Lewiston, ME – The Lewiston Maineiacs started the second half of the season on the right foot with a 7-1 victory over the Victoriaville Tigres on Tuesday night. It was a big win especially from players who were expected to have a big year as Pierre-Olivier Morin (1G, 2A) and Francis Beauvillier (2G) each found the back of the net.

“Beauvillier has been playing well of late,” said Maineiacs head coach J.F. Houle. “He’s been getting points and skating hard.”

“We’ve been getting production from a lot of players right now and that’s what the team is all about.”

The team also got production from the newly acquired Bryce Milson.

“It was a quick turnaround,” said Milson, who was acquired from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan back on December 23. “I was in Bathurst seven days ago and I got the call that I would be a Maineiac. It’s a little different, I never been in a trade before.”

The transition for the 17-year old was made easier with multiple players on Lewiston’s roster who played for Acadie-Bathurst last season.

“I think there are 6-7 guys who played for Acadie-Bathurst last season.” he said.

He was still able to enjoy the holiday break with friends and family.

“I had to go back to Bathurst and grab all my stuff, but other than that, it was a good break. I was able to let go of hockey for a little bit and refocus for Lewiston.”

He hopes he can contribute offensively and defensively.

“There’s four lines that can score and there are a lot of great players on this team,” Milson said. “My role is to play a two-way game and work hard out there.”

Milson and the rest of his teammates weren’t able to get a practice in before Tuesday night’s game after a week-long break.

“That’s just how life is sometimes,” Houle added. “The guys were fresh and (Victoriaville) had an off game. Tomorrow will be a big test. They are coming into our building and I am sure they will give us a much better test.”

The Tigres played Monday night against the Montreal Juniors where they fell 5-2 before they started the home-and-home series with Lewiston.

The Maineiacs are short on players with two players gone to the World Under-17 Challenge – Dillon Fournier and Christophe Lalonde – they are also missing Kirill Kabanov and Andrei Makarov, who are both stuck in Europe due to travel issues.

“We don’t know when they will be here, we are just going to wait patiently,” stated Houle.

Fournier and Lalonde will return to the team for the Jan. 7 game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

“Our schedule is nice the second half. We have a lot of time to be with our players,” Houle mentioned. “We will be able to do more scouting on the other teams and get our team in shape for the playoffs.”

With the absence of Makarov, the team recalled goaltender Antoine Bibeau. Houle is unsure if the 16-year old will see any playing time.