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Press Release

Tuesday, January 02, 2018

Aigles Bleus to host Huskies Wednesday evening


Thierry Comtois
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Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus (3-13-2 = 8 points, 6th position) begin play for the second semester on Wednesday evening as they host Saint Mary’s University Huskies (13-4-1 = 27 points, 3rd position), in Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey action at 7 p.m. at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena.

The Judes Vallée coached team is one point behind fifth place, held by University of Prince Edward Island Panthers in the standings, and have a three-point lead over seventh place Dalhousie University Tigers. The top six teams advance to the playoffs. This will mark the first game this season that no U de M players are on the injured list, except possibly defencemen Danick Emond.

“I am excited that all players are back in the line-up,” stated Moncton coach Judes Vallée. “I look forward to seeing how they will react to the game. We have not played for about a month, but we held very good practice sessions to finish our plays and return to the basics. We will be ready physically and mentally. This is a big game for us, we only have 12 games left in the regular schedule and all are important. We need to win against top 4 teams to qualify. Saint Mary’s plays like a pave roller and it will not be an easy task.”

Vallée said all players were looking forward to stepping on the ice following the holidays. Alexi Thibaudeau played well at the end of the first semester and will get the nod in nets. “This is the first time since training camp that all players are back,” Vallée added. “We have something to prove. We did see a much better end to the first semester following a very difficult beginning. A playoff spot is still in our aim. We have six weeks of regular season play and we need to leave everything on the ice. We all have a common goal, and the players are aware of this. Some are playing their last semester while others need to improve for the coming season. Each game is important for us.”

The task will not be easy, but with the return of the injured players, including team captain Thierry Comtois and Joey Richard, the team can believe in a much better second semester. “We will work hard. We went through a number of changes in the first semester,” Comtois said. “We had a new coach, new plays, new culture and a reorganization. We are now more comfortable in our roles and we still aim for the playoffs. The game against the Huskies is difficult to predict, coming back from the holidays. We are ready and in shape. We want to get into fifth place and be competitive. We must learn to win and win. This will be my first game this season after missing the first semester with an injury. I am very much excited, I have been waiting a long time for this moment. It is difficult to miss over half a season, but Joey and I are looking forward to this game. We are prepared, we trained hard for this return on the ice. To get into fifth place, we need to be more consistent on the ice. The return to a full roster will certainly help the team and offer the coach more possibilities. We are not far from the others. Our special units and our cohesion are better, and we are working together.”

In brief, Moncton has 12 games left to play in the 30-game regular schedule. The Aigles Bleus have scored 49 goals and allowed 94, in 18 games so far this season, compared to 70 and 48 for the Huskies. Saint Mary’s won 7-2 in the last encounter between the teams in Moncton, on November 18. Moncton won two of its last four games. Vincent Deslauriers is the top scorer for the men’s hockey team with 19 points (9 g and 10 a), ranked 12th. Alexis Roy (3-11 = 14 points) is 27th and Jean-François Plante (7-6 = 13 points), 33rd.


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