A freshman could provide scoring spark UMaine men’s hockey needs
Felix Trudeau’s freshman season didn’t get off to the beginning he wished.
The College of Maine hockey proper winger received slashed in a 1-0 exhibition win over the College of Prince Edward Island on Oct. 1, and he suffered a damaged finger. He missed the primary 5 video games of the marketing campaign.
However he has been making up for misplaced time since his return, notching two objectives and three assists in his first seven video games. All 5 factors have come previously 4 video games, and he had two assists within the 5-1 win over American Worldwide Faculty of Massachusetts on Saturday.
The 20-year-old is without doubt one of the newcomers anticipated to offer offense to a program that has been goal-starved for years. He has discovered himself on the staff’s high scoring line with factors chief Lynden Breen (six objectives, three assists) and No. 2 scorer Ben Poisson (one purpose and 7 assists. Each are assistant captains who’ve been linemates for a number of years.
“He needs to be an actual good energy ahead on this league sometime. We’ll see how briskly that occurs,” UMaine second-year head coach Ben Barr stated of Trudeau. “He’s going to get larger and stronger over time right here. He nonetheless does some freshman issues, however he has an actual excessive ceiling.”
Barr singled out Trudeau’s skill to shoot the puck, however he stated Trudeau must get pictures off faster and maintain transferring his ft after pictures, one thing he has improved upon already this season. He has put 17 pictures on web via his first seven video games.
Trudeau is a confirmed scorer at each degree, together with final season for the West Kelowna Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League, the place he had 27 objectives to go along with 34 assists in 49 common season video games and 4 extra objectives and 10 assists in 12 playoff video games. He scored 43 objectives in 71 video games on the Northwood Faculty in Lake Placid, New York, through the 2019-20 season.
“We wish him to shoot slightly extra. He has been making an attempt to get the puck to [Poisson] and me slightly an excessive amount of,” Breen stated. “He’s an incredible participant. He has a lot potential.”
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Trudeau stated having Breen and Poisson as linemates “has helped so much.” He added that with the ability to contribute to the primary line has helped his confidence.
“He has a number of talent, he’s good with the puck and he sees the ice properly,” Poisson stated. “He actually matches in with me and Breen.”
Trudeau, who’s from the Montreal suburb of Terrebonne, Quebec, verbally dedicated to UMaine three years in the past.
He preferred the truth that the late UMaine head coach Purple Gendron and Ben Guite, Gendron’s high assistant, spoke French, and that house was simply 5 hours away. Gendron collapsed and died on April 9, 2021.
After Guite’s quick interim teaching stint, Barr was named to steer this system. Barr known as the recruit a few week after taking the job and the 2 clicked immediately, Trudeau stated.
“I’m actually pleased to be right here,” Trudeau stated.
He added that the six weeks the staff spent collectively doing non-compulsory exercises was useful. The extreme practices involving a number of three-on-three battles in a restricted house have aided their growth.
“You get stronger when you’re going up towards older guys,” Trudeau stated. “All of us freshmen are approach higher now than we had been.”
UMaine travels to Vermont for Hockey East video games at 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m Saturday. Trudeau stated he’s wanting ahead to the weekend as a result of Terrebonne is simply 113 miles from Burlington, so household and associates can be making the trek to the Gutterson Fieldhouse.
He stated scoring a season-high 5 objectives towards AIC will give UMaine a lift getting into the collection.
“Our confidence is greater now,” Trudeau stated.
