Lewiston Maineiacs head coach Clem Jodoin asked his players for patience and discipline in the team’s final matchup of the three-game series in Newfoundland on Tuesday night.
He got both, and a gaggle of goals along with them.
Marc-Andre Cliche scored two goals in the first period and finished with three points, Brandon Roach scored twice and Mathieu Aubin collected a goal and three assists to lead Lewiston to a 9-2 rout over the St. John’s Fog Devils in front of 4,025 fans at Mile One Stadium.
“It was good to come out with five points this week,” said Jodoin. “The goal was to avoid any key injuries by the end of the night.”
The game was especially chippy in the third period, with the teams combining for 131 penalty minutes. Not included in those, however, are the 10-minute misconduct and game misconduct penalties, which stopped counting on players’ totals three years ago.
“This was a cheap game,” said Jodoin. “We are trying to teach the guys how to play the game, and tonight was cheap shot after cheap shot after cheap shot. I would rather lose 12-1 in 5-on-5 than win like this. We could have had some serious injuries to some key players and had them out for the season the way it went tonight. They are supposed to take that away this year.”
Travis Fullerton, playing in his first game, picked up the win between the pipes, stopping 28 of 30 shots.
“A good organization, they have players that can step in when they are needed,” said Jodoin. “Travis is like that. He made some very, very good saves tonight.”
The Maineiacs tested Ilya Ejov, the Fog Devils’ rookie netminder, early and often as St. John’s sent a parade of players to the penalty box in the first period. Castonguay struck first, followed by a pair from Cliche, and Denny finished the scoring in the first period. Cliche’s second goal and Denny’s both came with less than 40 seconds to play in the period, and Denny’s barely crossed the line as the buzzer rang to end play.
The Fog Devils got one of those goals back early in the second on a Marty Doyle goal, but Pier-Luc Champagne took a Marc-Andre Daneau rebound and stuffed it past Brandon Verge, who replaced Ejov to start the second frame, to put the Maineiacs back up by four.
Aubin added the Maineiacs’ sixth goal at 9:33 in a 4-on-4 situation with an assist to Maxime Mathieu, and Brandon Roach sailed a shot past Verge on another power play chance to give Lewiston a 7-1 advantage. In all, Lewiston scored five times with an extra skater.
Ejov returned to the net in the third period, and didn’t fare much better. Derek Bailey tallied his first of the season at 3:03 of the third to stretch the lead to seven goals, and Roach lit the lamp for his second at 10:05 to put Lewiston ahead by eight.
Scott Brophy capped the scoring with a goal at 14:00 on a 4-on-4. Both teams took several fighting majors and misconducts as time wound down in the third period.
“We didn’t want to fight,” said Jodoin. “Our game, it’s speed, our game is hockey, and that’s what I wanted to see. Now we need some rest, and we’ll have practice on Thursday.”
The Maineiacs will have two days off to travel before again suiting up on the road, this time in Saint John, New Brunswick, on Friday.
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