LEWISTON – The Lewiston Maineiacs are calling in reinforcements for the first time this season, as Maxime Brunet will joined the battered lineup tonight as the sixth defenseman.

Out against P.E.I. are forwards Marc-Andre Cliche (injury), Nick Cowan (injury) and Alexandre Picard (concussion), and defensemen Jonathan Paiement (suspension) and Chad Denny (injury).

“With the players we have missing, we have to keep our game as simple as possible,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin.

“With the lack of key players, the game will be like a game of chess. We are going to have to be patient. We can’t open up and run with them.”

With both Picard and Paiement out of the lineup on Friday night, the team’s number of what Jodoin calls “stupid” penalties shot downward. In fact, Jodoin thought of just the penalty to Travis Mealy late in the second period as an example.

“That was not a good penalty,” said Jodoin.

Asked if he thought the lower total was due to players being out or to the message getting through, Jodoin replied quickly.

“Oh, the message is getting through,” he said.

One factor that may play into the Maineiacs’ favor tonight is the fact that Jonathan Boutin, the Rocket’s No. 1 netminder, played last night in the QMJHL/Russia All-Star Challenge, and will likely get the rest in favor of Ryan Mior. Boutin has played in 20 games this season and is one of the top three regular goaltenders in the league, with a 12-6-1 record, a 2.43 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Mior’s numbers aren’t so gaudy. In nine games played, the second-year goalie is 3-4-0 with a 4.07 GAA.

“Our players are going to have to step up and play their A-game,” said Jodoin. “All of them have to show up to play together. If they want to be millionaires, they crash the net. If they want to be on social welfare they don’t.”

Jodoin cited the first pass from the defense into the neutral zone as the biggest defensive area of focus.

“It all starts there,” said Jodoin. “The quality of the first pass makes all the difference for the defense.”