By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Sidney Crosby didn’t go quietly Wednesday night.

Held scoreless Tuesday, the Rimouski phenom put his stamp on the series-clinching victory over the Lewiston Maineiacs.

Crosby had a goal and three assists and was on the ice for all five of Rimouski’s goals in the 5-1 victory.

“There’s competition out there for sure,” said Crosby. “They’re competing with us. Guys like (Jonathan) Paiement are going to try to shut us down. They did their job last night. We won, and we were happy, but we’ve got a job to do offensively. We wanted to make sure we came back hard.”

Though Crosby played a solid game Tuesday, he was a significant force as Rimouski put the Maineiacs’ season to bed. In addition to playing a gritty defensive game, he set up three of the first four goals and scored the fifth.

“I just tried to focus as much as possible,” said Crosby. “I knew they were going to try to knock me off my game and play me tight. They’d done a pretty good job throughout the series.”

Crosby had 66 goals and 102 assists in the regular season to lead the QMJHL. His linemates were right behind him among the scoring leaders – Dany Roussin (54-62) and Marc-Anthoine Pouliot (45-69).

That line had combined for four goals in the previous three games.

“We needed them earlier,” said Rimouski coach Doris Labonte. “They were able to help the team. It was their turn. We had won two of the last three games without their help. We appreciate having them back.”

Roussin had two goals and an assist while Pouliot had a pair of assists.

“They didn’t try to do everything by themselves,” said Labonte. “They were working as a team and as a good line. The puck was moving better. They maintained their position. They focused on hockey and didn’t talk to the referees and the other team.”

Crosby had one goal and three assists in the previous three games. That included three points in the 3-0 win in the second game.

“I thought I had a little bit more speed,” Crosby said of Wednesday’s performance. “I was on the puck a little faster. I was able to break through a little more than I did last night. It was just a matter of getting through the hooks.”

Crosby set up both Rimouski power-play goals in the first period. He passed the puck down low to Pouliot, who fed it out front, where Roussin whacked it in while falling to the ice. That gave the Oceanic the early lead at 9:15.

Though Rimouski struggled at times during two five-on-three power plays, the Oceanic finally converted with 3:59 left in the period. Crosby had missed an open net on one try and lost control of the puck twice while at the lower right of the net

Rimouski kept the pressure on, and Crosby set up Mario Scalzo.

In the second period, after he drew a penalty on Paiement at 4:12, he helped set up the goal making it 3-1 two seconds after the power play expired. Crosby tied up a defender in the right corner in a battle for the puck. Mark Tobin got possession and fed Zbynek Hrdel at the left circle.

After a Roussin goal, Crosby made it 5-1 with 4:20 left in the period. He backhanded a Pouliot pass at the right post for the fourth power-play tally of the night.

“I thought we just played closer to a full 60 minutes,” said Crosby. “Obviously getting the lead helped, and we were able to run the clock down. We just took advantage of their penalties.”