The Drummondville Voltigeurs handed the Lewiston Maineiacs opportunity on a silver platter.

The Maineiacs tipped the platter over and spilled its contents, blowing a perfect chance to tie the game late in the third period. The result?

The Volts added an insurance marker on a 4-on-4 with 4:06 to play and held off the Maineiacs 5-3 in front of 2,512 at the Marcel Dionne Center on Sunday.

“They were giving us the game, with a five-minute major and a two-minute on top of it,” Maineiacs’ coach Ed Harding said. “It’s stupidity, absolute stupidity. You have to learn how to win hockey games. You can’t take a penalty on the power play, I don’t care if it’s five-on-four or five-on-three, you’re trying to win a hockey game.”

The Maineiacs fell behind by three early, allowing goals to Marc-Oliver Vachon, Mike Hoffman and Marc-Antoine Desnoyers in the first 7:41 of the game.

“We got out-battled in the first period, we weren’t prepared to play,” Harding said.

The latter goal, Desnoyer’s fourth of the season, was the Voltigeurs’ lone power play strike of the game on eight chances, a minor victory of sorts for the Maineiacs considering their recent struggles on the penalty kill.

Billy Lacasse netted his fourth of the season with six ticks left in the first period, but the Volts powered up during intermission and struck back with their own timely goal, a Dany Masse tally 49 seconds into the second period, to reestablish their three-goal edge.

“That was a terrible goal to start the second, just terrible, Harding said.

The Maineiacs fought back in the second. Goals from Steeven Jacques and Pier-Olivier Morin, their first goals of the season, tightened the game back up at 4-3 going into the final frame.

“Steeven Jacques, Dom Savoie and Pier-Oliver Morin really got us going,” Harding said. “They had a few good shfts, and I just kept putting them back out there. The other guys don’t want to play? We’ll play these younger guys.”

Peter Delmas, meanwhile, continued to get battered with shots in the Lewiston net. He stopped 36 of 41 on the game.

Lewiston will play three home games this week, beginning Wednesday against Rimouski. The Maineiacs will host Halifax and Rouyn-Noranda Friday and Saturday. All three games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.