For one period, at least, the Lewiston Maineiacs had the top-ranked team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League – and more importantly its fans – stunned in silence.

The Shawinigan Cataractes took an early two-goal lead, only to watch as the Maineiacs responded with three in a row to take a one-goal edge after 20 minutes.

Lewiston’s lead was short-lived, though, as the highly potent Cats’ offense went to work in the second and third, posting five more goals as Shawinigan downed Lewiston 7-4 in front of 2,576 at Jacques Plante Arena on Friday.

The Cataractes scored seven goals in a game for the ninth time this season, and their vaunted power play, the league’s best at better than 36 percent going into Friday’s contest, notched four more goals.

“We took four stupid penalties again (Friday),” Maineiacs’ coach Ed Harding said. “You can’t do that when they score 50 percent of their goals on the power play.”

Jonathan Connelly, who earned a second consecutive start after a solid 5-2 win last weekend in Rimouski, struggled, allowing seven goals on 26 shots.

“We’ve got a long ways to go,” Harding said. “Our goaltenders have to be better, our leadership has to be better.”

On the other end, despite allowing four goals, Timo Pielmeier gave his team a chance to win, stopping 41 Lewiston shots on the night.

Down 2-0 early, the Maineiacs fought back into the game on consecutive goals by Eric Gelinas, Pier-Olivier Morin and Max Gratchev.

“We got a little killer instinct and we blasted one home on a 5-on-3, swung the momentum in our favor,” Harding said. “There was a little bit of life.”

The Cats got two more of their own early in the second to again go in front, and took a two-goal lead later in the second on a Michael Bournival tally.

Shawinigan popped in two more early in the third before Lewiston struck for a fourth, a short-handed effort by Alex Beaton.

Both team enjoyed double-digit chances with an extra skater or two, and Lewiston had a late-game two-man advantage, which it squandered. The Maineiacs finished 2-for-11 on the power play, while the Cats clicked on four of 10 chances.

Lewiston’s next game is Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Gatineau.