The rocky road continues for the Lewiston Maineiacs.

Two weekends in Quebec have sent the first-year Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team into its second tailspin of the young season.

Lewiston’s losing skid reached five games Saturday afternoon in a 5-3 loss to Chicoutimi before 2,030 spectators at the Georges-Vezina Centre.

Having lost seven of nine away games in all, Lewiston (4-9-1-0) resides in the Eastern Division basement by a five-point gap headed into the final game of the trip at Baie-Comeau at 4 p.m. today.

Alexandre Picard’s team-leading 14th goal of the season in the opening minute gave the Maineiacs a 1-0 lead that stood through the first intermission.

Chicoutimi (6-7-0-2) took command with four goals in a 15-minute span, however, to grab a 4-2 lead after two, and Mathieu Melanson’s goal at 1:53 of the third effectively put the Sagueneens out of the Maineiacs’ reach.

Melanson, who was one of five different players to score a goal for the Sagueneens, also doled out two assists.

Maxime Boisclair, Julien Lavoie, Rosario Ruggeri and Yvan Busque each lit the lamp for Chicoutimi in the second period at the expense of Lewiston netminder Brandon Verge (22 saves).

With Maxime Brunet in the penalty box, Boisclair tied the game on the first of the Sagueneens’ two power-play goals in the period. Ruggeri and Michel Dube picked up the assists at 4:08.

Lewiston quickly retrieved the lead when Marc-Andre Cliché scored his second goal in as many days at 5:33 from Nicolas Cowan and Maxime Robert.

Lavoie knotted it at 8:58 from Melanson and Sebastien Courcelles, and Ruggeri’s fifth goal of the season put Chicoutimi on top at 12:44. Dube and Stanislav Lascek assisted the power-play strike to make it 3-2.

Busque doubled the lead with 1:05 left, from Melanson and Courcelles.

Cowan and Cliché fed Richard Stehlik’s second goal of the season with 2:43 left in the third. It was Lewiston’s lone successful power play in nine tries.

Stehlik also teamed up with Mathieu Aubin to assist Picard’s goal.

Chicoutimi’s Alexandre Vincent made 26 saves.