Lewiston MAINEiacs

The Lewiston Maineiacs were a junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League based in Lewiston, Maine. The team played its home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée. They were the only QMJHL team in the United States during their whole stay in Lewiston. They won the President's Cup in 2007.

History
Their franchise was granted for the 1969–70 season. They played in Trois-Rivières, Quebec from 1969 to 1992. They were known as the Ducs from 1969–1973, and as the Draveurs (1973–1992). They moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec in 1992 to become the Faucons (1992–1998) and the Castors (1998–2003). The Castors moved to Lewiston, Maine in 2003.

The Maineiacs clinched the Jean Rougeau Trophy for first overall in the regular season for 2006–07. During the same season, Lewiston increased its annual attendance totals to 94,903 tickets sold. In the playoffs that year, Lewiston went 16-1 to cruise to their first President's Cup.

2007 Memorial Cup
After winning the 2007 President's Cup, the Maineiacs won eligibility to play in the 2007 Memorial Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia. Following an opening win over the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Maineiacs suffered the huge loss with the injury of their captain, Marc-André Cliche, and never really found their scoring touch. They crashed out of the tournament in fourth place after losing consecutive games to the Vancouver Giants, Plymouth Whalers, and the Whalers again in the tie-breaker, scoring only three goals in three games in the process.


 * Scores
 * Saturday, May 19: Lewiston 3, Medicine Hat Tigers 1
 * Sunday, May 20: Vancouver Giants 2, Lewiston 1
 * Tuesday, May 22: Plymouth Whalers 2, Lewiston 1 (OT)
 * Thursday, May 24: Plymouth Whalers 5, Lewiston 1

Sale and Relocation
On January 25, 2009, it was announced that the Maineiacs were negotiating with the city of Boisbriand, Quebec (a suburb of Montreal) in hopes of relocating the franchise for the 2009–10 season. Under the plan, Mark Just would remain majority owner with 51% of the shares, with former NHL defenseman Joel Bouchard owning the rest. On January 31, the team announced that they had filed their intent to relocate, and had submitted papers to do so to the QMJHL.

In a Jan. 31 media release announcing the move of the Maineiacs franchise, owner Mark Just said that community support for the team was a major consideration. During the six seasons since the team moved from Sherbrooke, Quebec to Lewiston, the Maineiacs never managed to break even. However, on February 2, Farrel Miller, owner of the QMJHL's Montreal Junior Hockey Club, issued a statement that his team would fight the Maineiacs move to Boisbriand on territorial grounds.


 * The Montreal Junior Hockey Club has communicated to the QMJHL that it will retain, without modification, its exclusive geographic territory that it acquired in connection with its 2008 Franchise Agreement with the QMJHL. On January 21st, 2009, the Montreal Junior Hockey Club communicated to the Governors of the QMJHL that (i) it has chosen to retain its exclusive territory without modification and (ii) that it is not seeking any financial compensation in connection with this issue.

After several weeks of negotiations with a number of Canadian cities (most notably Fredericton, New Brunswick), Maineiacs Head Coach Don Macadam announced on March 24, 2009 that the Maineiacs would be remaining in Lewiston. In June 2010, Lewiston businessman Paul Spellman became the minority owner of the team, and early in August 2010, former Moncton Wildcats General Manager Bill Schurman was named as teh team's Sports Management Consultant. However relocation rumours continued to follow the team, with Summerside, PEI (where Schurman, a native of that town, had recently been the municipality's Director of Community Services) and St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador name as potential destinations in January 2011.

Schurman's denials of the team looking into a Summerside relocation proved unconvincing, and the rumours had a negative impact on attendance. However, Schurman's dream of moving the MAINEiacs to his home city ultimately failed, as a preliminary exploration to gauge support for a move to Summerside found little traction. The team then began to look at other possibilities, but found that few other relocation options existed.

The Lewiston franchise was disbanded by the QMJHL in the summer of 2011. To replace the defunct MAINEiacs club, the Sherbrooke Phoenix  began play for the 2012-13 QMJHL Season. It is the 3rd franchise to call Sherbrooke home in the last 25 years.

League Takeover and Disbanding
On May 31, 2011, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League held a conference call to prepare an offer to purchase the team from Mark Just for 3.5 million dollars. Under the league's plan, the MAINEiacs would then be disbanded, with players being selected by other clubs in a dispersal draft. Late on May 31, the league issued a press release confirming the sale of the MAINEiacs to the league, and the subsequent disbanding / dispersal draft occurred the following week. While Androscoggin Bank Colisee owners had stated that they are searching for a replacement team from outside of the QMJHL to take the MAINEiacs place. The Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League moved into the Androscoggin Bank Colisee after a lawsuit and breakdown in the discussions of their lease with the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland.

