Lewiston allows just 14 shots while posting a 3-0 win.
LEWISTON – The best way to fight the Quebec Remparts’ trap, the Maineiacs figured, was to create one of their own.
Mathieu Aubin, Sheldon Wenzel and Pierre-Luc Faubert each scored a goal and just 14 shots to reach ed netminder Matt Davis as the Maineiacs skated to a 3-0 win over the Remparts in front of 1,511 fans at the Central Maine Civic Center Wednesday night.
“We played very well defensively tonight,” Maineiacs coach Mario Durocher said. “Both lineups were short significant players tonight, but for us the kids we had in the game played well. We were missing three veterans tonight.”
Karl Fournier is expected to miss up to two weeks with a knee injury, while Gabriel Balasescu should be back in the lineup this weekend. Maxime Robert is also day to day with a shoulder injury.
The news didn’t get much better on Wednesday, either, when Marc-Andre Cliche tumbled to the ice late in the third period, the victim of an apparent low hit by a Quebec defender. Cliche was still receiving treatment after the game.
“I was impressed to see how well the younger guys played tonight,” Durocher said. “The lines we had tonight are not used to playing together, and they did a good job.”
Quebec was also missing five players, most of them sick with a virus.
On the ice, though, Quebec still had all of its top guns, including captain Josh Hennessy. For just the second time this season, the Maineiacs held the league’s third-leading scorer without a point.
“I think we finished our checks against the top line, and didn’t;t let them get going,” Durocher said. “It was important to get this win, in case we see this team down the road in the playoffs. It sends a message that we can beat them.”
Lewiston is 2-4-2 against the Remparts this season.
As for the goals, two of them were give-me’s after bad Quebec turnovers. Aubin scored his with 10 seconds left in the first period on a shorthanded rush up the left side on a feed from Richard Stehlik.
“With just 10 seconds left, I wanted to get the shot on net,” Aubin said. “I was not worried so much about where.”
The shot eluded Quebec netminder Jean-Michel Filiatrault halfway up on the glove side.
Lewiston’s second goal came less than two minutes into the second frame, this time off of Faubert’s stick. The puck was resting on the ice underneath Filiatrault. The prone netminder thought he had covered the puck, but Faubert found it in the crease and poked it in.
“It was good to get those two goals when we did,” Aubin said. “A 2-0 lead is important.”
From there, Lewiston allowed just six shots to reach Davis, three in each period. Sheldon Wenzel notched the third goal for the Maineiacs on a fortuitous bounce off of his own skate at 13:43 of the third to cement the victory.
Lewiston continues its homestand Friday with a game against Rouyn-Noranda, 9-1 losers at Gatineau on Wednesday, and against Chicoutimi on Saturday night.
jpelletier@sunjournal.com
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