Literally hundreds of players have skated through Portland while wearing the Pirates uniform.
Few of them, however, lit the goal lamp with more frequency, or carried himself with more class, than Mathieu Darche.
Darche played for the Buccos two seasons back, having been one of the first veterans signed by the club’s new NHL parent, the Buffalo Sabres, helping give the youngsters a positive role model.
And he was all that and more.
Of course the words don’t carry much weight unless there is on-ice bite to the bark, and Darche’s team-high 31 goals, gave him plenty of cred in the room.
Those numbers were in keeping with the 30-goal per year average that Darche maintained throughout his last six AHL seasons.
Still, while AHL stats are nice to have, as any skater worth his blades will tell you, it means nothing if it doesn’t lead to time in the NHL.
Darche, being no different, was eager to parlay that stellar season with the Pirates into a big league opportunity, and last year signed a two-way deal with his home town team, the Montreal Canadiens.
Now in his second season with the Habs, Darche has pared down his game to fit the situation and the circumstance.
“It’s gone well,” said Darche, after last Thursday’s 2-1 win over the Bruins in Boston. “Montreal is a great place to play. My hometown. And the Montreal Canadiens are a storied franchise, and things are going well for them too. So it makes it enjoyable.”
Now playing in the NHL is nothing new for Darche, who had previously seen big league time with the Blue Jackets, Predators, Sharks, and Lightning.”
But getting there is one thing, staying there is quite another.
And as he’s gotten older, he’s gotten even smarter than before, smart enough to realize that he’s not going to be a 30-goal man in the NHL.
“You’ve got to adjust your game. You’ve got to find a niche. (Here) I’m more of a third or fourth line guy. You make it simple, but every now and then, we chip in some points.
“I know I won’t be a top line guy in the NHL, so I’ve adjusted to do my role, and play hard. They know what they’re going to get out of me every night.”
When Darche came to Portland, some pride swallowing on his part was in order.
He had just spent the previous season in Tampa Bay, and wasn’t expecting to spend another year in the AHL.
Such was not the case, however.
“It was disappointing at first to go back,” he said. “But Kevin (Dineen) and Eric (Weinrich) are great coaches, and I loved Portland. As far as minor league cities go, it’s the favorite one I’ve had in my whole career. We loved the area, but we’re happy to be back in the NHL.”
Hopefully, back to stay.
UMaine starts quickly
Considered upstarts at the beginning of the season, UMaine has been making believers out of skeptics with its stellar start (6-3-1 overall, 4-0-1 Hockey East).
Now ranked third in the USCHO.com poll [behind Minnesota-Duluth and Boston University], the Black Bears will face an acid test this weekend with a pair of road tilts at defending National Champion Boston College.
The Eagles, who sport Biddeford’s Brian Dumoulin on defense, are currently ranked seventh, having sustained a few unexpected losses.
Still, Maine coach Tim Whitehead said his troops aren’t breathing in their own rarified air while looking down at the Eagles.
“It’s early in the season,” said Whitehead, “so we often remind them not to get too high or too low at any
point in the year. The records at this point of the year can be very deceptive. We learned
that against Northeastern this last weekend. They were coming in with one win and they
were extremely competitive. The results could have gone either way on both Friday or
Saturday night.
That was a very good reminder of what a fine line it is. Records don’t necessarily match up at
this point of the year or even later because you see teams get hot down the stretch. We
have a decent number of juniors and seniors so that helps keep it in perspective for their
teammates. We rely on that experience. I don’t think that they are over confident now. I
think that they are just excited about the possibilities.”
For his part, BC coach Jerry York is well aware of the firepower possessed by Maine, especially in the early Hobey Baker favorite Gustav Nyquist, and stellar freshman Spencer Abbott.
“Right now, I think Maine is one of the top teams in the country,” he said. “They gave us an unbelievable
game in the Hockey East Championship last year. We knew from that game that when we
thought who might be the teams challenging for titles, Maine was always thought of on our
campus because they return so many good players from last year. If they could solve their
goaltending problems, they might be the best team in our league. With [Dan] Sullivan playing so
well, they seem to be taking a step in that direction. They will be a formidable opponent this
weekend.”
Updates and notes
The torrid Lewiston Maineiacs, winners of eight straight, have a tough weekend ahead, with two games at Quebec set, wrapped around a tilt at Shawinigan ”¦ UNE is making final preparations for its second NCAA season, which will get underway Friday at Norwich, the top team in Division III. ”¦ The Jr. Pirates “A” team will play host to the Boston Bulldogs ”“ featuring Kennebunk’s Matt Tucceri and Biddeford’s Cam Madore ”“ Saturday, at the MHG Ice Centre ”¦ Changing subjects drastically, Empty Netters is highly skeptical that any AHL worthy facility will ever be built at the proposed Biddeford Downs to house the Portland Pirates. Pirates President Brian Petrovek, who really can tell you what they teach at Harvard Business School, is an old goalie at heart, eager to play all the angles.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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