The ride home to Lewiston was much nicer Sunday night for the Lewiston Maineiacs than the ride from Bathurst to Rimouski was Saturday.

For the second consecutive night, the Maineiacs began the third period with a lead. Sunday, they hung onto it.

Christophe Lalonde, Sam Henley and Jess Tanguy scored goals and Andrey Makarov won again — his fifth win in his last six decisions — with a 32-save effort as the Maineiacs upended the Rimouski Oceanic, 3-1.

“We worked, we moved our feet and we competed,” Lewiston coach J.F. Houle said. “We worked. (Saturday) night we didn’t work. That was the difference.”

Makarov has allowed 14 goals in his last seven appearances, and has worked his way back into the lineup well since an injury sidelined him for the better part of the first half of the campaign.

“He was really good tonight, he made a lot of key saves and he was moving really well,” Houle said. “He’s been a lot stronger, a lot more confident. He’s challenging shooters, he comes out and he’s been really good for us.”

The win elevates the Maineiacs’ season record to 31-16-0-2, good for 64 points. The team is in seventh place in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and trails fourth-place Drummondville by four points.

“It’s going to be tight,” Houle said. “There are a lot of good teams and there’s a lot of parity.”

After solid start and dismal finish Saturday in a 6-3 loss to Acadie-Bathurst, the Maineiacs were hoping to get things rolling early against a Rimouski team many pundits picked to challenge for the league title this season.

Rimouski has faltered this season, and with the loss dropped to 24-23-1-1. The Oceanic are in 11th overall, and fourth in the Telus East division.

Lalonde finished a Francis Beauvillier pass across the low slot 5:06 into the game Sunday to put the Maineiacs on the board. Henley struck for his 10th of the season with less than a minute to play in the first to double the visitors’ lead.

“It was nice to see some hard-working guys get some goals,” Houle said. “Lalonde played good, and Henley has had so many chances lately, it was nice for him to finally get one.”

Tanguy netted the lone goal of a defensive third frame, taking a feed from Etienne Brodeur and beating Rimouski keeper Carl Hozjan.

“That was big,” Houle said. “We knocked at the door a couple of times and had a couple of chances, and it was a key goal for us.”

Makarov lost his shutout in the third period when Alex Belzile scored an early goal on the power play for the Oceanic, who peppered the young Lewiston keeper with 15 shots in the final frame, including several in the game’s final two minutes with Henley in the penalty box and the goalie pulled.

The Maineiacs return to the ice Friday at home against Rimouski at 7 p.m., and host Chicoutimi on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m.