LEWISTON – This was the kind of game Ed Harding knew Jonathan Bernier was capable of playing.

And the Lewiston Maineiacs’ head coach is glad he played that game on Tuesday night.

Bernier made 34 saves and Chris Tutalo, Lucas Labelle and Stefan Chaput each scored to lead the Maineiacs to a 3-1 win over Saint John at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

“He was absolutely the difference tonight,” Saint John coach Jacques Beaulieu said. “I thought we outplayed them all night. I thought we were the better team, and Bernier stole that game for them.”

Harding agreed wholeheartedly.

“We sat there and said, ‘Thanks, bud,'” Harding said. “We said, “Let’s leave Bernier all alone.’ We had a few guys that just didn’t battle hard enough. That said, we’re very happy to have the two points. Coming down the stretch, we need to be playing good hockey, better than we played tonight.”

Tuesday’s win was Bernier’s third in a row, and the 19-year-old has allowed just eight goals in his last five games. In four games against Saint John this season, Bernier has given up only seven.

“Right now, all of the games left in the season are huge,” Bernier said. “We have to take two points as often as we can here at the end of the season.”

On the front end, Labelle and Tutalo responded to a personal challenge from Harding.

“We kind of got a little kick in the pants from (Harding) this week,” Labelle said. “It was time that we stepped up and show what we’re worth here, and it worked out tonight.”

Chaput started things off for Lewiston against the game’s momentum in the opening period. After Saint John controlled the pace of play for more than 10 minutes, Chaput pounced on a rebound to the right of Sea Dogs’ goalie Travis Fullerton to put Lewiston on top 1-0.

Tutalo found room between Fullerton’s legs early in the second after a Sea Dogs’ penalty expired to put Lewiston on top 2-0.

Saint John crawled to within one at 3:02 of the third on a Ryan Sparling wrister, but Labelle put the game out of reach later in the third with a slapper that beat Fullerton high to the glove side.

“It was then end of a shift,” Labelle said. “I turned around and saw no one was with me, so I let it go. I didn’t know I could shoot that hard.”

Lewiston is still tied with Acadie-Bathurst for fourth in the Eastern Division after the Titan rolled over PEI 6-2 Tuesday night in Bathurst.

The Maineiacs play their final two home games of the season this weekend against the St. John’s Fog Devils.