VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Jonathan Bernier has taken his game to a bigger stage this week.

But the Lewiston Maineiacs’ goaltender is still playing the same, stingy style he has all season.

Bernier stopped 30 shots — including 13 in the third period — and Lewiston scored three unanswered goals in the second and third periods to pull out a 3-1 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers in front of 12,720 at the Pacific Coliseum on Saturday.

“He was a first-round draft pick tonight,” Lewiston defenseman Sebastien Piche said. “He was unbelievable.”

The win in their first game of the Memorial Cup tournament gives the Maineiacs a solid start to a weeklong event, and an important foothold in the race to be the top team in the round robin.

“It’s the first one,” Maineiacs’ head coach Clem Jodoin said. “It’s one, but it’s an important one.”

Piche had the winner with a goal from the mid-slot at 12:04 in the second period. From there, the Maineiacs shut down the Medicine Hat offense, and limited most of the Tigers’ chances to the perimeter.

“That’s Maineiacs hockey,” forward Stefan Chaput said. “We played the way we know how to play.”

Both Bernier and Chaput figured in on the Maineiacs’ insurance marker in the third.

With the Tigers shorthanded, they came down on a 2-on-1. Kevin Marshall, back on defense for Lewiston, took the pass away and the Medicine Hat skater shot. Bernier made a toe save.

“They gave me a pass, so I must have touched it,” Bernier said. “Marshall might have touched it, too.”

The rebound went to Maineiacs’ forward Stefano Giliati, who sped up ice with Chaput on a 2-on-1. Giliati applied the brakes to Medicine Hat keeper Matt Keetley’s left, slid the puck across to Chaput and watched as his buddy tapped it past the goalie to put Lewiston on top, 3-1.

“I had a wide open net,” Chaput said.

Medicine Hat took control in the first period, outplaying Lewiston from the opening faceoff. Lewiston managed just eight shots on goal — just one on two power plays — and none from inside of 20 feet.

“We were all pretty mad after the first period,” Maineiacs forward Eric Castonguay said.

“I was so mad,” Jodoin said. “I told them a lot of not so good things to hear, and I was very disappointed about the personal behavior from them, criticizing, yelling, instead of trying to find the solution within ourselves.”

The Tigers, meanwhile, launched 11 pucks at Bernier, and one of them, off the stick of Darren Helm, found its way past the Maineiacs’ netminder to put the Western Hockey League champs ahead, 1-0.

The second feature some mixed news for Lewiston. Castonguay slipped the puck past Keetley from the right post on a rebound after a Chris Tutalo shot to pull the Maineiacs even.

But minutes later, Lewiston captain Marc-Andre Cliche slammed into the boards in the right corner and crumbled to the ice. He skated slowly to his bench in obvious pain, and did not return.

Jodoin said following the game that the injury was “a shoulder injury.”

When pried for which shoulder, Jodoin replied, “It’s a shoulder injury. I don’t know which one.”

Cliche’s status will be a game-time decision for today’s contest against host Vancouver.

Lewiston went ahead 2-1 at 12:04 of the middle frame when Sebastien Piche pinched in from the point to fire a rebound of a Stefano Giliati shot past Keetley, who appeared to be in position, but just missed the puck.

“That went through me,” Keetley admitted. “I was looking, looking and all of a sudden it popped out to the slot. He got it just under my pad.”

“In the second period, we kind of let off our guard,” Medicine Hat forward Derek Dorsett said. “We weren’t ready and they took advantage.”

jpelletier@sunjournal.com