Associated Press - Portland, Maine

Although practice ended hours ago, it was a long night at the Maine Timber's training facility. After a successful three game stretch that saw the Timber win two out of three games, rookie forwards Dogwood Maple, Jonny Tsunami, and Frederick Stefansson were burning the midnight oil working on their craft. "It's all about doing everything I can do to help us get better," Maple said, "and if that means I'm here late at night with some of my linemates then let's do it!" The trio were working on their cross-ice passing and precision shooting, thanks to a miniature goal they set up. When asked why they should grind so hard after a tough three game stretch, Dogwood said he was simply doing what he'd always done. "When the Timber drafted me, they knew they were getting somebody who was going to go above and beyond to set an example for other players and always work hard. If I all of this extra practice results in one more goal for us or one more win, it'll all be worth it. And just creating a bond with my fellow rookies? That just makes it that much more enjoyable. We want to create a legacy in Maine and you can't achieve greatness without work, work, and more work."

The Timber are currently tied for second place in the division, thanks in large part to some major contributions from their rookie class. As Maple said, they're trying to build a legacy and right now they're certainly on the right track in Maine.

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