While coaches Claude Trudeau and Louis Roberge have worked together for the past four years within the ranks of the Rayside-Balfour Minor Hockey Association, they are one of the few mainstays with the Rayside-Balfour Moose Bantams this year. 

“I think the hardest thing with this team is getting them to gel as a team”, noted Trudeau after a recent practice. “A lot of them have never played together before.” Unfortunately, league standings lend credence to Trudeau’s statements as the Moose will likely find themselves in the Division D slot when the Bantam grouping is tiered in January. 

But that hasn’t stopped Trudeau from remaining optimistic. “They have a lot of potential, they skate pretty well but need to work together a little more as a team.” The team is comprised of an almost equal mix of minor and major aged players and at this age, Trudeau says the split provides even more challenge. 

“Half the kids are in high-school and half are not. The Bantam age group is very difficult”, adds Trudeau. “And for a number of the players, this is their first year of body-checking.” Athletes who have graduated from the W-E-R (Walden-Espanola-Rayside) league do not have any previous experience with body checking as a component of the game. 

Still, while Trudeau would like to see his crew be a little more motivated, he does acknowledge that the overall attitude is good. “They are not mean kids in any way. They’re all pretty good-natured and the parents are quite welcoming.” 

Despite winning only once in their opening 15 games of the year, Trudeau remains optimistic heading into the final few months of the season. “When the effort is there, they show well. They always seem to come together in the end.” 

Trudeau, like so many others in the NEHL, is a big proponent of the tiered split schedule which sees the competing teams matched up against more similar-skilled opponents from mid-January through to the end of the 2007-08 campaign. 

“It will encourage the kids – they will have the opportunity to be more competitive in any given game”, Trudeau acknowledges. He is also hoping that an early January tournament in Temiscaming Shores will help bring his crew together, spending some time together away from the rinks. 

The forward contingent for the Rayside-Balfour Moose this year includes Danyka Byrnes, Nicholas Christakos, Jordan Couture, Matt Daoust, Ashley Dignard, Andrew Giroux, Simon Hamelin, Chad Hurteau, D.J. Mark and Steve Morin. 

The blueline corps is comprised of Eric Cecile, Jeremie Ouellette, Nicolas Roberge and Aleczandre Trudeau while Dominic Forcier returns for another year between the pipes. Along with head coach Claude Trudeau and trainer Louis Roberge, Luc Hamelin (ass’t coach) also joins the crew behind the bench while Sylvie Byrnes serves as team manager.