MONTREAL — One hour before the Lewiston Maineiacs took to the ice for an off-day practice on Thursday, the scoreboard at the Verdun Auditorium was on, likely from the Montreal Junior’s practice earlier in the morning.

With no time remaining, the clock read Junior 2, Visitor 4.

Prescient? Perhaps, the Maineiacs feel.

But if they want that result, they know it’s not going to be easy.

After a laid back practice Monday, Lewiston hit the ice hard Tuesday and worked on specialties on Wednesday before packing up and heading north to Montreal a couple of days early.

Thursday, there was nothing easy about the team’s skate. And the team’s focus was apparent.

“It’s going to be tough against Montreal. They have a very good team,” Lewiston coach J.F. Houle said. “They have a lot of depth as well. They have a lot of good forwards and defense, and their goalie’s good. It’s going to be a grind.”

Lewiston is faced with the daunting task of competing with a team against which they’ve had no success this season. In four tries against Montreal in the regular season, Lewiston was 0-4.

“Playoffs is a totally different story; it’s a different season,” Houle said. “Whatever the numbers were in the first round, I don’t care, the PP or the PK, it doesn’t matter anymore. To me, whatever happened in the past is done. We’re turning a new page and we’re looking forward to playing them. Hopefully they feel confident.”

Montreal coach Pascal Vincent echoed Houle’s sentiments, cautioning that numbers can often be misleading.

“I think Lewiston has tremendous speed. I think their transition game is very good,” Vincent said. “They have the best goal-scorer in the league. I think that combination of offensive skill, speed and transition can be very dangerous, and we will have to be careful against those guys. What happened in the season, we won all four games. Of course, it gives us a lot of confidence. But playoffs is a brand new season. What happened in the season is still in the back of our minds. And I know it’s in the back of their minds. But at the same time, they’re saying it’s a new season, and we’re thinking the same thing.”

And Vincent isn’t off-base. While the season series between Lewiston and Montreal was a four-game sweep, and while the teams combined for a lot of goals, the games were all close — and exciting.

Montreal upended Lewiston 5-3 with an empty-netter in the first contest. The Maineiacs led in that game after the first period and the third period began tied 2-2. In the second game, Lewiston led 1-0 in the first and 4-3 after two before falling 7-5. Lewiston battled back from an early 4-0 deficit in the teams’ third game — played at 10:30 in the morning — to force the Junior to score an empty-netter in a 5-3 game, and in the teams’ final regular-season clash, Lewiston led 3-1 in the second before allowing three quick goals and falling at home, 4-3.

“Its not like we’ve been out of any game we’ve played against them,” Houle said. “We know we can play with them. We just have to find a way to finish the job.”

Part of Montreal’s success is attributable directly to the team’s structure. The Junior regularly play 16 players who are 19 or 20 years old.

“When you have experience, the guys know often what to expect,” Vincent said. “In the playoffs, if you have guys who know what to expect, it can make a difference. I’m sure we’re the best in the league, or very close, when the game is tied after two periods. We’ve found ways to win hockey games, and that’s playoff hockey, really. We built that confidence over the year that, when the game is tied, or it’s 2-1 or 3-2 one way or the other, we’ve found ways to win. On top of the guys having a lot of experience in the playoffs, we have that kind of experience in the season. It’s an asset you have in your deck. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s an asset.”

For Houle, though, experience is what you make of it.

“One thing people were saying was that we didn’t have any experience and Moncton did (in the first round),” Houle said. “We didn’t show that at all. We didn’t back down. I don’t think it’s a factor. I think our players will play hard. We’re a hard-working team. That’s all we are. We work hard, we win games.”

To do that, Lewiston is likely going to have to figure out a way to take fewer penalties. And the Maineiacs know it.

“I think Montreal has a pretty good power play, too, so it’ll be important to stay disciplined,” forward Pierre-Olivier Morin said. “I think, 5-on-5, we’re one of the best teams in the league, so if we can stay out of the box, it will help us a lot.”

A healthy lineup will also help. As of Thursday, Houle expected everyone on the team to be available to him when he pencils in the team’s lineup for Friday’s contest.

“I think everybody’s going to be alright,” Houle said. “We have a couple of bumps and bruises that we’re just taking care of right now, but we should have a healthy lineup starting Friday.”

Game 1 of the teams’ best-of-seven second-round playoff series is Friday at 7 p.m., with Game 2 scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday. Games 3 and 4 will be in Lewiston on Tuesday and Wednesday, with scheduled 7 p.m. start times.

QMJHL playoffs

Round 2

Game 1: Lewiston at Montreal — Friday, 7 p.m.

Game 2: Lewiston at Montreal — Saturday, 3 p.m.

Game 3: Montreal at Lewiston — Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Game 4: Montreal at Lewiston — Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Game 5: Lewiston at Montreal — Friday, April 15, 7 p.m.*

Game 6: Montreal at Lewiston — Sunday, April 17, 4 p.m.*

Game 7: Lewiston at Montreal — Tuesday, April 19, 7 p.m.*

* – If necessary