By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277
After being reassigned from the American Hockey League Providence Bruins to the ECHL Maine Mariners, it certainly didn’t take long for forward Alex-Olivier Voyer to garner attention for a return to the higher level. The 22-year-old Quebec, Canada native, had zero points in six games for the top minor-pro affiliate of the NHL Boston Bruins this season.
Providence has played 14 games thus far in 2021/22, so Voyer’s six appearances this year as a rotational forward with less playing time, it was a smart idea to move him down to participate in regular games. Alex-Olivier was sent to Maine on November 23rd, 2021, and in last night’s Mariners debut, he made a significant impact in a 4-2 victory over visiting Worcester Railers.
Voyer, an undrafted right-winger, took the recent demotion to the ECHL as a positive and notice that if he wanted to continue to be involved on the AHL Providence roster, he needed to work harder. Well, last night Voyer had a three-goal debut and was by far the best player of the game. Last season in the abbreviated 25 game campaign, which was shortened by the Covid-19 pandemic Alex-Olivier appeared in 22 games for Providence posting 5-3-8 numbers. After the three-team AHL Atlantic Division year was over in the 2020/21 campaign, Voyer would join the ECHL Jacksonville IceMen having five assists in 16 games to finish the hockey season.
Voyer was signed to a two-year AHL-only contract in mid-April of 2020 after two successful offensive years with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Voyer played in the QMJHL for five seasons producing 22-35-57 numbers in his first three years with Rimouski Oceanic before he was traded to Sherbrooke in June of 2018. In those final two seasons with Sherbrooke in 131 games, he almost tripled his career numbers contributing 73-73-146 totals.
Another player that made the trip north to Maine with Voyer was former University of Maine forward Eduards Tralmaks, who also made a big impact in last night’s game and return to the ECHL Mariners club. Tralmaks contributed with an empty-net goal to end the game against the Railer but also assisted on all three goals from teammate Voyer. Both Tralmaks and Voyer had four-point nights in the 4-2 victory. Earlier in this season, Tralmaks was sent to ECHL Maine from Providence and got a hat trick in his first game himself, then reassigned up to the Rhode Island club, so with last night’s effort from Voyer, it’s not out of the question that he gets another look at the AHL level sooner rather than later.
Both ECHL Maine Mariners and AHL Providence Bruins are back in action after this Thanksgiving holiday. On Friday night, Maine hosts the Newfoundland Growlers at the Cross Insurance Arena, and Providence is on the road the same night in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to play the Islanders at Webster Bank Arena. The AHL Bruins team currently sits in the fourth position in the Atlantic Division with a record of 6-5-3-1 with 16 points and 5-3-2-0 in their last ten games. As for the ECHL Mariners, the new “AA” minor-pro affiliate of the Boston Bruins currently sit in the third position in the North Division with a 6-4-2-0 record with 14 points and 5-3-2-0 in their last ten games.
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