With the final preseason Maineiacs game set for tonight, it’s time, I suppose, for a few observations as best as I can give them having only seen the team here for about a week.

That said, I tend to consider the sources I have both within the team and away from it pretty solid, as well.

With still a game to go, and a week more to prepare, here are a few observations:

• This team needs another defenseman if it wants to do any better than third in the division. This is not necessarily to knock the players on the current roster, because I believe that all of them, either this year or next, will be viable QMJHL blueliners. In fact, one of the more improved players in camp this year has been Zach Shannon, a favorite target for many fans last season due simply to his relation with the team’s GM (his father, Roger). People tend to forget how old (or young) these players are sometimes. Was Shannon a great defenseman last year? No. Was he good enough to be on most QMJHL rosters? Sure. And he is again this year. But that still does not take away from the fact that, while the Maineiacs have at least seven (and probably eight) serviceable defensemen, the team lacks gusto at the top. You can’t hope to be an elite team with eight better-than-average defensemen (not saying that is what is here, just making a point). You need at least two elite defensemen, with an ideal of four. Right now, the Maineiacs do not have four.

• The goalies need to show the heck up. Quite honestly, I don’t care if every goal scored against a goalie is on a 5-on-3 power play, a goals-against average of nearly 10 in the preseason does little to instill confidence in anyone. Nicholas Champion is a stand-up kid. He’s polite, engaging to speak with and he has a good grasp on the job he is in Lewiston to do.

But he still needs to stop the puck. I understand it’s only preseason, and I understand that the sample size has been small due to wanting to play as many goalies as possible this preseason. But at some point, a goalie needs to prove he’s ready for the regular season, and certainly worthy of going to an NHL rookie camp.

And that goes for all of the goalies. I am not trying to pick on Champion, here. Antoine Bibeau allowed no goals in his half a game played, and Jordan Kennedy has been solid, allowing just four goals in 91 minutes. But Tyler Piercy and Andrey Makarov have both allowed more than five goals per 60 minutes, too.

I understand that the team has not played its full defensive lineup at once. I get that. But this is a bit ridiculous.

• Players need to be held accountable for their actions. Like it or not, the league is a very different league than it was in 2004. Many of the most passionate hockey fans in the Lewiston/Auburn area love to see a good, hard-nosed, physical contest, with a fight or two (or three) thrown in.

Let’s be real: The days of that are pretty much gone, until the league has a shift in philosophy. The players need to know that, too, but they also need to be aware that cheap shots won’t work either. I can’t speak from having been on the scene, but descriptions of Thursday’s game between Lewiston and Moncton have included phrases like “cheap shots” and “dirty hits.” Olivier Dame-Malka and Etienne Brodeur both fought, and the Maineiacs allowed five power play goals against on eleven tries, including three on 5-on-3s.

Fans in Lewiston/Auburn like physical hockey, but in my experience, they also like it clean. A cheap team earning a preseason reputation makes for a long season. We also know that all too well around here.

It shouldn’t matter who the player is, the staff needs to take an early stand against playing dirty. As poor as the officiating can be in the QMJHL, one thing that is always an easy call for the officials is a cheap shot, and in the Q, right or wrong, reputation, as a player and as a team, matters.

• The forwards are talented, but they need to put the puck in the net. We can talk all we want about the potential the front line of the Lewiston Maineiacs. On paper, it may be the best potential offense in the team’s history.

But victories are not born of potential.

Lewiston’s leading scorer this preseason isn’t even a forward (it’s Sam Carrier, for the record, with five points in four games). Scoring 17 goals total in five games is average at best, especially for this squad.

The good news is that only two players who will likely skate with the Maineiacs all season have been held without a point.

It just seems that the players are placing less stock in the preseason, as a whole, than they ought to be. It brings to mind the old saying, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”

But a good practice can make you better, and help toward a goal of perfection.

With one game left (Friday) and then a week to prepare for the opener, there is plenty to be excited about, but there is still much work to be done.

Look for an expansive in-paper preview of the season, including capsules of all 18 QMJHL teans, a look at the team’s storied past and a special hockey-related announcement, in Sunday’s edition of the Sun Journal.

And as always, check back here regularly for the latest news and updates, and follow along on Twitter (@JPell915, @Sports_SJ), and on Facebook (Sun Journal).