The lifetime series between Lewiston and Rouyn-Noranda isn’t as glamorous as some, but in reality that matchup has been one of best and most evenly contested series in the league during the last three years.
Round 8 of the all-time regular-season series between the clubs went to Rouyn-Noranda on Sunday, again in tight-checking fashion. The Huskies won 3-2 in another overtime thriller in front of 1,957 at the Arena Dave Keon, thanks in large part to solid goaltending from Jean-Philippe Levasseur and a clutch goal by Hugo Carpentier just 51 seconds into the extra session.
“(Rouyn-Noranda) did the same thing against Val d’Or Friday night,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin. “Still, to take three points out of four to start the road trip is not bad.”
The two teams also met in the first round of the playoffs in 2004, with the Huskies taking the series in seven games. In the regular season, the teams’ have battled to three ties, with Lewiston winning three times to the Huskies’ two.
“It’s probably because of the style of play,” said Jodoin. “It’s always, we always play hockey. There was no cheap shots, just skate, pass and shoot. They play a similar style of hockey to us.”
Newly-acquired Michael Dubuc, who spent the first half of the season with the P.E.I. Rocket, scored the only goal of the first two periods at 4:07 of the second when he directed the puck over Lewiston netminder Jonathan Bernier’s right shoulder, grazing the 17-year-old on its way into the net.
In the third, Lewiston came out firing, with Rouyn-Noranda native Marc-Andre Cliche scoring his 20th goal of the season 55 seconds into the final frame to knot the score at 1-1.
Lewiston pulled ahead with a power play goal at 9:47 of the third on Mathieu Aubin’s 28th of the year, and nearly hung on the rest of the way.
Guillaume Doucet gave the sparse crowd plenty to cheer about, though, when he scored with 16 seconds left in regulation on the Huskies’ fourth shot of the final frame to send the game into overtime.
“When we had the chance to put the puck in the net, we couldn’t do it,” said Jodoin. “We could have been behind 4-0 after the first period, but with the shots we missed, we could have won the game, too.”
Lewiston outshot the Huskies 15-4 in the third period, but Rouyn-Noranda turned the tables in overtime, getting five shots in on Bernier, including Carpentier’s winner.
jpelletier@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.