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Take 5 With Lewy's Legion - Road Report from Saint John

April 22, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Greetings from Saint John, where the MAINEiacs are ready to begin round three of the QMJHL Playoffs against the Sea Dogs.

While there will still hopefully be another round of playoffs and a Memorial Cup in Lewiston's future, let's take a second to think about this again - "round three" - how good does that sound?! This is a team that over the last two years combined won a total of 45 games, and now, after 40 regular season wins and eight playoff wins (for a total of 48), they find themselves in the third round of the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.

The first two rounds of the 2011 Playoffs have been nothing short of exciting for the MAINEiacs, as they eliminated the Moncton Wildcats in five games in round one, before a six-game triumph over the Montreal Junior in round two. While the eight wins to this point have certainly been enjoyable in the sense that the good guys came out on top, one of the other fun parts to watch has been how close and well-played the games have been. Three of Lewiston's eleven playoff games have entered the third period tied, six of the games have entered the third period with a one-goal difference, and two of the games have entered the third period with a two-goal difference. Games like those will definitely keep fans at the edges of their seats right until the final buzzer.

For the second consecutive round, there is absolutely no pressure on the MAINEiacs, as they face a Saint John team that is widely looked upon as the best team in the entire CHL. With that being said, this is a Lewiston squad that is playing with a lot of confidence at the moment, and rightly so, after upsetting the second best team in the league from the regular season. I will never forget reading an article from Atlantic Canada (can't remember the specific source) toward the end of the regular season, that stated that the MAINEiacs might not finish the regular season as one of the top four teams in the QMJHL, but they are a team that others in the league will not want to face come playoff time.

A couple of the areas that I am looking forward to watching in the upcoming series are the speed and offensive talents that these two teams possess. Both clubs are built with solid goaltending in Nicholas Champion and Jacob DeSerres, and the two sides do pride themselves on strong defensive coverage, but at the end of the day, we will be looking at the two teams with the first and third most goals from the regular season. So, with the dynamic offenses and the stellar goaltending featured in this series, let's hope for quite a few highlight reel plays.

As for the road trip, the team got an early start yesterday, leaving Lewiston at 8:00 in the morning. A big thank you goes out to the fans who came out to wish the team their best as they departed for Saint John. The bus ride was one of the easiest ones we've had all year, as Saint John is the closest city to Lewiston in the QMJHL. And would you believe that we only come here once a year?! Obviously, the reason for that is the divisional setup.

One of the highlights from the bus ride was goaltender Andrey Makarov, who brought cupcakes to celebrate turning 18 years old, which he did on Wednesday. Makarov is the first of four MAINEiacs to celebrate birthdays in the next ten days, as Pierre-Olivier Morin will turn 20 on Saturday, Sam Carrier will turn 19 on April 28th, and Stefan Fournier will turn 19 on April 30th.

When the team arrived in Saint John, they dropped off their clothes at the hotel, before hopping over to Harbour Station for practice. Yesterday afternoon will be our lone bus trip from the hotel to the arena, as it is within walking distance. However, that's not all. The entire walk can be completed without taking a single step outside. Following practice, the team did a video session, so I elected to try this walk myself, and I have to say that it was absolutely worth it. The walk takes about ten minutes to complete, and in between the rink and the hotel is a mall that actually has a second hotel attached to it. The stretch is called "The Inside Connection," and for those of you that might be making your first ever visit to Saint John, I recommend checking it out.

For dinner last night, the team enjoyed steak dinners at a local sports grill named "Rocky's" before retreating to their hotel rooms to watch a game that I would be glad to talk about this week! Of course, that was the Boston Bruins' 5-4 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens, in what is shaping up to be another classic series between two phenomenal rivals. While I would love to see the Bruins win the next two games to take the series in six, something tells me that this one is going to go the full seven games. During the game, my roommate (Joey Blacquiere) and I were joined by Kevin Shrader, who is assisting Matt Flaherty on the trip. I finished the evening with a tasty ice cream sundae (which almost found the floor when Ryder scored in overtime), while Kevin opted to order a pizza (which didn't arrive until after the game).

This morning was an optional skate for the players, giving them a chance to work on whatever they need to work on, or giving them some time off to rest whatever ailments they might have. At this stage of the year, stamina is one of the biggest keys, so while it can help to have a morning skate to get the legs going, it's also important that everyone is fresh come game time. As for working on certain skills and plays, you tend to see a lot of video work done during this time of year.

I hope you are all fired up to get this series started, so without further ado, let the countdown to game one begin! If you are making the trip up to Saint John, I look forward to seeing you, as well as hearing you in the crowd at Harbour Station tonight. If not, Gippers will once again be airing the game, so make sure that you take a trip over there to cheer on the boys with the best fans in the QMJHL.



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from April 22, 2011


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