23 janvier 2015 – Times & Transcript Aigles Bleus coach frustrated by injuries

UdeM hits road for pair of games this weekend Sean HatcHard Times & TranscripT

Université de Aigles Bleus head coach Serge Bourgeois is only half- joking when he considers if his team is cursed when it comes to injuries in the

Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey conference.

How bad is it for the Aigles Bleus?

Ro okie defenceman Mathieu Martin will miss the next two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered on the court as part of one of his classes.

Then, this week in practice, forward Luc Williams and third-string goaltender Patrick Earle,who has been pressed into the lineup as a backup,were both hurt.

They’re questionable for this weekend’s games.

Bourgeois does not use injuries as an excuse for Moncton’s struggles this season, but he wonders what his club would look like with a full lineup.

Captain and key two-way forward Alex Emond and veteran defenceman Christopher Guay have missed most of the season. No. 1 goaltender Adrien

Lemay has not yet played in the second semester due to a concussion.

“I’m ready to go see a witch or something to cast a spell to take the curse off me,”Bourgeois said.

“I think that’s the most frustrating part of coaching,and even the players feel the same way. In the last couple years, we’ve lost some big players. We lost Mathieu Bolduc at Christmastime a couple years back.We lost Chris Gaudet,who was a big part for us, for a long period of time.

“And this year, we lose our No. 1 goalie, our No. 1 centreman and one of our top defencemen for long periods of time. I always say one of the keys to winning in this league is to stay healthy, and we haven’t been able to do it the last couple years.”

The Aigles Bleus are in sixth place in the AUS with a 7-12-2 record and hold on to the final playoff berth with a three-point lead on the seventh-place Dalhousie

Tigers.

Moncton has seven regular-season games remaining.

The Aigles Bleus visit the No. 3 nationally-ranked Acadia Axemen (16-4-2) tonight in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and Dalhousie (6-15-1) tomorrow in Halifax.

Moncton has lost four consecutive games and 10 of its last 11.

But for one period last Saturday against the St. Francis Xavier X-Men, the Aigles Bleus were dominant. They attacked the offensive zone with speed, they won battles, they were strong on the puck.

They looked like the team that opened the season with five straight wins and was nationally ranked.

Moncton outshot St.FX 18-4 in the final period and controlled the play, but could not find a way to beat X-Men goaltender Drew Owsley with the tying goal in a 3-2 loss on home ice.

“We were playing with a lot more confidence”said Bourgeois.“Hockey is a funny game. If you play hesitant or if you’re scared to make a mistake,you’re going to make mistakes.

“I thought in the third period that we played a lot freer and played with a lot more confidence, and it showed on the ice.”

Slow starts have hurt the Aigles Bleus. They’ve been outscored in the first period by opponents in four of their last six games.

“That’s a big thing. Every time we have to play from behind, we have to open up our play a little more, and that causes more scoring chances for the other team” Bourgeois said.

Université de head coach Serge Bourgeois

PHOTO: UniversiTé de MOncTOn