Lewiston scores early and often in a 6-3 win over Chicoutimi.
LEWISTON – An early letdown against Rouyn-Noranda on Friday night left the Maineiacs in a hole that they barely snuck out of. On Saturday, there would be no hole out of which to dig.
Vladislav Balaz, Marc-Andre Cliche, Alexandre Picard and Sheldon Wenzel scored goals in the first 24 minutes of the game and Matt Davis made several big saves early as the Maineiacs doubled up Chicoutimi 6-3 in front of 2,562 fans at the Central Maine Civic Center.
The win extends the Maineiacs’ unbeaten streak to four games, and moves Lewiston to within six points of the Sagueneens in the chase for the division title, and to within four points of Rimouski for eighth place overall and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
“We had the advantage almost all game long,” Maineiacs coach Mario Durocher said. “That made a big difference, to have a lead early. If we want to play into the playoffs, we need this kind of effort every game.”
Balaz got things going for the home team at 2:45 of the first with an efficient power play goal on a nice feed from the left faceoff circle by Gabriel Balasescu. The Sagueneens tied the game at one at 8:08 when Stanislav Lascek knocked home a nice feed from David Desharnais, also on the power play. It was Chicoutimi’s first shot on net of the period, and one of only four in the entire first frame.
Cliche knocked in the Maineiacs’ second goal at 18:29 after Chicoutimi netminder Alexandre Vincent crossed signals with his defensemen, allowing Pierre-Luc Faubert to pick up the puck behind the net. Faubert fed Cliche, who slipped it by a lunging Vincent for the lead.
“That was a bad goal,” Chicoutimi coach Richard Martel said. “That got them going, and from there they played better than we did.”
Picard and Wenzel got on the board early in the second to break the game open, and Alex Bourret knocked in Lewiston’s fifth goal early in the third to put the Maineiacs ahead 5-1.
“I think (Bourret) played hard tonight,” Durocher said. “When he plays hard, he will get opportunities, and this team will do well. All I ask of him, and the rest of the guys, is to work hard.”
Chicoutimi started to mount a comeback in the third, taking advantage of some sloppy play in the Maineiacs’ end to pull to within two at 5-3, but Balasescu sealed the game with an empty-netter at 19:20.
The Maineiacs now have two full days off for the final time this season, and return to the ice on Thursday to face Rimouski at home.
“It will be important for them to do things outside of hockey for a couple of days,” Durocher said. “This is the last chance for that until the end of the season.”
NOTES: Kevin Turgeon was hit hard again on Saturday night and may have suffered another concussion. Having just come back from a severe concussion that left him out of the lineup for a month, this second injury may present even more problems down the road…There was no further word on Saturday about Rimouski’s decision to sit Sidney Crosby for two road games, including one in Lewiston, in protest of the league’s officiating in games Crosby has played this season…In the only other game on the docket Saturday, Shawinigan defeated P.E.I. 2-1 in overtime, moving one point closer to the Rocket for fifth place overall in the playoff picture.
jpelletier@sunjournal.com
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