LEWISTON – Cape Breton has a knack for winning one-goal games of late, and the Lewiston Maineiacs can’t seem to put any pucks in the net.
Bad combination.
Cape Breton rode stellar goaltending from Czech-born Ondrej Pavelec, and scored two third-period power-play goals to upend the Maineiacs 2-1 in front of 2,657 at the Colisee on Friday.
It was the sixth consecutive one-goal win for the Eagles (9-7-0-0), while the Maineiacs have lost six of their last seven, including two in shootouts.
“I think it starts with the way our defense is playing,” said Cape Breton coach Pascal Vincent. “Our goalies are certainly doing a good job, but our defensemen are doing a good job in front of the net and taking care of the rebounds. We don’t play a fancy game, really. It’s a simple hockey game and we try to execute.”
The Maineiacs played a solid game despite the loss. Pavelec (33 saves) did everything but stand on his head early in the game, stuffing Marc-Andre Cliche alone in front as part of a quick flurry.
“All of the games are going to be like this because nobody scores,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin. “If our power play doesn’t work (Lewiston went 0-for-6 on the power play) we don’t score. We have to learn to compete and generate more 5-on-5 if we want to win some hockey games.”
“We’re getting used to those kinds of performances,” Vincent said of his goaltender. “They have been doing this since the beginning. That’s what we expect from them. They give us a chance to win the game.”
Not to be outdone, Jonathan Bernier (27 saves) was solid between the Lewiston pipes as well, doing everything in his power to protect the early 1-0 lead his team gave him.
In the end, though, it was a recurring theme that had the Maineiacs and their coaches scratching their heads – inopportune penalties.
“I came out in the dressing room and told them You know guys, we played against Moncton, we took some stupid penalties and we lost,'” said Jodoin. “Now we are doing it in the third, after we gave them five shots 5-on-5 at the end of the second. We had to stay out of the box to make it happen.”
“We tried to take a few more shots on the power plays tonight,” said Vincent. “It paid off.”
Lewiston (5-5-0-3) jumped out to the lead at 14:41 of the first period when Eric Castonguay slid a shot past Pavelec from an odd angle at the left wing hash marks. Cliche and Derek Bailey got the assists after a quick cycle inside the Eagles’ zone.
In the third, Cape Breton struck twice with an extra skater. The first, at 3:52, came off the stick of 17-year-old James Sheppard with Stefano Giliati off for hooking. The game-winner, at 7:22, came on a shot from the point by Chris Culligan with Kevin Marshall in the box for tripping.
“It’s not always about the end result,” said Vincent. “But we played well enough to win, and (tonight) we have to play better and improve.”
The teams square off again at the Colisee tonight at 7.
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