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Road Report from Halifax

March 3, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Good morning from Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the MAINEiacs are preparing for tonight's road trip opener against the Mooseheads.

As is usually the case, yesterday was a travel day for the team, as we got things started bright and early at 7:00 in the morning. After switching time zones, we made our way to Fredericton and the University of New Brunswick for a 1:00 meal, which was once again prepared by culinary expert Lois Shannon. Pork was the main dish, and to go along with the pork, there were potatoes with melted cheese on top. There are a lot of different things that you can do with potatoes, and that was definitely a good choice. Vegetables and salad were also on the table, as the boys were very well nourished for the remainder of the journey.

When we arrived in Halifax, we were immediately greeted at the door by a few friendly faces. The first two faces we saw were that of Brian Morrison's parents, Larry and Susan. Brian grew up in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, which I believe he said is about 90 minutes from Halifax. Larry and Susan listen to all of the MAINEiacs' games, and it will be fun to have them in the building tonight. Along with Larry and Susan were Bill Schurman and his long time friend, Joey Blacquiere. Upon meeting him, I immediately knew that Joey was filled with passion for everything does, and that has never been more evident than when I found out that he competed in curling and track and field at the Special Olympics.

Along with Larry, Susan, and Joey, there will be lots of other Lewiston fans in the house tonight. Ian Saab, Cole Hawes, and Alex Zafiris will have lots of family and friends in the building, as each of those three players are native Nova Scotians as well. Adding to that, I know that there are at least two or three cars or vans that made the trip up from the Androscoggin Bank Colisee at 3:00 this morning. Suddenly, a 7:00 departure time sounds like a pretty good alternative!

Getting back to our trip, after our greeting at the hotel, it was off to Boston Pizza, where another dish of spaghetti and meatballs was no match for this guy. When we got back to the hotel, everyone sort of went their separate ways, but a few of the boys headed down to the indoor pool. I forgot to bring my swimwear, but I figured I'd at least go down and see what was going on. The group started as seven (both Fourniers, Chaput, Brodeur, Henley, Beauvillier, Kabanov) guys jammed into the hot tub, before six of the seven (Kabanov left for the night) trickled over into the pool. It was amusing watching them get into the pool, as each new player to join the fun jumped in with a cannonball right in the face of one someone already in the pool. Once everyone was in, a good old fashioned game of Marco Polo took place, which kept the boys busy for a little while.

Looking ahead to tonight, it's always fun to see Lewiston face opponents from the Maritimes Division, as it doesn't happen often with the new divisional format, plus it brings back memories of the old rivalries from when the MAINEiacs were a part of that division. Although the MAINEiacs/Mooseheads rivalry didn't feature as much fighting as say the Saint John Sea Dogs or St. John's Fog Devils, there were some very competitive battles on the ice. Lewiston and Halifax met up in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, with the Mooseheads winning a six-game series in 2006, before the MAINEiacs responded by coming out on top in a five-game series in 2007, on their way to the President's Cup.

Halifax has yet to win the QMJHL's grand prize, but they are a large market team that has been around since 1994, meaning that lots of talented players have had the opportunity to call this place "home." Three of the franchise's best players have had their numbers retired at the Halifax Metro Centre, and two of the three have won the Stanley Cup. Jean-Sebastien Giguere (#47) and Alex Tanguay (#18) both have their names engraved on Lord Stanley, while Jody Shelley (#25) reached the Western Conference Final with the San Jose Sharks last season.

Despite not having his name on hockey's holy grail, he does have one neat honor here in Halifax. For their 15-year anniversary, the Mooseheads' organization gave the fans an opportunity to vote for the top 15 players in franchise history. All 15 are displayed on the back wall of the Halifax Metro Centre, and Shelley just so happens to be number one. Jakub Voracek, Pascal Leclaire, Ladislav Nagy, and Andrew Bodnarchuk are a few of the other names that join Shelley, Giguere, and Tanguay in the top 15.

