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BY BILL STEWART, Staff Writer 10/13/2008

HALLOWELL -- At Winslow High School last winter, Derek Lizzotte never worried about ice time.

"I'd be out there like almost every other shift," he said.

Ditto Dan Garland, who played for Win-Dale.

And Zach Parent?

Well, if Messalonskee were playing, Parent was in goal. Period.

My have times changed for the trio, whose hockey days now are spent with the Maine Moose Super Elite, a junior hockey league team.

Although all see significant time for the Moose, who compete in the International Junior Hockey League, the minutes earned haven't come easy.

"The biggest adjustment is battling all week to just play on the weekend," said Parent, 18, of Belgrade, who played for the Moose Select team last season. "It's always good to have someone pushing you in practice."

But Parent, who graduated from Messalonskee last spring, acknowledges it's been a while since a fellow goalie last challenged him for playing time.

"Probably my sophomore or junior year in high school," he said.

Garland skates on the third or fourth line for the Super Elite squad. He saw some shifts Sunday in a showcase tournament at the Kennebec Ice Arena.

"I'm getting some solid ice time and having a lot of fun," said Garland, 18, of Farmingdale. "But it's been a challenge. It's definitely different. At Win-Dale we had a short bench so we were out there a lot."

Lizzotte, who helped Winslow win the Class B state championship last season, is in his first year of junior hockey. Like Garland, he calls the experience "different."

"I was used to playing a lot of shift, but this year, not so much," said Lizzotte, who's playing center. "It's different. Stuff happens. The speed is a little slower in high school. You have to get used to that."

Lizzotte added that it took some time to adjust.

"Early in the season, first couple of games, yeah it was tough," he said. "But it's normal now."

Added Parent, who is splitting time in goal with C.J. White of Halifax, Nova Scotia: "The speed and tempo of the game is just faster. I've got pummeled in quite a few games."

Parent was in net for a pair of Moose losses -- 10-1 and 7-3 -- to Academy St. Louis in Quebec last weekend.

Moose Super Elite coach Glenn Carey, whose team dropped all three games of the showcase this weekend, said the three players are contributing.

However, the young Moose (7-11-0) are struggling to stay consistent.

"The guys have to take a look at what they want to accomplish," Carey said. If guys just want to have a social club, well we have that. But they have to buy in to the program. Last year, I had 20 guys taking 20 taxis but the product on the ice was good. This year, everyone is in a limo but we're not executing.

"We're a bit behind the learning curve than where I'd like to be, and we're a quarter of the way through the season. We struggle with our effort from buzzer to buzzer. Parent has taken the brunt of our breakdowns."

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com

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