LEWISTON – Quebec fans insist that Tuesday night’s Lewiston Maineiacs’ win over their Remparts was a fluke.

“The team played its worst game of the year,” one fan lamented on a Canadian hockey chat board.

“They just couldn’t move the puck,” said another.

Apparently, for much of the game, including the entire first period, the Maineiacs were in the same boat.

“We did not play a very good first period on Tuesday,” said Maineiacs assistant coach Ed Harding. “We were not playing smart at all. We turned the puck over a lot at center ice, and Quebec is very good in transition. You turn the puck over to (Alexandre) Radulov or (Josh) Hennessy and they’re gone. They’ll shove it right back down your throats.

“What I was very happy with, though, was that when we got the one- and the two-goal lead, we were able to hold that. We were able to play smart in the second and third periods and obviously (goalie Jaroslav) Halak was fantastic.”

It was the Maineiacs’ first win over the Remparts this season in four tries, with the fifth coming tonight at the Colisee.

“I don’t expect much to be different,” Harding said of the game’s intensity. “I’d like to think that we’ll stick a bit more to the game plan in the first period. I love the back-to-back games, though. It certainly builds up a good rivalry, and the fans know that with Quebec that you can expect a tight contest. Quebec is going to come in here really hungry. We went up there and proved to them that we can beat them this year, and now they are going to want to come down here and prove the same on our rink.”

Quebec made two acquisitions during the trading period, including a change in net when the Remparts acquired goaltender Jonathan Boutin from the PEI Rocket. Boutin started against Lewiston on Tuesday and despite the loss garnered the game’s third star for his outstanding play.

“Boutin is a heck of a goaltender,” said Harding. “We all know that. We have a lot of respect for him and I think he’ll be a player that helps them out a lot down the stretch. Other than that, I don’t think that they are much of a different team. they still have a great three-line attack. They come at you with a lot of talent, and in their offensive transition they’re unbelievable.”

The Maineiacs will be nearly at full strength, with Chad Denny back in the lineup after sitting out Tuesday’s contest with a sprained ankle suffered against Cape Breton last week. Mathieu Aubin, the final regular Maineiacs skater out of the lineup, looked solid in practice Thursday, and may be back as soon as next week.

“Nick Cowan and Marc-Andre Cliche came back from injury, that helps us a lot,” said Maineiacs forward Alexandre Picard. “Aubin looks like he will be soon, too. As a team, we hope we can play well and go far in the playoffs. The goal for the end of the season is to have the home advantage. We have a good crowd here and we want to take advantage of that.”

According to Colisee officials, nearly 2,500 tickets had been sold as of Thursday afternoon. That number is the highest total for the day before a game in recent weeks.