“WE’RE GOING TO GRIND”: The Regiment’s first road trip of the season is no vacation

The Newfoundland Regiment are about to embark on their first road trip of the season, and boy is it a doozy. 

Following a strong 4-1-1-0 start got the season during their opening homestand, the Regiment’s first trek off The Rock will be a jam-packed journey with seven games in just 12 games scattered all across Quebec, including stops in Blainville-Boisbriand (1 game), Rimouski (2 games), Shawinigan (1 game), Baie-Comeau (2 games) and Drummondville (1 game).

But curiously, Head Coach Gordie Dwyer says the squad is actually looking forward to the voyage; not for the travel itself, but for the opportunity it presents for them to grow together as a team.

Armed with character-defining back-to-back overtime wins over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last Saturday and Sunday, Dwyer feels that his team has started to find its footing for the season and says they’re looking forward to building upon their newfound resilience that will carry them forward throughout the season.

“It was a good test for us over the week,” Dwyer told NLSN.

“We had to stick to our gameplay for 60-plus minutes to get those last two wins, and that sets us up to know what to expect when we hit the road… I think for a lot of our returning guys, they’re looking forward to getting back on the road. For our younger guys and our first-year guys, I think it’s going to be an experience for them. We’re going to grind. We’ve got seven games on the road on this trip.”

“WE’LL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ROAD TRIP TO REALLY BUILD OUR TEAM CHEMISTRY”

A quick look at the standings might suggest that the Regiment could build upon their confidence, not to mention their three-game win streak, as they embark on their first road trip of the season. 

While the pair of games against the league-leading Rimouski Oceanic (5-1-1-0, 11 PTS, 42 GF, 24 GA) will undoubtedly be a mighty test for the young Regiment squad, Blainville-Boisbriand (2-5-0-0, 4 PTS 16 GF, 27 GA), Shawinigan (1-3-1-0, 3 PTS, 13 GF, 30 GA), Drummondville (1-4-0-0, 2 PTS, 15 GF, 26 GA) and Baie-Comeau (0-6-0-0, 0 PTS, 12 GF, 31 GA) have combined for just four wins in 23 games to start their respective seasons, and occupy 15th through 18th place in the QMJHL standings.  

However, Dwyer says his team isn’t placing any importance on early-season standings, and says the Regiment won’t be taking any team lightly as all clubs continue to find balance in their lineups and cement their identities in the early stages of the 2026-27 campaign.

“Teams are testing themselves and they’re being tested,” Dwyer said

“We’ve got some younger guys in our lineup too. It’s never easy to win on the road, especially in this league considering our travel. Hopefully we can go out and play our brand of hockey and play 60 minutes and get contributions throughout our lineup. The goal is to stay healthy that way as well. It’s really game-by-game, but we’ll take advantage of the road trip to really build our team chemistry.”

“YEAH, THERE’S SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL”

And they’ll surely have plenty of time to build that chemistry on the team bus.

After their game in the Montreal suburb of Blainville, the team will travel 572 kilometres, around five-and-a-half hours, to Rimouski.

When the time comes to depart for Shawinigan, tack on another 445 clicks and another four-and-a-half hours. 

The Shawinigan-to-Baie-Comeau stretch comes in at a gruelling 563 kilometres;  likely a seven-plus hour trek once you factor in a pee break. 

And the final leg to Drummondville is a nearly-identical 568-kilometre jaunt.

“Yeah, there’s significant travel,” Dwyer said with a chuckle.

“Not only do we play all in Quebec on this road trip, we travel quite a bit while we’re in Quebec. There’s a lot of travel between Rimouski and Montreal, and back down to Shawinigan and all the way up to Baie-Comeau, then back to Drummondville… There’s a lot of back and forth, but the guys will get the chance to spend a lot of time together, and we valued that last year as a hockey team.”

While Dwyer says that he and the players all have their own ways to pass the time on the bus, he admits he’s observed a pleasant transition away from screens and technology, and a resurgence of some old school time-killers.

“Cards are making a bit of a comeback,” Dwyer said with a proud smile.

“For years everyone was kind of glued to their phones, but that’s becoming old news now. What’s old is new now. I expect the guys to play some cards in the back. Everyone spending some time together is a good thing, whether it’s spending time together in hotels, or on the bus, it’s about being together as a team. We’re looking forward to getting into it.” 

The Regiment’s road trip officially kicks off on Wednesday night against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada at 7:00pm EDT, or 8:30pm Newfoundland time.