Coaches

 * Mario Durocher: 2003–04
 * Clément Jodoin: 2004–2007
 * Ed Harding: 2007–January 12, 2009
 * Don MacAdam: January 13, 2009–May 31, 2011

QMJHL award winners

 * Mike Bossy Trophy—best pro prospect: Alexandre Picard, 2004
 * Paul Dumont Trophy—personality of the year: Clément Jodoin, 2006
 * Ron Lapointe Trophy—Coach of the Year: Clément Jodoin, 2007
 * Guy Carbonneau Trophy—Best Defensive forward: Marc-André Cliche, 2007.
 * Guy Lafleur Trophy—QMJHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player: Jonathan Bernier, 2007

All-stars

 * Jonathan Paiement: 1st team (Defense) 2003–04
 * Alexandre Picard: 1st team (Right wing) 2003–04,
 * Alex Bourret: 2nd team (Right wing) 2004–05
 * Jonathan Bernier: 2nd team (Goaltender) 2006–07
 * Peter Delmas: All-rookie team (Goaltender) 2006–07
 * Stefano Giliati: 2nd Team (Left Wing) 2007–08
 * Kevin Marshall: 2nd Team (Defense) 2007–08

Captains

 * 2003–04: Francis Trudel
 * 2004–05: No captain
 * 2005– January, 2006: Brandon Roach
 * January, 2006–May 2007: Marc-André Cliche
 * September 2007–March, 2008: Marc-André Daneau
 * September 2008–June, 2009: Danick Paquette
 * September 2009-May 2010: Billy Lacasse
 * September 2010-May 2011: Cameron Critchlow

NHL alumni
Eight Maineiacs to have played in the NHL:
 * Jonathan Bernier
 * Michael Chaput
 * Marc-Andre Cliche
 * Eric Gelinas
 * Jaroslav Halák
 * Kevin Marshall
 * David Perron
 * Alexandre Picard

NHL draftees
In addition, the Maineiacs have had several players drafted by National Hockey League teams. They are:


 * 2004 NHL Draft:
 * Alexandre Picard (2004 1st Round, #8 overall by Columbus Blue Jackets)
 * Jonathan Paiement (2004 8th Round, #247 overall by New York Rangers)


 * 2005 NHL Draft:
 * Alex Bourret (2005 1st Round, #16 overall by Atlanta Thrashers)
 * Chad Denny (2005 2nd Round, #49 overall by Atlanta Thrashers)
 * Marc-André Cliche (2005 2nd Round, #56 overall by New York Rangers)
 * Olivier Legault (2005 4th Round, #93 overall by Florida Panthers)
 * Mathieu Aubin (2005 5th Round, #130 overall by Montreal Canadiens)


 * 2006 NHL Draft:
 * Jonathan Bernier (2006 1st Round, #11 overall by Los Angeles Kings)
 * Stefan Chaput (2006 5th Round, #153 overall, by Carolina Hurricanes)


 * 2007 NHL Draft:
 * David Perron (2007 1st Round, #26 overall by St. Louis Blues)
 * Kevin Marshall (2007 2nd Round #41 overall by Philadelphia Flyers)
 * Michael Ward (2007 7th Round #197 overall by Tampa Bay Lightning)


 * 2008 NHL Draft:
 * Peter Delmas (2008 2nd Round, #61 overall by Colorado Avalanche)
 * Danick Paquette (2008 3rd Round #64 overall by Atlanta Thrashers)


 * 2009 NHL Draft:
 * Eric Gelinas (2009 2nd Round, #54 overall by New Jersey Devils


 * 2010 NHL Draft:
 * Michael Chaput (2010 3rd Round, #89 overall by Philadelphia Flyers
 * Samuel Carrier (2010 6th round, # 176 overall by Washington Capitals

Regular season
Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

Playoffs

 * 2003–04 - Lost to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4 games to 3 in first round.
 * 2004–05 - Defeated Shawinigan Cataractes 4 games to 0 in first round. Lost to Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 0 in quarterfinals.
 * 2005–06 - Lost to Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 2 in conference quarterfinals.
 * 2006–07 - Defeated Shawinigan Cataractes 4 games to 0 in conference first roundfinals. Defeated Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 1 in conference quarterfinals. Defeated Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4 games to 0 in league semifinals. Defeated Val-d'Or Foreurs 4 games to 0 in QMJHL finals. QMJHL CHAMPIONS Finished Memorial Cup round-robin tied for third. Lost to Plymouth Whalers 5-1 in the tiebreaker game.
 * 2007–08 - Lost to Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 2 in conference quarterfinals.
 * 2008–09 - Lost to Drummondville Voltigeurs 4 games to 0 in conference quarterfinals.
 * 2009–10 - Lost to Drummondville Voltigeurs 4 games to 0 in conference quarterfinals.
 * 2010–11 - Defeated Moncton Wildcats 4 games to 1 in round of 16. Defeated Montreal Junior 4 games to 2 in league quarter finals  Lost to Saint John Sea Dogs 4 games to none in league semifinals