Press Release
Tuesday, October 03, 2023
AUS Hockey: Panthers vs Aigles Bleus Wednesday in Moncton
The Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus will host the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena in the opening game of the 2023-2024 Atlantic University Sport men's hockey season.
The team benefits from the experience of several players with the arrival of promising rookies. Coach Derek Cormier begins his second season behind the bench with assistants Ricky Jacob and Adrien Lemay.
“We won all three of our preseason games and that bodes well for the start of the season,” said coach Derek Cormier. “The team has a good mix of veterans and rookies who are capable. I can't wait to see them in action this season. I think our fans are going to see a well-rounded team and we're looking to get better every game. Our goal is to win a championship and every game will be a step towards that goal. There won't be an easy match, but we'll be there battling in each one.”
Goaltender Étienne Montpetit completed his bachelor's degree and is not back, as are former captain Vincent Deslauriers and defenceman Olivier Desjardins. Rookie Olivier Adam will have his chance to prove himself, he who was one of the best goaltenders in major junior last year. Dorian Lagarnière and Félix-Anthony Éthier are back in front of the cage.
The only one with 5 years of experience is defender Vincent Lanoue who will miss the start of the season due to an injury. Those starting their 4th season are Dorian Lagarnière and Samuel Guilbault. The 3-year group is the largest with team captain Mika Cyr, Maxime Boudreau, Olivier-Luc Haché, Justin Miron, Rémy Anglehart, Alexandre Couture, Yann-Félix Lapointe, Alexis Arsenault, Edouard St-Laurent, Nathaël Roy, Denis Toner and William Basque. Jérémie Jacob, Thomas Pelletier, Jacob Dion, Thomas Cusson, Jeremy Michel, Félix-Anthony Éthier and Charles Edouard Drouin are second-year players. Rookies this season include Yannic Bastarache, Marc-Antoine Mercier, Alex Arsenault, Olivier Adam, and Jeremy Lapointe.
Captain Mika Cyr will miss the start of the season due to an injury. Moncton will play the University of New Brunswick Reds on Friday night in Fredericton. The Aigles Bleus finished the 2022-2023 campaign in 6th place with a record of 11-17-1=24 points. In the playoffs, Moncton eliminated the Panthers 2-1 in the quarterfinals with the third game won in double overtime 4-3. The UNB Reds then eliminated the blue and gold in the semifinals.
Puplic may buy tickets online, at the CEPS box office during the day or at the arena one hour before the start of the game. An official puck drop will precede the game to kick off the season.
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