QUEBEC – Whether it was back to normal or back to a three-week-long aberration, the Lewiston Maineiacs, after a solid game on Wednesday, fell back into a rut at the Pepsi Colisee on Friday.

Paced by Josh Hennessy (three points), Alexander Radulov (three points) and newly-acquired Michael Tessier (two points), the Quebec Remparts upended the Maineiacs for a third time this season, 6-0, in front of 4,962 fans.

“I just can’t undertand it,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin. “Maybe we need a psychiatrist or something, I don’t know, but it’s always something.”

Former Maineiacs netminder Maxime Joyal became the second former goalie to post a shutout against Lewiston this season, stopping 20 shots. Although most of them came from outside, Joyal did face a few testers, particularly in the middle frame.

“He’s played two games against the Maineiacs now,” said Quebec assistant coach Christian Caron, who was filling in for head coach Eric Lavigne, suspended for two games after a player’s brawl in Halifax. “He has done very well for us. Not only was it a good trade for us because he is a good goalie, but he is a great person in the locker room and he gets along well with the team.”

Quebec, meanwhile, continues to pile on the points. In 28 games, the Remparts have scored 119 goals, good for second in the league behind Rimouski. The win also catapulted the Remparts past idle Chicoutimi into first place in the Eastern Division.

For Lewiston, the loss drops the team to 10-13-5. In the last 11 games, Lewiston has lost eight times and tied once, and on Friday the defensive struggles continued.

“For me, we gave 13 shots in the first period alone,” said Jodoin. “When you are circling and circling and circling in your own end, you can’t expect to generate offense.”

Lewiston again surrendered the first goal of the game Friday night on an early Remparts power play opportunity.

Michael Tessier, playing in his first game with Quebec since Cape Breton traded his rights to the Remparts last week, fed Alexander Radulov on the right side of the net. Radulov skated around to the left side and found Hennessy alone in front of Bernier. Hennessy didn’t miss, and Quebec took a 1-0 lead just 1:16 into the game.

While never quite righting the ship as the first period drew on, the Maineiacs at least temporarily stymied the Remparts’ offensive attack.

That lasted less than 17 minutes.

Tessier again started this play, sliding the puck to Hennessy at the left circle. Hennessy fired a perfect pass to Radulov at the right post. Radulov’s first attempt actually hit the post and bounced back to the middle of the crease, but the puck caught the back of Bernier’s leg and trickled back over the line, giving the home team a 2-0 cushion.

“If we get out of the first period at 1-0, it’s a whole different game,” said Jodoin. “That would have been big.”

Just 34 seconds later, Maxime Lincourt took advantage of a defensive lapse in front of Bernier and banged a rebound past the sliding rookie, slipping the puck through his legs for a 3-0 lead.

Perhaps more pressing for the Maineiacs, apart from the score at the first break, was a lack of offensive chances. Lewiston managed just two shots on Joyal in the opening frame, while the Remparts fired 15 times at Bernier.

After playing solid defensively and managing a few quality chances against Joyal, Lewiston again gave up a pair of odd-man chances against Bernier. This time, Simon Courcelles and Jordan LaVallee were the Remparts with the goals, and the lead grew to five goals.

“When you skate, you play better,” said Jodoin. “Skating helps shooting, helps checking, helps drawing penalties. We needed that help tonight.”

In the third, Hennessy notched his second of the game early and went ahead 6-0, capping the scoring. Lewiston next plays Sunday at the Colisee in Lewiston, facing off against the Moncton Wildcats at 4 p.m.