On The Farm: October 25th

Daniel Marois makes strong debut in Flames loss.

Aaron McCracken

October 25th, 2001

In a completely unexpected move, the Saint John Flames signed 33 year-old veteran right-winger Daniel Marois to a 25 game try-out this weekend. Marois, a former 39-goal scorer in the NHL, has spent the last four seasons playing in Europe. His attempt to resurrect his North American career got off to an excellent start on Wednesday night as Marois scored a pair of goals in a 6-3 Saint John loss to Quebec.

Marois' first goal came on a bullet from the right half boards, while his second was a power play marker that he banked off goalie Vadim Tarasov. He finished with 5 shots on goals.

Although Marois was cut by the Columbus Blue Jackets in training camp, he is still hoping to return to the NHL this season. With Calgary in major need of skilled wingers, Saint John is probably a good starting place for the former Toronto Maple Leaf. Marois is hoping to follow in the footsteps of players like Wes Walz, Robert Reichel, and Zdeno Ciger who have made successful returns to the NHL after being banished to Europe.

Saint John continues to struggle�

The Flames remained winless in four games after a 6-3 drubbing by the Quebec Citadelles on Wednesday night. Quebec scored three early goals on Levente Szuper, who was victimized by an apathetic group of Flame skaters, and cruised to an easy win. The Flames did manage to pelt Citadelle goalie Vadim Tarazov with 52 shots, however they were never able to make the game close. Szuper had one of his worst games as a pro, allowing 6 goals on 27 shots. The sophomore will likely sit on Friday night in Manitoba, but will get a chance to redeem himself Saturday as coach Jim Playfair continues to rotate the tandem of Szuper and Whitmore.

Other New Faces�

Saint John has called up forwards Dan Carlson and Kevin Baker from the ECHL. Carlson is a recent graduate of Notre Dame, while Baker is a former Kings draftee (7th round in 1999). Both were late cuts from the Saint John training camp.

The Lines�

Botterill - Betts - Marois

Hay - Murray - Bembridge

Baker - Carlson - Christie

Spence - Mitchell

Mrozik - Dupont

Martin - Montador

Roy - Huntzicker

Scratches: Sutter (flu), Morgan (ribs), and Henry (knee).

News and Notes�

  • The Flames (3-3-1) have dropped to 3rd place in the Canadian division.
  • Blair Betts leads the team in scoring (2G, 7A, 9 points) and +/- (+4).
  • Jason Botterill leads the team in goals (3) and penalty minutes (22).

 

Aaron McCracken covers the Saint John Flames for Calgary Puck / Fire on Ice. He can be reached at [email protected] .