Lewiston goes on a tear in the third period to beat the Halifax Mooseheads, 6-2.
LEWISTON – For two periods, the Lewiston Maineiacs looked nothing like the team that beat Rimouski Friday night and nearly defeated Cape Breton Wednesday.
After the Mooseheads tied the score at 2 one minute into the third period, the Maineiacs finally came alive, scoring four goals in the final frame to gut out a 6-2 win over Halifax in front of 1,533 fans at the Central Maine Civic Center.
“It was dangerous for a while,” said Maineiacs coach Mario Durocher. “They had us at 2-1 after two, and tied in the third. They are a physical team and played some trap on us, but they seemed to get tired near the end.”
Halifax was playing its third road game in three nights, and it showed by the end of the game. Lewiston’s speedy forwards broke through the Mooseheads’ defensive lines with more jump in the final period, and looked every bit like the favored team.
With 13 minutes to play in the game, Richard Stehlik blasted what may have been his best slap shot all season from the left point on a nice pass from the lower right corner by Vladislav Balaz. Stehlik’s shot traveled through a screen and hit the far right post, ricocheting into the net past Halifax netminder Jason Churchil.
Churchil had another stellar night between the pipes for the Mooseheads, stopping 43 shots in the loss. Last time against the Maineiacs, Churchil was the difference in a 4-2 Halifax win.
“He played great again,” said Durocher. “We got some bounces this time that we didn’t get last time, and the team played hard again tonight. He is a good goalie, and he seems to like to play well against us.”
Lewiston upped the ante to 4-2 with 10 minutes left when Mathieu Aubin picked Churchil’s pocket behind the net on the penalty kill, wrapping the puck into the wide open net for the two-goal cushion.
Less than two minutes later, Alex Bourret added some insurance on a pretty play that started with a Jonathan Paiement pass to Alexandre Picard. Picard swiveled and drew the defender to him, leaving Bourret all alone at the left post. Picard’s pass hit Bourret in the tape and all it took was a flick of the wrist to make it 5-2.
Francis Trudel added the final goal of the game with 1:20 remaining, picking up the loose change on a Bourret shot.
“It was good to see everyone different scoring tonight,” said Durocher. “The usual guys, Picard, Balaz and Balasescu had a good night and played well, but it’s always nice to have everyone in the scoring.”
Paiement broke a scoreless tie late in the first with a wrister from the top of the slot that beat Churchil high to the glove side for the 1-0 lead. Lewiston added a second at 6:59 of the second when Bourret tallied his first of the night on a rebound from the right side of the net.
Justin Saulnier drew the Mooseheads within one at 16:13 when two Lewiston defenders collided in front of Davis, leaving him wide open for the easy goal. Jan Steber tied the score on a nifty backhand pass from Kenzie Sheppard at 1:05 of the third to tie the score.
Lewiston heads out on the road next weekend for a swing through the Maritimes, meeting P.E.I, Moncton and Halifax.
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