A community mourns Luc Bourdon

Luc Bourdon received his motorcycle license two weeks before his bike veered into a truck on a winding, two-lane road, instantly killing the rookie defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks.

Investigators said Friday that Bourdon's inexperience on a motorcycle may have played a role in his death.

``The impact took place in the opposite lane,'' Inspector Roch Fortin said during a news conference at Shippagan town hall, where flags were at half-staff. ``The truck driver tried everything in his power to avoid the accident.''

Fortin suggested weather might also have been a factor in the crash in this remote, largely Acadian area where Bourdon was regarded as a hero for making it to the NHL.

The Mountie said the wind was gusting heavily at the time on the road between Shippagan and Lameque. He said Bourdon's bike crossed the center line and collided head-on with the truck.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said a moment of silence will be observed Saturday before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. He said the ceremony will ``honor a young life ended long before its promise could be fulfilled.''

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