LEWISTON – In a span of 16 seconds, the Lewiston Maineiacs twice did something they had struggled to do in two home playoff games this week.

When Alexandre Picard and Karl Fournier scored midway through the final period, all of a sudden Rouyn-Noranda goaltender Mathieu Poitras didn’t look so invincible. After stymieing Lewiston for much of their QMJHL playoff series, the Maineiacs offense finally managed to solve the Huskies netminder in Wednesday’s third period comeback.

“Once we got those two goals, we really felt that energy,” said Fournier. “We kept working and got that goal at the end.”

Lewiston managed to overcome a 4-1 deficit and tied the game late in regulation on a Marc-Andre Cliche power play goal only to watch Rouyn-Noranda win in overtime.

“The players just showed character,” said Lewiston coach Mario Durocher. “They never quit. Their goalie made the big saves, and I think that made the difference in some games. At 4-1, the guys never quit. They showed a lot of character.”

Poitras had blanked Lewiston in Tuesday’s 6-0 loss. That was after stopping 55 of 56 shots in the series opener. Though the Maineiacs forced him out of Game 2 while evening the series, he blanked them Tuesday, turning aside 51 shots. Wednesday, Poitras was stellar for much of the game before Lewiston manage to touch him up in the third.

“We wanted to get that first goal,” said Fournier. “It had been a long time since we scored. We knew that first goal would put some doubt in the other goalie’s head. Once we got that first goal, we were able to capitalize on some chances.”

That first goal was a longtime coming though. Entering the game, Poitras boasted a 2.38 goals against average and a .955 save percentage. He had equally impressive numbers (1.95 goals against and .950 save percentage) in three games in the regular season.

Lewiston had ample opportunity in the first period, generating 18 shots, but the Maineiacs came up blank on some early power plays and fell behind. It seemed as though nothing went in the Maineiacs favor. Fournier had a crack at an open net from the left circle only to put it over the goal. Alex Bourret had a couple of glimpses of an open net but couldn’t get a shot off. Fournier had one shot sneak by Poitras only to be cleared on the goal line by Eric Beaudin. In the second, Lewiston had two goals waived off after the referee lost sight of the puck amidst frantic scrambles in front.

“It’s frustrating but you have to put that behind you,” said Fournier. “We had to keep working for that first goal and that’s what we did.”

Lewiston finally scored with 4:56 left in the second. A shot from the point by Francis Trudel was redirected in front by Picard on the power play.

“We’re not changing our gameplan,” said Durocher. “You have to put the pressure on both defensemen. You have to keep shooting the puck. We have to keep putting people in front of the net. That’s what we have to do all the time.”

The third period goals came when Picard scored on a rebound of his own wrap-around attempt. Then Fournier came bursting in from the left side to bury the rebound of a Sheldon Wenzel shot. Lewiston knew it had the Huskies reeling and scrapped for the equalizer. Despite coming up short in overtime, the Maineiacs offense got a much-needed boost to take into Friday’s must-win game.

“If we win the next game it’s 3-2 and we come back here,” said Durocher. “We win at home and it’s 3-3. We know we can beat these guys the way we played tonight. We can build on this. If we can win the next game, the pressure’s back on them.”