For some reason, the Maineiacs seem to enjoy playing Rimouski on the road.

Twice, Lewiston has traveled to the division-leading Oceanic’s backyard, and twice it has come away with a convincing win.

In a rare display of offensive power, Sheldon Wenzel notched a hat trick, Alex Bourret added a goal and three assists, Richard Stehlik had four helpers and Brandon Verge made 20 saves on 24 shots to lead the Maineiacs to a 10-4 drubbing of Rimouski at the Rimouski Coliseum on Sunday.

The hat trick was the first of Wenzel’s QMJHL career, and the win was only the second in 10 games for Lewiston.

“This game was like a continuation of the games we have been playing over the last few weeks,” said coach Mario Durocher. “We’ve been playing pretty well even though we were losing. Today we put it all together, and it showed.”

The win capped a long weekend during which the Maineiacs (6-12-1-0) lost two of three games in four days. The bright side, however, is that Lewiston’s win came against a team in its own division, and the two points moved the Maineiacs to within four points of Quebec for fourth place in the division after Quebec tied Val d’Or earlier Sunday.

“We matched the lines well tonight,” said Durocher. “We matched the right guys on our team with the right guys on theirs, and even though (Sidney) Crosby got three points, I think we did a good job with him.”

Wenzel, known more for his rough-and-tumble attitude and as an enforcer, picked up his first three goals of the season, getting one in the first period on a power play and two more at even strength in the second.

“He had scored some goals in the preseason, and we knew he could do it,” said Durocher. “He got into a pretty good fight on Friday, and maybe it helped that he had one eye closed up today. I don’t know, really, but it’s good for him.”

Lewiston managed to avoid falling behind early in the game, a trademark over the last few weeks that has led to numerous defeats.

“To score two quick goals after they tied the game was big,” said Durocher. “That allowed us to be more defensive.”

The Maineiacs struck first, nine minutes into the opening period, when Wenzel scored on the power play off a pass from Mathieu Aubin.

Rimouski tied it one minute later when Michal Sersen converted a pass from the highly-touted Crosby, also on the power play.

Lewiston took the lead for good with just over three minutes to play in the first on a Vladislav Balaz goal, and Bourret added another 13 seconds later to push the lead to 3-1.

Showing the form that has led many to suggest that Crosby will be the greatest thing since the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky, the young star scored his second point of the first period 11 seconds after Bourret’s goal to pull the Oceanic within one.

In the second, Lewiston started to pull away thanks to consecutive goals by Wenzel and Pierre-Luc Faubert, and by the end of the second frame held a 6-3 lead courtesy of Wenzel’s third.

The Maineiacs’ leading scoring forward, Alexandre Piacrd, got on the board early in the third with assists from Bourret and Stehlik. Picard added an assist on a Gabriel Balasescu power-play tally just three minutes later to push the lead to 8-3, and Jonathan Paiement got into the scoring act at 8:37, making it 9-3.

Crosby notched his third point of the game and 45th in 21 games this season with an assist at 14:17 of the third on a Benoit Arsenault goal to pull the Oceanic within five at 9-4, but Lewiston struck back at 14:59 on a Balaz short-handed goal to put the Maineiacs into double digits.

Lewiston has a short rest before a three-game homestand. The Maineiacs return to the ice at home on Wednesday against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. On Friday, Crosby and Rimouski come to town, and on Sunday the team hosts Halifax.

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