His better play of late has led to better chances, increased power-play time and more time around the puck.

But the last place the Lewiston Maineiacs’ coaching staff thought they’d see Zachary Evans-Renaud is down low, in front of the net in overtime.

Tuesday night, they were glad he was there.

Evans-Renaud capped a three-man rush with his second last-minute goal of the season with 45 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Maineiacs to a 2-1 win over Cape Breton in front of 2,835 at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, polishing off a 51-shot offensive clinic and moving Lewiston into a tie for second place overall in points in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

“I looked at (Associate Coach Darren Rumble) on the bench, I said, ‘What is he doing down there,'” Lewiston head coach J.F. Houle said. “In OT, thought, it happens sometimes, a defenseman will pinch like that.”

Evans-Renaud finished on that play what Etienne Brodeur and Jess Tanguy started, stuffing the Maineiacs’ 51st shot of the night past a stellar Andrew Hayes, who to that point had stopped 49 out of 50 to keep his Screaming Eagles in the contest.

“He was real good,” Houle said. “He made a lot of saves from all over the place. He was coming up with one save after another. It was frustrating for the guys for a while. We had a lot of chances down low, a lot of wrap-arounds and shots in close.”

The 51 shots for were among the team’s top totals, and the 11 allowed set a new franchise record for fewest shots allowed in a single game, despite the fact that the game went into overtime. Earning the win for Lewiston was rookie Andrey Makarov, a second win on the season for the youngster.

“It was hard, not seeing many shots, for him to get some confidence back, but he did make some key stops on our turnovers, and he got the win, which is also important overall,” Houle said.

Antoine Houde-Caron put the Maineiacs in front early, thanks to a gift from an old friend.

Stephen Woodworth, once a promising young defenseman in the Lewiston pipeline, is now a promising blueliner for the Screaming Eagles. Tuesday, he was in the gift-giving mood. His turnover led to a quick rush by Houde-Caron, and the 20-year-old’s sixth goal of the season.

“He had a good game today, he had more chances, and he’s been getting more chances,” Houle said. “I’m happy to see him get one there.”

The Maineiacs dominated the opening frame, launching 13 shots at Hayes before the Eagles managed even one on Makarov. In turn, the young Lewiston goalie was surprised when a shot from afar flew past him at 14:58 of the first off the stick of Nick Parker. Despite an 18-3 advantage in shots, the Maineiacs settled for a 1-1 tie through one period.

“It was a good shot, but it went off of one of our guys’ sticks away from the net.” Houle said. “There wasn’t much he could do about it.”

Despite outshooting Cape Breton 16-2 in the second period and 14-6 in the third, the Maineiacs couldn’t solve Hayes again in regulation.

Lewiston practices Wednesday and plays another pair of road games this week. Thursday, the Maineiacs face a rematch with Moncton, and Friday they visit Saint John in a battle of two of the hottest teams in Canada.