Pierre-Olivier Morin hasn’t been at the top of the Lewiston Maineiacs’ scoring race this season, like he was a year ago. But what he’s lacked in quantity this season, he’s more than made up for in quality.

Morin buried a chance just 40 seconds into the third period to break a one-goal stalemate, ultimately leading to a 3-1 Maineiacs victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Sunday in the teams’ final contest of the regular season.

“Getting a win right before the playoffs start is big for our confidence, and getting both on the road like this is even better,” Lewiston coach J.F. Houle said. “I thought we played two very good games this weekend.”

Etienne Brodeur added his league-leading 53rd of the season with five minutes remaining to fittingly close out the season on the scoresheet for the Maineiacs.

“It was a great goal,” Houle said. “You can tell he’s playing with a lot of confidence right now.”

The victory is the Maineiacs’ second consecutive to close out the regular season, and sends the team into the postseason on a positive note.

And while Lewiston had been locked into eighth position in the overall standings after Shawinigan defeated Val d’Or on Saturday, three other games Sunday played a part in determining who the Maineiacs will host in the first round.

Acadie-Bathurst blew out Moncton and PEI fell hard to Saint John in their final regular-season games, both of which finished before Lewiston’s game was through the second period.

Victoriaville had a chance to jump into the No. 9 position with a win, but the Tigres remained in 11th after losing to Rimouski, 6-3.

Lewiston, then, will host Moncton in the first round of the playoffs, beginning Friday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

“I think it’s funny in a way that all of them lost, so nothing changed,” Houle said. “We’re excited to play Moncton. They’ve been a good team in the league for a while now. I think they’re a good team, and I think we’re a good team. It should be a good matchup.”

In Sunday’s game, Michael Chaput reached the 25-goal plateau after an opening barrage in the Maineiacs’ favor yielded 10 shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of the contest. Matthew Bissonnette and Dillon Fournier picked up assists on Chaput’s goal, and gave Lewiston all of the early momentum.

The Maineiacs carried their aggressive offense into the second, but were met by the league’s top keeper in Christopher Gibson, who held down the fort while his squad tried to figure Lewiston out.

The Sags did solve Lewiston and keeper Andrey Makarov just shy of the 10-minute mark of the middle frame, when Steve Lebel notched his 17th of the year to knot things up at 1-1.

With another strong goaltending performance, Houle has the enviable decision ahead of which of his two keepers to play in the playoffs.

“Makarov made some great saves tonight, I thought we did a good job keeping most of the shots to the outside, too,” Houle said.