LEWISTON — Jordan Kennedy would have preferred a shot to the chest, or maybe into his pads or midsection.

Instead, the Lewiston Maineiacs’ rookie goaltender had to lunge to his left and hug the post on his glove side to make his first save of the game, with just fewer than 10 minutes to play in the second period.

“It’s a little more nerve-wracking coming in halfway,” Kennedy said. “I was hoping to get a few in the belly, in the pads to get warmed up, but I had to make the big one right away. Once that hit me, I felt a little more confident.”

Kennedy took over for Adrien Lemay at the 9:53 mark of the second period and held strong the rest of the way, preserving a 3-0 shutout victory for the Maineiacs in the team’s final preseason game of the season at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Sunday. It was the second consecutive game the pair of netminders split the duties, with each getting a chance to start and play the first half of the game.

For Kennedy, the early-going has been smooth sailing relative to most 16-year-old keepers in the league. But he’s far from complacent.

“I know there are some people saying I’m doing well so far,” Kennedy said. “In my opinion, I can still get a little better … I can still get a lot better, actually. I’m still getting used to the league, and Adrien has helped me out a lot so far.”

On the other end, Lewiston scored a goal at even strength in the first period, and one each on the power play and penalty kill in the third to give Lemay and Kennedy the goal support they needed.

“We’re doing all of our team play from the defensive zone out,” MacAdam said. “We have great goaltending. Lemay is just a real solid goaltender and I really like the way Kennedy played tonight.”

The Maineiacs shot out of the gate, getting three solid shifts in a row to begin the game with steady offensive-zone pressure. The Cataractes had trouble finding that first pass out of their own zone.

The teams traded power plays early, and Shawinigan drew two sessions with the extra skater. Just after the Maineiacs recovered to 5-on-5 after the second shorthanded situation, they struck for the lone goal of the opening frame, an Alexis Piette tally on a bouncing rebound in front of starting netminder Francois Lacerte.

“Like any team, we want to be dominant on home ice,” MacAdam said. “You don’t dominate home ice with a slow start. The guys knew they needed to come out and play hard. And that’s a reflection again of the leadership we have on this team.”

Billy Lacasse and Sebastien Trudeau earned assists on the goal, which came 14:32 into the first.

Lemay gave way to Kennedy just ahead of the game’s halfway mark, and Lewiston’s defense clamped down, allowing just four shots to reach the young netminder in the final 10 minutes of the middle period.

Shawinigan, meanwhile, appeared to have a tough time getting through the center zone with any sort of rhythm, leading to poor chances when the Cats did manage a shot on goal.

“We like to play hard, play intense and cause trouble with our hits,” Maineiacs’ forward Sam Grenache said.

Sam Carrier made the game a 2-0 affair early in the third frame when he fired a quick wrister through traffic on the power play. The puck glanced off the left post and found the back of the net. Grenache added an unassisted shorthanded goal at 15:45 of the third period to seal the deal.

Lewiston plays two more exhibition matches this preseason, both against the Saint John Sea Dogs. The first, Tuesday night, is in Saint John, and the second is a home game in Fredericton, New Brunswick on Wednesday.

The team begins the regular season Friday, Sept. 11 on the road, and opens at home on Friday, Sept. 18.