LEWISTON – Acadie-Bathurst netminder Brant Miller’s job description doesn’t include a “duck-and-cover” option.

Lewiston Maineiacs’ defenseman Chad Denny’s slap shot with 2:44 to play in overtime – a laser less than 6 inches off the ice with the Maineiacs on the power play – eluded Miller. The goal, Denny’s second of the game, gave Lewiston its first overtime win of the season, a 4-3 victory over the Titan in front of 1,947 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

“He might have been expecting a shot high,” Denny said. “There was one of his own players in front of him, and I think he might have been screened by him.”

The last time Lewiston won in overtime was on March 11, 2005, when rookie call-up Stefan Chaput scored his first career goal against the Quebec Remparts.

“I had a feeling that we weren’t going to go to a shootout,” Maineiacs’ assistant coach Jeff Guay said. “I just had a feeling, and then we got the power play in overtime, that really gave me a better feeling.”

Denny’s other goal also came on his patented slap shot, which has been clocked at more than 100 miles per hour at a skills competition. On that play, Denny carried the puck in on a Maineiacs’ power play and used his shot to try and illicit a rebound in front of the net. The puck skipped just in front of Miller and trickled under his pad and across the goal line.

“I was pretty surprised on that one,” said Denny.

On two other occasions, Denny’s shot hobbled Bathurst defenseman Ken Dufresne after hitting him in the ankle or knee.

“That’s a big weapon for them on their power play,” said Bathurst coach John Chabot. “Chad’s got a good shot, and they use him in the right situation. To defend it, you have to get guys out there who are willing to pay the price.”

Lewiston rookie David Perron added three more assists to give him 26 points. Perron leads all rookies with 14 goals, and is second in points, five behind Halifax forward Jakub Voracek.

Chris Tutalo continued his improved play, adding a goal, his fifth of the season. Tutalo has seven points in his last seven games. Jonathan Bernier made 28 saves to earn the win, while Miller stopped 26 in the loss.

Lewiston maintained much of the momentum in the opening frame, and thought it had scored the game’s first goal at 15:52, but referee Pascal St. Jacques immediately signaled no goal due to a high stick.

The Maineiacs called for a review, saying that it was a Bathurst defenseman who touched the puck before it floated into the net, but the video replay proved otherwise.

Just 1:07 later, buoyed by the favorable call, the Titan scored a power-play goal on a rebound in front of Bernier. Nicolas Sigouin fired a slap shot from the right point that bounced softly off Bernier. Dany Masse slid the rebound to his left, where a wide-open Jordan Clendenning slapped it into an equally wide-open net.

Tutalo’s goal at 17:32 drew the Maineiacs even.

Lewiston started the second frame with a 31-second 5-on-3 advantage, and capitalized as the first penalty expired when Denny notched his first.

Lewiston went up 3-1 on another power-play marker from Courcelles at 15:12 of the second, but Bathurst hung around, getting a power-play goal of its own at 17:02 to pull to within 3-2.

Bathurst earned one point and sent the game to overtime when it scored on the power play with 47 seconds to play, setting the stage for overtime.

Lewiston will play a pair of games this weekend at the Colisee against the PEI Rocket, the first of which is at 7 p.m. on Friday.


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