Team Quebec got off to a 2-0 start this week at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Manitoba, with a little bit of help from some familiar faces.

Defenseman Dillon Fournier scored a goal to help the team recover from an early deficit in a 6-4 victory Thursday over Finland.

“You have to get those goals back right away,” Fournier told Andrew Parker of Hoickey Canada.

It was Fournier who tied the game for Quebec just 5:30 after Jusso Ikonen opened the scoring for the Finns, although goals from Henri Ikonen and Rasmus Ristolainen put the Finns up 3-1 with the minutes ticking away in the middle frame.

Team Quebec rallied to win in the third period. Luca Ciampini, who plays for Halifax, scored three goals in Quebec’s win over Finland. The team can wrap up the No. 1 seed in their group Sunday by defeating the team from the United States.

Helping hands

In a tremendous show of support for area charities, hundreds — and perhaps more than 1,000 — stuffed animals were tossed onto the ice following the Maineiacs’ first and only goal in Thursday night’s contest against Victoriaville.

Then, in a tremendous show of support, and probably to the detriment of the team’s on-ice performance, the players aided workers in collecting the animals. With the cleanup effort going slowly, the players all hopped off the bench and started moving the toys toward the center of the ice, where volunteers and staffers then loaded the animals into the back of a pickup truck. The truck was so full, they started to pile them into the back seat of the extended cab, as well.

Looking ahead

The Maineiacs have four more home games to play on a current five-game stand, beginning Tuesday with a contest against Drummondville.

The Voltigeurs will be without one of their top players, as forward Sean Couturier (the potential first-overall pick at this coming summer’s NHL Entry Draft) is currently playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Buffalo, NY. Leading scorer Ondrej Palat is also at the tournament, representing the Czech Republic. With those two out of the lineup, Drummondville will rely on veterans such as Marc-Olivier Vachon and Jonathan Brunelle to carry the load offensively. Jean-Philippe Mathieu and Andrew Randazzo are two players to watch on the blue line, while Guillaume Nadeau has shouldered most of the work between the pipes.

Lewiston and Drummondville have met once so far this season, with the Maineiacs winning 5-4 in come-from-behind fashion on Oct. 29 at Centre Marcel Dionne.

Etienne Brodeur, Alex Zafiris, Michael Chaput, Francis Beauvillier, and Jess Tanguy had the goals for the visitors, while Nicholas Champion’s 30 saves helped to secure the victory.

The Maineiacs then face Rouyn-Noranda twice, once each on Friday and Saturday, and finish the homestand against Halifax on Jan. 13.