LEWISTON – Home cooking was apparently just what the doctor ordered for a Lewiston Maineiacs team that started the week in a post-Christmas funk.
Five different Lewiston skaters scored, including both of the Maineiacs’ new additions, and Jonathan Bernier stopped 27 shots to lead the Maineiacs to a 6-3 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs Friday in front of 3,139 at the Colisee.
“We came right back, we didn’t have much sleep (this week), and we went right to work,” said Maineiacs assistant coach Ed Harding. “I’m proud of the boys because they executed the game plan pretty closely to how I wanted it done. Right now, to be perfectly honest with you, I’ve started to look at Quebec.”
The Maineiacs face the Remparts in their next game, a home game Tuesday night at the Colisee.
Friday’s game was even and seemed destined for another tight finish through the midway point of the second period. In three previous games, the Sea Dogs and Maineiacs had battled to three one-goal finishes.
“They had a very strong forecheck going tonight, and we couldn’t handle it,” said Saint John coach Christian Larue.
“We had some nice soft dumps in there where (Saint John netminder Jason) Churchill couldn’t play it, we used our speed and we put all kinds of pressure on their D,'” said Harding.
The floodgates opened against Saint John netminder Jason Churchill with 3:33 to play in the second period, though, as Stefano Giliati roofed a pass from Jonathan Paiement over Churchill’s glove to put Lewiston ahead 3-1.
Just 1:17 later, Brandon Roach fired a slapshot past Churchill from the right point to build a 4-1 lead, and Chris Tutalo followed that with his first career QMJHL goal at 19:05 to finish the scoring for the Maineiacs.
“Once you kill off a big 5-on-3 for them, you expect your team to come back, and instead they scored four unanswered goals on us,” said Larue. “That’s where the game was played.”
Paiement collected his second of the game and 11th of the year into an empty net at 18:08 of the final period after Kevin Coughlin had potted the Sea Dogs’ second of the night at 15:59.
Former Maineiac Ryan Murphy banged the puck past goaltender Jonathan Bernier with less than a second left on the clock to cap the scoring.
Paiement potted his first of the game at 13:42 to give the Maineiacs a 1-0 lead. Jevin MacLellan was credited with a goal on the Sea Dogs’ third power-play chance of the period when he was part of a pile of players in front of Bernier whacking at a loose puck. MacLellan’s shot, the fourth consecutive on Bernier, snuck through to tie the score.
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