Maine Standing Strong and Stout

Introduction
The Timber have planted their roots in the last 4 SMJHL playoff finals, and this year looks to be more of the same for the north-eastern powerhouse. With an outstanding core still in place, and plenty of fresh blood coming through the ranks, Maine continues to be a near unbreakable obstacle for those looking for post season glory. Can anyone put a damper on their long streak of success this season? Early results seem to indicate not, but what makes the group in black and green such an unmovable object?

Glory into the Offseason
As the reigning champion of the SMJHL, Maine should rightfully have the biggest target on their back for the coming campaign. However, it wasn’t just the fact that they lifted the Four Star Cup, but how they dominated every step of the way. Cruising through the quarter and semi-finals with an unblemished 8-0 record, it only took an effort in the finals to steal a single game away from the Timber as they won 4-1, and completed a historic 12-1 run to cup glory. Often with such a dominant run, teams run into trouble in the coming seasons due to players stepping into the big leagues. Maine though, is always in the process of reloading, and not caught up too often in any rebuild. The 4 consecutive finals appearances already speak volumes to this, but more seeds are always being planted in advance.

Draft
While the Timber didn’t command any top 10 picks, they secured value at every step of the draft, and put together a core that looks to be the roots of another great generation. Edouard Lavoie, Mia Lavoie, Jean-Jacques François Jacques-Jean make up a strong attacking core of the early round picks, but Shotty McStopper should come in to help the situation at goalie, while Jonesy Fortnite could prove to be a late round sleeper. While they are more long-term investments, already this group has shown their prowess, as Jacques-Jean has a league best 7 assist after the first four games, and the others have combined for 10 points early into the season as well.

Preseason and Week 1
It was a bit of a slow start into things as Maine surprisingly dropped their first 3 pre-season contests. This can be read into about as much as the fact that they won their next 4 after that. While a 4-3-0 warmup might seem a bit subpar for their standards, the fact that they had a positive 9 on their +/-, good for second best in pre-season, shows that the teams quality persisted though a few tough games. With the start of the regular season, any remaining doubts were put to rest as the Timber towered over their competition to achieve a flawless 4-0 start. The first game they played, the kick-off game of the regular season, was the most emphatic, and saw them put down a statement 11-3 win over Vancouver. With their next three games all victories over Regina, Carolina, and Anchorage, the Timber look as likely as anyone currently to find themselves back in yet another SMJHL playoff final.


(525 Words)