Sports stats

Road Report from Montreal

April 15, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Greetings from Montreal, where the MAINEiacs are ready for game five against the Junior tonight at Verdun Auditorium.

Looking back at the first four games, what a difference a week makes. Last Friday night, we were all sitting at the dinner table frustrated, after having watched Montreal pick up a 6-5 overtime win in game one. Seven days later, we are here with the MAINEiacs sitting one win away from advancing to the third round for just the second time in their eight-year history. All three of Lewiston's wins have been close games, with the third period serving as the difference in all three.

Of course, the most noteworthy game of the series thus far was game three, when Etienne Brodeur scored with 5.2 seconds left for a 2-1 MAINEiacs win. As most of you have seen or heard by now, my call of said goal on the radio was different to say the least. Since the video is practically everywhere online, I suppose I should talk a bit about it.

At the end of the day, I want to see the MAINEiacs win almost as much as the players on the ice, and since this is my first season doing play-by-play, playoff hockey is a new experience. As I've told many people, the intensity and excitement of playoff hockey is out of this world, and it's hard not to get caught up in the emotion of the games.

Typically, when Lewiston scores a goal, I will take a deep breath, before powering out a "SCORE!" In this case, I was so excited and surprised (remember, the puck found Brodeur off of a deflected shot) when the puck went in that I just reacted immediately, and the rest is history. While the call definitely wasn't one of my best ones, I'm not going to lie - it's pretty cool to receive national attention, while also having the MAINEiacs' name be heard nationwide. Plus, it will be good for some laughs for a little while.

Off of the ice, the team made the trip up to Montreal yesterday morning. For the second trip in a row, the movie selection was tremendous. On the ride back after game two, we watched Anchorman and Billy Madison, while two of yesterday's flicks were Grown Ups and Dodgeball. The group watched a third movie to start yesterday's journey, but I slept through it, so I can't even tell you what movie it was.

Billy Madison and Grown Ups were two great movies for me, as I am a huge Adam Sandler fan. Also, I had yet to see Grown Ups, so that was a nice treat. One of the neat things about Grown Ups is that Adam's character wears a shirt or hat of practically every major college in New England.

As for Anchorman and Dodgeball, well, those two are just awesome. There are so many lines that can be taken out of those movies and used while joking around in real life. It has been funny listening to the players, as they tend to say some of the lines at the most random of times. For example, we were just sitting on the bus, and all of a sudden, I heard Michael Chaput say, "Maybe we can go to lunch!" For those familiar with the movie, that is the scene when Ron Burgundy asks Veronica Corningstone out to lunch in a very loud voice.

There is also a line from Dodgeball that Stefan Fournier has asked me to use on the broadcast the next time he scores a goal. It is on the Dodgeball broadcast, when colorman Pepper Brooks says to play-by-play man Cotton McKnight, "It's got to be the hair, Cotton - feathered and lethal!" While I won't typically use movie quotes on the broadcast unless it fits the situation, I absolutely love watching comedy movies with broadcast scenes, as they say lines that I could only dream of saying on the air.

When we arrived in Montreal, we headed over to Boston Pizza for a quick meal, before making our way back to the hotel for a certain hockey game that I would not like to talk about. Yesterday's dinner was Chicken Parmesan, which was served in a significantly smaller portion size than the spaghetti and meatballs. I believe we will go back to our standard meals for lunch this afternoon, and if we do, let the games begin! Speaking of spaghetti and meatballs, prior to game four in Moncton, we decided to have a little bit of fun with associate coach and eating champion Darren Rumble, setting him up with two servings of spaghetti on the same plate. I don't think I've ever seen more pasta on one plate in my life.

Moving ahead to today, I am hearing that we will once again be joined by lots of fans making the trip up from Lewiston. The fans that made the trip up last weekend were terrific! I always enjoy seeing all of you at the games, and I know for a fact that the team appreciates how loud you all get. The final minute of game four at home literally gave me goosebumps. That was sick! I know that there will also be lots of local friends and family in the building tonight, so it should be a fun time overall.

I hope you are all as fired up for the game as I am, and hopefully, the MAINEiacs will be able to finish off the series. Gippers will once again by airing the game, so if you aren't coming up, go there, as it is always a great time. Enjoy the broadcast, and GO MAINEIACS!



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from April 15, 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.

Other Recent Lewiston MAINEiacs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central