For the second consecutive game, the Lewiston Maineiacs staved off a late-game comeback, upending the Prince Edward Island Rocket 5-3 in front of 2,552 at the Charlottetown Civic Center.
Marc-Andre Cliche potted his second goal of the game into an empty net with 42 seconds left to seal the win in a game the Maineiacs at one time led 3-0.
“We took too many penalties after we got the lead,” said Maineiacs head coach Clem Jodoin. “That was sad, but what can we do? We set a goal to come back with three points out of six and we got four with two wins.”
Stefan Chaput also had two goals for Lewiston, which has won eight of its last 11.
“We have the second-best record in the last 10 games right now,” said Jodoin. “The sad part is, we have nine wins (out of the team’s 14 this season) on the road, and just five at home. It should at least be the other way around.”
Jonathan Bernier, who sat out Friday as Travis Fullerton got the win between the pipes, returned to face 27 Rocket shots, stopping 24 to earn his 10th win of the year.
Ryan Mior kept his team in the game early in the third as Lewiston threatened to pull away, and he finished with 27 stops on 31 shots.
After dominating the first half of the first period, something the Maineiacs have not done well to date this season, Chaput and Stefano Giliati again worked their shorthanded magic.
Giliati picked off the puck and fed Chaput, who fired the puck past Mior to give Lewiston a 1-0 lead with 3:44 to play in the period.
“The thing is, they are skating, and skating hard,” said Jodoin. “If there is a loose puck, they are on it first.”
Mathieu Aubin gave Lewiston a bit of breathing room at 2:29 of the second with his 19th of the season on a 3-on-1 break.
Cliche got one of his own at 4:36 with the Maineiacs on a 5-on-3 advantage when he tipped home an Eric Castonguay shot.
Three minors in a four-minute-span allowed the Rocket (10-20-0-0) to climb to within two at 11:18 as Danny Stewart fired a puck past Bernier, and the Rocket scored at even-strength 2:20 later when Anton Skorykh lifted a wrist shot over Bernier’s right shoulder.
Undaunted, the Maineiacs took advantage of the next PEI penalty to set up in the Rocket’s zone and Chaput potted his second of the game one second after the penalty had expired to reestablish a two-goal cushion.
“We wanted to try and play everybody as much as we could,” said Jodoin, “but it’s hard to do that with just 24 minutes of 5-on-5 with all of the penalties.”
Tyler Hawes again cut the lead to one with six minutes to play on a 5-on-3. before Cliche’s goal rolled in to seal the victory.
Lewiston is back on the ice Wednesday night at the Colisee against the St. John’s Fog Devils.
Comments are no longer available on this story