HALAK IS BACK

Robert Mayer will have to wait to make his National Hockey League debut.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs net minder became the first alumnus to get called up to the big show last week because Montreal Canadiens goalie Jarolsav Halak was playing with Slovakia at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Mayer was called up to join Carey Price as a practice goaltender during the Olympic break.

Halak played against Finland in the bronze medal game on Saturday in Vancouver but took the loss.

It was reported yesterday that Mayer may be used as a backup to Price for the Canadiens Tuesday in Boston. If the Habs’ coaching staff had their way, he would be.

“(Head coach Jacques) Martin suggested that if he had his druthers, he would have had Halak meet the team in San Jose and used Robert Mayer as the backup,” wrote Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. “But he said the NHL made the travel arrangements for the Olympic players”

The travel arrangements force Halak to fly from Vancouver to the east coast in time for tomorrow’s tilt in Bean Town. Then he will join the team as they fly to San Jose for Thursday.

Mayer was signed by the Canadiens as a free agent in September of 2008 after attending the club’s training camp.

The Switzerland native was selected by Saint John as the third overall pick in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in 2007. In his rookie season, Mayer had a record of 16-10-1, a 3.77 GAA, and a 0.877 save percentage.

In his second campaign, he had a record of 26-25-4, a 3.25 GAA, and a 0.900 save percentage. His two year QMJHL career featured 42 wins, 39 loses, and a GAA of 3.41.

This season with the Canadiens/Nashville Predators ECHL affiliate in Cincinnati, Mayer has 16-7-1 record with a 2.68 goals against average to go along with a save percentage of 0.895.