LEWISTON – No sooner did the Lewiston Maineiacs get shut out by one of their former goaltenders than they will face another tonight when they faceoff against Quebec at the Colisee.

Maxime Joyal, the third goaltender behind Matt Davis and Brandon Verge last year, was traded to the Remparts prior to the beginning of the regular season for the rights to winger Derek Bailey. He has already garnered an award as player of the week, and has taken over as his team’s No. 1 goaltender.

Tonight, he will face a team in the Maineiacs that all of a sudden is struggling to put the puck in the net.

“Defensively, our team is playing well,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin. “Surprisingly enough, we worked a lot on scoring in practice today and not on trying to stop their offense.”

When faced with the offensive arsenal that Quebec has, most teams will work hard to prepare in the defensive end, but with three shutouts against it in the last five games, Lewiston is now looking for some offense.

“If we keep playing well defensively, we will at least have a chance,” said Jodoin. “The scoring will come. We are one of the best teams on defense in the league. Now we need to score.”

Jaroslav Halak and Jonathan Bernier have been a big reason for the Maineiacs’ improved defensive corps, with both netminders combining for just seven goals allowed in the last four games, or just more than 244 minutes.

Quebec, meanwhile, just made a final decision on its starting netminder, at least until the trading period, by sending Jean-Michel Filiatrault to Rimouski for two draft picks, leaving Joyal as the go-to goaltender.

“He is a good goaltender,” said Jodoin. “We sent him to Quebec more because it would be a chance for him to play. Here he did not have that opportunity with our situation.”

On offense, Quebec has averaged more than 40 shots per game at home, and its top skaters, Josh Hennessy, Alexander Radulov and Karl Gagne have combined for 69 points.

Notes – Lewiston has played eight games at the Colisee so far this season, with a 6-1-1 record….In his last two games, Jonathan Bernier has played 124:35 and allowed just two goals….Alex Bourret and Alexandre Picard are currently fifth and seventh respectively overall in the league in scoring….Picard, Bourret, Mathieu Aubin and Jonathan Paiement are all above 20 points for the season….Lewiston was 5-12-1 through 18 games last season. This year, the Maineiacs are 8-7-3.