This is getting way too familiar for the Lewiston Maineiacs – and for their fans.

An empty-net goal not withstanding, the Maineiacs fell short by one goal again Saturday,

The Montreal Junior tacked on a meaningless tally with goaltender Peter Delmas on the bench for an extra skater in the waning seconds to lift the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s newest team to a 4-2 win over Lewiston in the first ever meeting of the two teams.

“It’s couple bad mistakes here or there and the puck’s in the back of our net,” Maineiacs’ coach Ed Harding said.

The loss by one goal (or two with an empty-netter) is the Maineiacs’ 11th of the season. Eight of those losses have come since Dec. 1, including in seven of the team’s last eight games.

Lewiston made things a bit more difficult this time around, digging itself a 3-0 hole through two periods. Dmitri Kostromitin, Matt Fillier and Pier-Antoine Dion each beat Delmas to put the home team on top.

“He made a couple of big stops there in the third,” Harding said of Delmas. “When we make a mistake, we need the goaltender there to make a save or two.”

The Maineiacs rallied in the third, despite taking a rash of penalties, and engaging in a string of fights. Danick Paquette, Marc Bourgeois and Etienne Brodeur all dropped the gloves in the final frame, trying to stir some momentum.

It worked.

Paquette potted a pair of goals – both on tip-ins – to bring the Maineiacs back to within one at 3-2.

“I’ve been really happy with (Paquette’s) last four games,” Harding said. “He’s kept his composure. He’s been in the province of Quebec, and he’s been a little bit more professional about things. He’s going to take a couple of penalties, let’s face it, we know that. It’s more about the time and the place he takes it.”

Harding pulled Delmas in the final minute of the game, and the Maineiacs enjoyed several opportunities to even the score, but each time Montreal keeper Jake Allen was equal to the task.

“We had a few good chances with the goaltender pulled,” Harding said. “We didn’t have our timeout because we’d used it earlier, but we don’t really have to practice with the pulled goalie, we’ve been doing that enough lately.”

The Maineiacs headed back to Shawinigan on Saturday night, ready for a Sunday matinee with the Cataractes that’s a rematch of Friday night’s 4-3 Shawinigan victory.