LEWISTON – With a win in their final game of a three-game road trip last weekend, the Lewiston Maineiacs hope it will be the start of another streak in a positive direction.

After four losses to open the season, the Maineiacs went unbeaten in five straight, only to lose five more in a row. Friday, with the Halifax Mooseheads in town, Lewiston has an opportunity to add to Sunday’s win over Baie-Comeau and produce winning streak No. 2.

“We have two days off after Friday’s game,” said coach Mario Durocher. “They can be easy days off or a bit tougher, and that’s up to the players and how they play.”

Over the weekend, according to Durocher, Lewiston played just one bad period, the second on Saturday night against Chicoutimi.

“We started to get undisciplined,” said Durocher. “We started to go for long passes on the big ice surface up there and we weren’t playing our game.”

Halifax (2-10-1) is mired in the league’s basement, and while it’s hard to call a game against a non-conference opponent in October a must-win, the team is treating it that way.

“It’s really in the hands of the players,” said Durocher. “They know what will make me happy, what will make them happy. This is a game we should win. They are ranked lower in the standings and we have our only game in two weeks and it’s at home.”

To win, Lewiston will have to solve a solid goaltender in Jason Churchil, who has both wins against four losses for the Mooseheads. The Maineiacs will also face a team that plays a very similar style to their own.

“They are a hard-working team, like we are,” said Durocher. “They might want to fall into a trap against us, where we have some good, fast forwards.”

Both Bobby Gates and Francis Trudel practiced with the team this week, and are hopeful to be back in the lineup this weekend.

Brandon Roach, another solid defender, will be sidelined along with Matt Davis. Both are nursing groin injuries.

Among those that are playing for Lewiston is Alexandre Picard. The speedy forward leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and six assists for 20 points in 15 games. Joining him near the top of the team ledger are Gabriel Balasescu (6-10-16) and Mathieu Aubin (5-8-13).

In goal, Brandon Verge will get a chance to build on his shutout minutes streak as he spells the injured Davis. Maxime Joyal will back Verge up on Friday.

[email protected]