The Maineiacs are movin’ on up.

Mired in fifth and last place in its division of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for most of this inaugural season, Lewiston has leaped from a tie for fourth to a deadlock for third in the standings in one road trip.

And the weekend isn’t over yet.

Lewiston’s two most consistent scorers, Gabriel Balasescu and Alexandre Picard, hooked up for the game-winning goal with 2:19 remaining in regulation Saturday night, boosting the Maineiacs to a 3-2 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads before a crowd of 7,232 at Halifax Metro Centre.

With the triumph, Lewiston’s fourth in its last six games, the Maineiacs broke a tie with idle Quebec and caught Chicoutimi on the Eastern Division ladder.

Chicoutimi fell 6-5 in overtime to Acadie-Bathurst on Saturday night, earning one point in the process.

Balasescu, a 20-year-old right wing who earned QMJHL Offensive Player of the Week laurels for the period ending Nov. 9, maintained his hot hand with the game-winning goal at the expense of Halifax goalie Jason Churchill (32 saves).

Picard, who set up the go-ahead tally, notched his team-leading 19th goal late in the second period. He had a hand in all three Lewiston goals.

Lewiston netminder Brandon Verge made 24 saves.

Churchill turned away 15 shots to frustrate Lewiston (9-13-1-1) in the first period, and Halifax struck first at 9:13 of the middle stanza.

Franklin MacDonald converted on the power play from Jim Sharrow to make it 1-0.

Picard’s playmaking abilities set the stage for the equalizer. He teamed up with Francis Trudel and fed Jonathan Paiement’s sixth strike of the season at 12:45.

The Maineiacs needed only 10 seconds to cash in their initial power-play goal of the weekend. Picard beat Churchill with 1:01 remaining in the session, Balasescu and Richard Stehlik assisting.

Verge made 13 saves in the second period.

Halifax (4-17-2), the lowest-scoring team in the QMJHL and the last to reach double digits in total points after a 3-3 tie with Quebec on Friday night, pulled even with 12:43 left in the game.

Ryan Moore collected his third goal of the season with assists from Randy Upshall and Justin Munden.

Lewiston, which fought to an overtime loss Friday in Cape Breton, hopes to wrap up five of six possible points on the maritime swing when it visits Moncton on Monday evening.

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