LEWISTON – Better, but not perfect.

The Lewiston Maineiacs’ coaching staff and players were much happier Sunday afternoon than they had been following their previous three games, but the satisfaction was not global.

Still, a better physical effort, better passing and a limited amount of turnovers to go with another two-point effort from rookie Alex Beaton helped lift the Maineiacs to a 4-2 victory over the Moncton Wildcats at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Sunday.

“I think it was a good game to watch for the fans,” Maineiacs’ assistant coach Jeff Guay said. “We’re still having problems with not getting the puck in deep, though. We’ve been practicing that, we’ve been preaching that, we’ve been showing video, but our forwards are not getting the puck in deep for the most part, and the other teams are coming back and transitioning.”

Beaton has recorded three goals and two assists in his last three games played, and seems to be settling in after taking some time to adjust to his new surroundings.

“Every game I’m playing a bit more confident, and when you’re playing confident, you start to produce,” Beaton said.

On Wednesday, Beaton scored a short-handed goal against Saint John by toe-dragging the puck in front of a defenseman, using him as a screen and firing a wrist shot low to the ice.

Sunday’s goal, the team’s second of the game, was a carbon copy.

Moncton and Lewiston have developed a rivalry in recent years as both teams have created problems for each other during their respective championship runs.

Nothing has changed. Sunday, it was Lewiston’s turn to apply the more physical play.

“That was a hard-fought game,” Moncton coach Danny Flynn said. “They’re a much bigger team than us, they were very physical. I thought we battled through, but they did a good job of limiting our chances down low.”

“One thing we have done, and have learned, is hits,” Guay said. “That’s one good thing that is not a problem with this team. I think in five years, we’ve thrown more body checks with this team than in the five years I’ve been involved here.”

Moncton scored against the flow of play in the first period to take a 1-0 lead after Adam Bezak finished off a perfect pass from Phil Mangan with a slap shot to the top right corner, past Peter Delmas’ glove.

Captain Marc-Andre Daneau directed a Chris Tutalo feed through Moncton keeper Nicola Riopel’s pads at 18:09 of the opening frame to knot the score at one.

“We did much better in our systems and came together as a team after the last two games,” Daneau said.

Beaton’s goal gave Lewiston its first lead of the night, but the Wildcats recovered quickly when Bezak returned the favor, setting up Mangan for a goal.

Stefano Giliati fired a shot past Riopel on a pretty drop pass from Matt Bourdeau at 6:48 to put the Maineiacs ahead for good, and Danick Paquette finished things off with an empty-net goal at 19:56.

The win lifts Lewiston to 9-7-1-0 in an increasingly tight Eastern Division. At 19 points, Lewiston is tied for fourth with the St. John’s Fog Devils. Two points ahead of them is Saint John, and three more beyond the Sea Dogs is Halifax, which picked up a point in a shootout loss to division-leading Cape Breton.

The Maineiacs next skate Tuesday night in Saint John and return to home ice Friday and Saturday for a pair against Prince Edward Island.