J. F. Houle wasn’t kidding.

The Lewiston Maineiacs’ coach knew, with a short bench and after a long road trip, special teams would play a big part in any success the team might have in Baie-Comeau.

Pierre-Olivier Morin finally got off the schneid, netting a power-play goal with less than eight minutes to play to lift the Maineiacs to a 3-1 win over Baie-Comeau in front of 1,723 at the Henry Leonard Centre on Saturday.

“Our special teams won us the game,” Houle said. “Our PK was outstanding, and out power play, it wasn’t great, but we got one when it mattered and that was the difference in the game.”

That the Maineiacs had to spend as much time as they did killing penalties was cause for concern, though.

“We’re one of the most penalized teams in the league right now, and that has to stop,” Houle said. “We’re too undisciplined right now. It’s unacceptable.”

A slow start has become a trademark of sorts for this squad, and that reared its ugly head again Saturday. Baie-Comeau took a 1-0 advantage in the first period when Kevin Bisaillon centered a pass to Pierrick Martel, who fired a one-timer over the right shoulder of keeper Nick Champion.

“It might be bus legs, I don’t know, but we really ramped it up in the second and third, you could tell,” Houle said.

Lewiston didn’t wait that long to even the score, though. Jess Tanguy took care of that later in the first on a feed from Stefan Fournier.

After a scoreless second, during which Lewiston killed off several penalties, Morin lit the lamp in the third. Cameron Critchlow added an empty-netter in the third to cap the scoring.

Champion picked up the win for Lewiston, making 27 saves on 28 shots. Jason Missiaen played well for Baie-Comeau, stopping 37 pucks on 39 shots in the loss.

Lewiston learned after the game that it maybe be even more shorthanded Sunday. Francis Beauvillier suffered in injury on a hit during the game, and may not be able to play. Lewiston is already without Antoine Houde-Caron and Zachary Evans-Renaud (personal reasons), and Matthew Bissonnette and Cole Hawes (injury).

“We’ll see (Sunday),” Houle said. “Right now we don’t know. The younger guys are going to have to continue to step up and play a lot right now. It’s tough, but that’s where we hope the depth we have shows.”