Most hockey fans, players and coaches knew before the season started that the new level of enforcement of obstruction calls would, at least at the outset, give teams a few more opportunities on the power play.
A few maybe.
But 17?
The Lewiston Maineiacs scored five power play goals on 17 opportunities Sunday afternoon and allowed three to Prince Edward Island as they upended the Rocket 6-3 in front of 2,650 at the Charlottetown Civc Center, capping a 4-1-0-1 road trip to start the season.
“There was only one even-strength goal all night,” said Maineiacs assistant coach Ed Harding. “This season is turning into a special teams game already. I don’t think the score would have been just 1-0 at even strength, though, either. But we moved the puck well on the power play, and had a nice face-off goal.”
Marc-Andre Cliche, who sat out Saturday’s game in Moncton with a sore hip flexor, led the Maineiacs with two goals and two assists.
“I think he was still a little sore,” said Harding, “but he’s a gutsy little player and he’s a quiet inspiration to this team. That’s why he wears an A.”
Mathieu Aubin and Brandon Roach had a goal and two assists apiece, and Aubin pushed his team-leading point total to 13 (6 goals, 7 assists), which leaves him three points back of Quebec rookie Angelo Esposito for the league lead.
Travis Fullerton, making his second start of the six-game trip, stopped 31 of 34 shots to record his second win of the season.
“He did a good job to fight through the traffic in front of him a few times,” said Harding. “We weren’t playing very well in front of him a couple of times and he made some excellent saves. The No. 1 reason we protected him is that he’s a competitor. He’s not the biggest kid, but he’s a competitor. That’s why he’s here.”
The road trip was Lewiston’s third six-game trip in its three years since moving from Sherbrooke. In the team’s two previous six-game road swings, the Maineiacs were a combined 2-9-1.
“I’m not quite sure where home is,” Harding said. “I might need a map to get there. After the game, we told the boys they had 25 minutes to pack up and leave. It’s been a long trip.”
Cliche scored the Maineiacs’ first goal at 4:09, but the Rocket’s Yannick Charon knotted the score at one at the 18:00 mark.
Lewiston’s Eric Castonguay and P.E.I.’s Tyler Hawes traded power play tallied two minutes apart midway through the second period, and Chad Denny put the Maineiacs ahead for good at 17:55, again with an extra skater.
In the third, the Maineiacs struck twice quickly to build a 5-2 lead, and the teams traded goals down the stretch to cap the scoring. Cliche scored the only even-strength goal of the game with five minutes to play.
The Maineiacs return to the ice for their home opener Friday against the Moncton Wildcats at the Colisee.
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