Flyers Face New Season

Rookie goaltender Maxime Ouellet will start the season as a backup to the Flyers` Brian Boucher. Ouellet, 19, beat out 29-year-old Czech rookie Roman Cechmanek for the position. Ouellet enjoyed a strong preseason for the Flyers. He finished with a 3-1-0 record, a 2.00 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. "I surprised myself. I didn`t expect to be here at this time of the year," Ouellet said. "I think I`m ready. I`m looking for another challenge now. It`s going to be different than the preseason but I just want to take that challenge and do the best that I can do." With defenseman Chris Therien coming back from injured reserve and the Flyers faced with a 23-man roster limit, Cechmanek was sent to the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers` American Hockey League affiliate. When training camp opened, Cechmanek was supposed to be the No. 2 goalie, but Ouellet quickly impressed coaches with his quickness and grace. "I kept myself in good body position and I think they were happy about that," said Ouellet. "I covered the low part of the net well and I think that`s what they liked." Coach Craig Ramsay said the decision to keep Ouellet was simple. "He`s tough to score on," said Ramsay. "He gets across the net well and he gets across the net big. There aren`t a lot of holes. He does a real good job of staying in control of himself. He doesn`t quit on a shot." Ramsay said he became impressed by Ouellet during a preseason game. The coach sent Ouellet in at the halfway point during a scheduled switch. The other team was on a power play. "He refused a warm-up," said Ramsay. "He didn`t want to waste any time. He said, `Let`s get going."` The Flyers open their season on Thursday against Vancouver with seven new players on their roster. The list includes Ouellet, defensemen Michal Sykora and Chris McAllister and forwards Kevin Stevens, Paul Ranheim, along with rookies Justin Williams and Petr Hubacek. Williams was another surprise on the Flyers` roster. His 19th birthday is Wednesday. "I`m very excited with what`s going on," he said. "Every day I`m thinking about Thursday. I just have to go out there and relax. It`s going to be a great thrill putting on a Flyer jersey."

Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Author: AP