This is my first ever visit to the Halifax Metro Centre, so I'll be excited to see what this 10,595-seat, 33-year old building has in store for me come game time. Since we are going by Atlantic Time for the next few days, tonight's pregame show gets started at 5:40 for those of you listening in Lewiston, with opening face-off scheduled for 6:00. The Nova Scotia clan will be my guests during the intermission reports.

THE RACE FOR THE PLAYOFFS

1 Saint John Sea Dogs 51-6-1-2, 105 PTS, 8 GR

16 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 17-39-1-4, 39 PTS, 6 GR

2 Montreal Junior 43-10-4-4, 94 PTS, 7 GR

15 Halifax Mooseheads 19-39-1-2, 41 PTS, 7 GR

3 Quebec Remparts 43-15-1-3, 90 PTS, 6 GR

14 Val-d'Or Foreurs 22-31-4-3, 51 PTS, 7 GR

4 Drummondville Voltigeurs 41-14-5-2, 89 PTS, 6 GR

13 Rimouski Oceanic 28-30-1-2, 59 PTS, 7 GR

5 Acadie-Bathurst Titan 40-20-1-1, 82 PTS, 6 GR

12 PEI Rocket 28-24-2-6, 64 PTS, 8 GR

6 Gatineau Olympiques 37-17-3-5, 82 PTS, 6 GR

11 Chicoutimi Sagueneens 27-23-5-6, 65 PTS, 7 GR

7 Shawinigan Cataractes 37-20-2-1, 77 PTS, 7 GR

10 Moncton Wildcats 30-22-2-7, 69 PTS, 7 GR

8 LEWISTON MAINEIACS 36-22-1-2, 75 PTS, 7 GR

9 Victoriaville Tigres 33-24-1-3, 70 PTS, 6 GR

The teams are lined up based on first round series if the playoffs were to begin today.

Lewiston MAINEiacs 2011 Playoff Ticket Information

NOW ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC!

PLAYOFF OPTION 1

CAPTAINS PICK (includes holding fee)

12 & under $21.00; Student/Senior $27.00; Adults $33.00

Package includes the box office "holding" your pre-selected seat for all 2011 playoff games. You will receive game tickets for Round 1, Home Games 1 & 2 (tentative March 25, 26). For ALL additional home playoff games your seat will be held from public sale, however you must purchase your game ticket (after Round 1, Game 2) anytime up to 1 hour prior to the scheduled game time to hold your seat for that particular game. You will save $1.00 from box office prices charged to general public for these additional games. (Captains pick price per game for all games played after home games 1 & 2 (12 and under $8; students/seniors $11; adults $14.)

PLAYOFF OPTION 2

CHEER NOW PAY LATER

12 & under $16.00 Student/Senior $22.00; Adult $28.00

Package includes your pre-selected seat for all 2011 playoff games. You will receive game tickets for Round 1, Home Games 1 & 2 (tentative March 25, 26). In addition, you will receive tickets for all additional potential playoff home games by series. For each home playoff game played after Round 1, Home Game 1 & 2 your credit card will be charged for each future game ticket on the day of the scheduled playoff game. (Cheer now pay later price per game saves you $1.00 from the playoff box office price. (12 & under $8; student/senior $11; adults $14.)

PLAYOFF OPTION 3

ROUND BY ROUND

12 & under $34.00; Student/Senior $46.00; Adult $58.00 (per round)

Package includes your pre-selected seat for all possible Home Playoff Games (4 per round). You will receive game tickets for Round 1 Home Games 1, 2, 3 & 4. Should any games not be required you would take the tickets for the games not played to the box office (within the designated time frame) where you will receive a credit for the next 4 potential games in the next round. This would continue for all rounds until the end of the President Cup Playoffs. Should there be tickets for games not played at the end of the playoffs you simply come to the box office with those tickets to receive your refund, less box office fee of $1.00 per ticket (round by round price- 12 & under $34.00; student/senior $46.00; adult $58.00)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 207-333-3267, OR VISIT WWW.LEWISTONHOCKEY.COM



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2011


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