The Lewiston Maineiacs have tried leading by one goal early.

That didn’t work.

Friday, the Maineiacs jumped out to a two-goal edge in the second period, only to lose by five.

This time, Lewiston made sure, scoring four goals in the first period and coasting to a 5-2 win over the Rimouski Oceanic in front of 3,628 at the Colisee de Rimouski on Sunday.

“This team has played well in spurts,” Maineiacs’ coach Ed Harding said. “We came to the same point today that we were at in Drummondville (on Friday). Fortunately we had a four-goal lead today. Everybody stayed a bit more calm, and a bit more positive on the bench.”

The team’s performance was indicative of what Harding feels is possible every day with the young squad – provided it puts everything it has into every game.

“They played together, they played hard,” Harding said. “They followed the game plan, and our system really works for us when we use it properly.”

The Maineiacs outshot the Oceanic 42-22 on the afternoon, including an astounding 20-4 in the opening frame.

Lewiston also played without two of its better players, including captain Danick Paquette and 16-year-old rookie Michael Chaput, who is a key cog in the team’s special units. Chaput will try out this week for Quebec’s entry into the Under-17 tournament, while Paquette departs this week for the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.

“We want (Chaput) to make that team, so we left it in their hands,” Harding said. “They decided to go to Montreal from Drummondville. Then, I spoke with Mr. (Mark) Just (the team’s majority owner), and we agreed that we couldn’t offer that deal to Chaput without offering it to Danick, and Danick opted to go home, too.”

Another wrinkle Sunday saw Jonathan Connelly start between the pipes for the first time in more than a month for the Maineiacs. He stopped three breakaways, including two at key moments as Rimouski attempted to come from behind, and improved to 2-2 on the season.

“Sometimes you have to change it up, and see if guys can play,” Harding said.

Connelly’s last win was the team’s season-opener in Baie-Comeau, a game the Maineiacs won in overtime, 6-5.

“When you’re only giving up 20 to 25 shots, you need a couple of big saves,” Harding said. “It keeps the boys in the game. Jonathan, he’s been waiting his turn as the third guy, practicing hard and he was getting a little frustrated. We felt it was time to give him a chance, and we were hoping he was upset enough to get in there, play hard and want to prove that he’s a good goaltender. We couldn’t be happier for him, we’re going to use this as a stepping stone, and he’s going to get some more time.”

Alex Beaton, Marc Bourgeois, Billy Lacasse and Denis Reul all scored in the first to put the Maineiacs in front by four.

The Oceanic tallied the lone goal in the second, and made it tighter, at 4-2, with another early in the third before Bourgeois put the game away with his second of the game, his eighth of the season.

“We really like Pier-Olivier Morin in the middle on that line (with Bourgeois and Max Gratchev), too,” Harding said.

The Maineiacs play their next two on the road, as well, traveling to Shawinigan on Friday and to Gatineau the following night.