After taking five points out of a possible eight in their last four games, the Lewiston Maineiacs face the unenviable task of a home-and-home with the Moncton Wildcats this weekend, who began the week with an 8-1 drubbing of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The Wildcats are nearly at full strength now, and have defeated Lewiston in three of four games this season.
“There are no excuses when you play bad,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin. “Every game is a must right now. You have to be there all the time, no matter what the team’s record is. Every team has a weakness, and it’s our job to find theirs.”
Jodoin was on his way to watch Moncton play Shawinigan on Thursday, where he and assistant coach Jeff Guay were hoping to pick up a few last-minute tips. This week, said Jodoin, the Maineiacs started working on something he had been saving for a rainy day.
“We’re going to try something new (Friday)” said Jodoin. “I’ll let you know (tonight) after the game if it worked or not. I was going to save it for the playoffs, but if it works, we’ll practice it a little more now.”
Jodoin would not go into further detail until following tonight’s game. The only insight he gave was a defensive generality.
“We need to cut down their scoring chances,” said Jodoin. “We can still skate and we still have speed, so I think if we cut those down we’ll do better.”
Moncton entered the season with elevated expectations as the host of the Memorial Cup next spring. After firing out of the gate, a stretch which ended with a 3-2 home loss to the Maineiacs, the Wildcats stumbled, but seem to have righted the ship, having won six of seven heading into Thursday night’s matchup with Shawinigan.
“When we saw them, they were still missing two key players, too,” said Jodoin. “But that’s the great thing about junior hockey. On the ice, that’s the game.”
The back-to-back games against a familiar opponent is normal in the league this season. Apart from cutting down on travel, the formula of familiarity breeding contempt has also started to play a role in some games.
“I like it a lot,” said Jodoin, who echoed the sentiments of assistant coach Ed Harding’s thoughts on the limited back-to-back meeting last season. “It helps, too, because you know the teams better. You get to know who they are. You know the players by heart and you can do better analysis.”
Jonathan Bernier is expected to start Friday’s game. For Moncton, a lot of what happened last night will determine the team’s course of action tonight.
The teams will travel Saturday and will square off again at the Colisee on Sunday at 4 p.m.
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