LEWISTON – During its impressive run to start the season, Lewiston has been able to count on one important constant – health.

Not so Monday.

The Blue Devils overcame playing the final period of their game against Portland without senior co-captain Matt Letourneau and hung on for a 5-3 win over the feisty Bulldogs at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

“We got beat in the third, 2-1, and we lost Matt, and he’s a leader on this team,” Lewiston coach Norm Gagne said. “It set us back in the first seven minutes of that third period. We weren’t playing good, defensive hockey like we usually do.”

Lewiston (11-0-1) had the game well in hand after two periods, owning a 4-1 lead and a 20-13 advantage in the shot column.

Letourneau sat out the third period with a lower body injury, forcing the Blue Devils to juggle their lines a bit.

“After losing Matt, it was hard to adjust to the lines at first,” forward Casey Poussard said. “The other guys stepped up, though, they really did a good job.”

Portland, which has played top teams tough all season, took full advantage. The Bulldogs outshot Lewiston 15-7 in the final frame and were in control of the puck for the better part of 12 of the 15 minutes in the third.

“They’re a good club,” Portland coach Nick Dambrie said. “They’re a good club, but they’re beatable. We didn’t show up for the first period, and we played OK in the second.”

Lewiston shot out of the gate, and before the Bulldogs could blink, it was 3-0.

Poussard looked goalie Zach Meoli off with a head fake and buried his chance on a 2-on-1 at 2:48 of the opening frame. Leeman scored his first of the game at 3:39 and, with the Blue Devils on a 5-on-4 advantage, notched his second at 5:36.

“They gave me a lot of chances, and I probably should have buried more of them,” Poussard said. “I was just glad to put them away when I could.”

Portland struck right back to stem the Devils’ momentum just 15 seconds later when Sam Guimond converted a pass from Nick Luce.

Lewiston recovered in the second as Poussard earned his second of the game at 5:27, this time on a two-man advantage, to make it 4-1.

Goaltender Cam Poussard, meanwhile, got a bit busier as the second frame wore on. He stopped Guimond down low twice, and Luce on another chance with the Devils’ Devin McLellan in the box for cross-checking.

Joe Quattrucci again drew the Bulldogs to within two goals just 18 seconds into the third on the power play. Poussard scored his third at 9:55 to put Lewiston back in front by three, and Luce finished the scoring at 12:51 with another power play tally.

Lewiston squares off against Brewer on Wednesday in a battle of the top two teams in Eastern Class A.