Aigles Bleus Look to Snap Skid Udem Vists UPEI Panthers Tonight
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26 nov 2014 – Times & Transcript Aigles Bleus look to snap skid UdeM vists UPEI Panthers tonight Sean HatcHard Times & TranscripT Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus head coach Serge Bourgeois could use an early Christmas present. A couple of wins to close out the first semester in the Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey conference would be just fine. “It would be a lot easier on the brain,” Bourgeois said yesterday. The struggling Aigles Bleus conclude their first-semester schedule with a pair of road games this week. They visit the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers tonight in Charlottetown and University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds on Friday in Fredericton. These are tough times for Moncton. The club opened the season with five straight wins but has since lost eight of its last nine games, including the last four in a row. The Aigles Bleus hit the road for Charlottetown today seeking the stop the slide. “Injuries are part of the game, and these slumps are part of the game, but you have to work through it and find a way,” Bourgeois said. “You can’t win championships in the month of November, but we have to learn from what we’re doing. We need to get better so when we get to the playoffs, we’re ready to play.” Moncton has slipped to fifth place in the AUS with a 6-6-2 record and is just two points ahead of sixth-place UPEI (5-7-2). The Aigles Bleus received more bad news on the injury front last weekend. The team lost defenceman Danick Emond to a concussion in a road loss to the St. Francis Xavier X-Men last Friday. He will be out until after Christmas. Forward Steve Lebel suffered an upper-body injury the following night in a loss to the Saint Mary’s Huskies. He will be a game-time decision tonight. Moncton is already without injured captain and key two-way forward Alex Emond and veteran defenceman Christopher Guay until the second semester. Bourgeois will need to juggle his lines tonight. Top-six forward Pier-Antoine Dion played as a defenceman against Saint Mary’s on Saturday in Danick Emond’s absence and is set to do the same tonight against UPEI. “It is tough. It’s tough on the emotions a little bit, and it just doesn’t seem fair. It seems like every year for the last couple years we’ve had some big injuries that have cost us,” Bourgeois said. “We tell the players it’s not an excuse. You’ve got 18 guys who are going to go out there and play their hardest. You just have to stay positive and do the job you’ve got to do.” The Aigles Bleus went back to work at practice this week following a 9-2 loss to Saint Mary’s on Saturday. Shoring up their defence is top priority. The team also allowed seven goals in a loss to UNB earlier this month. “We think right now the biggest problem was in our defensive zone. We keep working on the details. We’ve got a lot of young guys – a lot of the injuries are to veteran guys – and we’ve had to put some rookies in positions where they probably shouldn’t have to be leaders on our team right way,” Bourgeois said. “We’re trying to make sure they know how to play, how to play on the road and things like that. It’s a different league.” UPEI edged the Dalhousie Tigers 3-2 in overtime in its last outing to snap a four- game losing streak. The Aigles Bleus and Panthers have met once this season, with Moncton posting a 4-0 win on home ice. “They’re in a little bit of the same position as we are. They’ve had key injuries that hurt them at the beginning of the year. They’re two points behind us, they’re working hard to get where they want to be and their coach (Forbes MacPherson) will do a good job to get them ready,” Bourgeois said. “They’re a fast team and they’re good on special teams, so we need to make sure we play well in our zone and attack them after that.” Adrien Lemay will start in net tonight for the Aigles Bleus. Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus’ Pier-Antoine Dion dumps University of Prince Edward Island Panthers’ Brock Beukeboom during an AUS men’s hockey game earlier this season. PHOTO: VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT .