Apparently one three-goal lead wasn’t enough for the Lewiston Maineiacs, so after blowing the first one in the second period, Lewiston came out and got it right back.
Maxime Robert had a goal and three assists and Alex Bourret had two goals and an assist as Lewiston jumped all over Halifax 6-3 on Thursday night.
Brandon Verge made 18 saves in the win for Lewiston, which raises its season record to 28-28-4-1.
“Every two points from here on out this season are important,” Maineiacs coach Mario Durocher said. “I think we played hard the first 30 minutes of the game and then we let up a soft goal and they were right back in it.”
Pierre-Luc Faubert got things started in the first period for the Maineiacs, taking a feed from Marc-Andre Cliche and burying the puck past Halifax netminder Jason Churchill (33 saves) at the 13:51 mark. Bourret added his 16th of the season with less than four minutes left in the opening frame.
Bourret got the next goal as well to give the Maineiacs a commanding 3-0 lead with eight minutes to play in the second period.
Halifax, however, had other ideas, and started chipping away. Randy Upshall tallied his 18th of the season at 12:22, and one minute later Daniel Sparre cut the lead to 3-2. Peter Vrana completed the comeback with the equalizer at 17:45.
“The first one they got was soft, they capitalized on a power play right after that, and then all of a sudden they tied the game,” said Durocher.
In the third, however, Lewiston did not buckle under the pressure of the nearly 10,000 fans in attendance.
Nicolas Cowan notched the game-winner at 12:03 on a pass from Robert. Vladislav Balaz pushed his 17th of the year across the line with 1:29 to go. Robert capped his four-point night with an empty-netter at 19:10.
“After we got that fourth one, we sat back in a trap and waited for them to make a mistake,” Durocher said. “We got a chance when Balaz went in alone after a 2-on-1, and them Max got the empty-net goal.”
The Maineiacs continue their road swing through the Maritime Provinces on Friday in Cape Breton against the Screaming Eagles.
jpelletier@sunjournal.com
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