This one was just what the doctor ordered.

With a solid effort from start to finish from the goaltender on out, the Lewiston Maineiacs won their first of three games in three nights Friday, earning a 5-2 victory over Victoriaville in front of 2,020 at the Colisee Desjardins.

“It’s a good win for us, a divisional win.” Maineiacs’ coach Ed Harding said. “We should be more upbeat. It’s not the Stanley Cup, but I think the big thing is, in a long season, you have to stay even-keel. You can’t get too high on wins; you can’t get too low on losses. The boys played their typical hard game, we got some breaks, we put some pucks in the net, and it’s good to see them get rewarded for their hard effort.”

Peter Delmas made 32 saves on 34 shots to earn just his third win of the season, carrying a shutout into the third period.

“I think he was thinking too much,” Harding said. “I told him this week, ‘Just go out and play goal and have fun.’ Technically, I think he was thinking too much about what he had to work on. He was pretty sharp tonight.”

After Brandon Hynes snapped Delmas’ shutout bid at 7:14 of the final frame, things got a bit wacky. Alex Beaton scored back-to-back goals at 9:53 and 16:37 of the third to put the Maineiacs in front, 3-1.

“When it got tied 1-1, we were on the bench, and we were positive,” Harding said. “We were working hard, we knew we could come right back and put one in. That’s a great momentum thrust for us.”

Victoriaville had a chance to even things up with a power play late, but Max Gratchev seemingly put an end to the scoring with an empty-net goal at 19:19.

The Tigres didn’t go quietly, though.

Antoine Laperriere brought his team back within two at 19:40 with a long shot that appeared to surprise Delmas, only to have Steeven Jacques continue on his recent point-scoring tear with a goal at 19:58.

The Maineiacs were first on the board, getting a goal from Garrett Clarke at 14:26 of the first period on a feed from Sean Stagles, a goal that held up until the barrage in the third period.

Lewiston and Victoriaville will play again Saturday in a 4 p.m. matinee, and the Maineiacs will finish their roadie in Quebec on Sunday afternoon.