Pizza is always on the radar, and since the MAINEiacs have played the Voltigeurs so much in the last two years, the manager of the restaurant has gotten to know us, and has treated us very well because of it.

The players are given four choices of meals at Boston Pizza - spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, chicken pecan salad, and if I remember correctly, the fourth choice is either a linguine or a fettuccini. The reason I don't remember it well is because there are only two dishes that typically find their way to the staff table - the spaghetti and the salad. However, today was the exception, as JF Houle and Tim Schurman both opted with the lasagna. Darren Rumble, Brian Morrison, Matt Flaherty, and I are the four constants at the table, as Brian always selects the salad (he is by far the healthiest eater in the bunch, and props to him for that), while Darren, Matt, and I go for the spaghetti.

The spaghetti and meatball dish is a story in itself, as first off, the plate is gigantic. Seriously, this thing is like the size of a steering wheel in a car, and there is some depth to it as well, making it almost like a plate/bowl combo. The spaghetti fills up the entire thing, before three meatballs that are slightly larger than golf balls are placed on top, along with a piece of bread. When the plate first gets put in front of you, you begin to think, "How in the world am I going to finish this "

That is the part that creates the challenge. It starts because Matt Flaherty is essentially like a garbage disposal - put food in front of him, and it will go down with ease. However, bring Darren Rumble into the equation, and you have yourself one human being that can absolutely crush a meal. I didn't learn about Rumble's eating ability until we ventured to this same Boston Pizza in October. I was approaching the halfway mark of my spaghetti, only to look up and see Darren putting the finishing touches on his. I immediately said, "You have got to be kidding me." That was followed by JF Houle's "Oh my God! Did you even taste it !" Rumble played right along with JF's comment, stating that he in fact did not really get a chance to taste the spaghetti. In the months following, I can honestly say that Darren has never failed to clean his plate once at Boston Pizza.

However, this afternoon presented an opportunity, as Darren opted to skip lunch, saving room for tonight's second helping of Boston Pizza (not sure how easy that will be to eat on the bus, but I guess I'll find out). That left Matt, me, and our Dan (our bus driver for this trip) as the three spaghetti combatants at the table. Dan didn't stand a chance, and Matt threw in the towel early, leaving the door open for me to snag this afternoon's title. For some reason, I always seem to do well in challenges when I know I am going to talk about them in the road report, and this was no different, as I finished my meal completely for the victory.

Hopefully, that win will be a good omen for tonight's game, as the MAINEiacs look for their second win in as many tries this season at Centre Marcel Dionne. If you remember back to October, the first meeting in Drummondville was spectacular, as Lewiston erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits with three goals in the third period for a 5-4 victory on enemy ice. That one is definitely in my top ten for games this season.

The atmosphere is always electric here in Drummondville, so I'm looking forward to another fun night of hockey. Enjoy the broadcast, and we'll look forward to seeing everyone back at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Sunday afternoon!

SEASON TICKET HOLDER REMINDERS

Season ticket holders, the deadline to purchase playoff packages exclusively has been extended to Monday, February 28th, before playoff tickets go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, March 1st. Don't miss the excitement of the QMJHL Playoffs in Lewiston!

Also, the annual season ticket holder skate with the team will be taking place on Sunday February 27th, following the MAINEiacs' home game against the Drummondville Voltigeurs! Locker rooms 3 & 4 will be available to be used for changing in and out of skates, as well as the player benches.

LEWY'S LEGION STREET GANG

In preparation for every MAINEiacs' home game, the Lewy's Legion Street Gang makes their way out to the streets of Lewiston and Auburn with bells, horns, signs, and MAINEiacs' gear, hoping to lure the passing drivers into the Androscoggin Bank Colisee for that night's game.

Come join the street gang on Sunday at noon at the intersection of Turner Street and Mount Auburn Avenue, right near the Residence Inn.

MAINEiacs FAN BUS NEWS

Due to low numbers, the Lewiston MAINEiacs regret to inform that the previously scheduled fan bus trip to Halifax and PEI has been canceled.

Those that made a deposit for this trip can visit the MAINEiacs' office during the team's next home game on Sunday afternoon against Drummondville for a refund.

The MAINEiacs would like to thank Sheila Blanchette for her efforts on the fan bus project.



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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