This time, the lead held up.
The Lewiston Maineiacs rebounded from a tough loss to Halifax on Wednesday with a hard-fought 3-1 win at PEI on Friday night in front of 3,581 fans at the Charlottetown Civic Center. The win is the Maineiacs’ second over the Rocket in eight days and solidifies their position in the middle of the pack of teams searching for home-ice advantage in the first round.
PEI, meanwhile, dropped its 10th game in the last 11 and has spiraled out of the playoff picture.
“When you go on a trip, especially a three-games-in-three-nights trip, it’s always important to get the first two points,” said Maineiacs assistant coach Ed Harding. “Otherwise, you feel like you’re digging yourself out of a hole.”
Ryan Murphy had an other solid game for the Maineiacs, popping in the game-winning-goal early in the second and springing Nick Cowan for the late-game, empty-net clincher for two points.
“The last five games for Murph, we’ve been happy with his work,” said Harding. “There’s still some room for him to compete harder, but his last five have been fantastic. We’re just waiting for him to realize how good he can be and play to that. He’s an excellent skater.”
Alexandre Picard scored unassisted in the opening minutes of the second period on a breakaway for the other Maineiacs’ tally.
In a near mirror-image of the game against the Rocket last Saturday, Lewiston fired out of the gate Friday and overwhelmed PEI, outshooting the home team 14-2.
“We came out strong in the first and carried the play,” said Harding. “Our biggest fear was that Jaro would get cold over at the other end, seeing only two shots, but he proved later he was just fine.”
Picard intercepted a point-to-point pass early in the second period and skated the length of the ice on a breakaway, tucking the Maineiacs’ first shot of the middle frame past Ryan Mior for a 1-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, though, Fabien Laniel took a feed from Pierre-Andre Bureau and fired a shot past Jaroslav Halak to knot the score.
Murphy continued on his recent hot streak, taking a feed from Bobby Gates and keeping the puck on a 2-on-1 with Nick Cowan, choosing to lift the puck over Mior’s right shoulder.
“Picard’s goal beat him five-hole,” said Harding. “Mior played well all night, though. He’s a good goaltender.”
The teams skated evenly the rest of the way, with Lewiston maintaining its wide lead on the shot-counter. Still, the lead was just one heading into the final frame.
“There were some things in the last six minutes we still have to learn,” said Harding. “Halak made four great saves down the stretch to keep the lead.”
The road trip continues for the Maineiacs tonight when they meet the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, who defeated Moncton 3-2 in overtime Friday night.
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