LEWISTON – This time, one was enough.
Jonathan Paiement found Eric Castonguay all alone in front of Halifax netminder Jeremy Duchesne at 1:42 of the second period thanks to a missed defensive assignment.
After his tip was stopped, Castonguay lofted the puck over the sprawling goaltender into the back of the net, and Lewiston goalie Jonathan Bernier made sure the goal held up, making 29 saves to record his first playoff shutout to lead his team to a 1-0 win over the Mooseheads at the Colisee on Saturday.
“Friday) I had a hard time seeing the puck,” said Bernier. “Tonight the defense kept the guys outside and I didn’t really have a big save to make in the slot all night.”
The win evens the best-of-7 series at one. The teams will take two days off before Game 3 in Halifax on Tuesday.
“We had a lot of turnovers (Friday) night,” said Maineiacs assistant coach Ed Harding. “We did not do a good job in our own end. We did a fantastic job in our own end (Saturday) night, and we did a little bit better on the forecheck as well, so we kept them in their own end.”
Halifax, meanwhile, has stolen home-ice advantage in the series by taking the first game in Lewiston. While Saturday’s loss stung, there was still an air of accomplishment about the Mooseheads’ locker room.
“Playoff hockey is tough hockey,” said Mooseheads coach Al MacAdam. “What we’re looking for is for the team to play well, and as the game went on, we played better. It could go five, it could go seven, but we’re ready for that.”
Duchesne, who stopped 39 of 40 shots in a Game 1 win, made several more big saves Saturday, and stopped 35 more shots.
“Lewiston’s shot a lot on me from everywhere all year,” said Duchesne. “I’ve been prepared for that and expecting it. Even 50 shots, that’s O.K. We just have to refocus after tonight and get ready for the game on Tuesday.”
“I think the goaltenders are always under the microscope,” said Harding. “It’s a team thing, though. You have to limit the shots.”
Neither team has had any success on the power play in the first two games. Halifax, after an 0-for-6 showing Saturday, is 0-for-12 on the series, while Lewiston has failed on 19 attempts.
“We’re extremely happy with the PK,” said Harding. “The power play, I thought we moved the puck a lot. Duchesne was good and their PK is very good as well.”
“Both teams had some chances on the power play, but no one is capitalizing on it,” said Castonguay. “For sure, the power play is important in the playoffs so we’ll work on it.”
All but one of the Mooseheads’ scoring opportunities in the opening period came on three power plays, while the Maineiacs applied significantly more pressure 5-on-5.
The score, however, remained deadlocked at zero.
The Maineiacs’ momentum carried into the second period, and for the first time in the five periods this series, Lewiston took a lead.
“When I looked back after the tip, the puck was just there,” said Castonguay. “It took that much to get it by him.”
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