Junior Stump MAINEiacs, 4-3
The Lewiston MAINEiacs’ power play drought came to an end on Thursday night, as the home team lit the lamp twice with the man advantage. Unfortunately, the two power play markers weren’t enough, as the Montreal Junior scored three times on special teams, erasing a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 win over the MAINEiacs in front of 1,886 fans at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
The Junior drew first blood in the opening period, scoring with the man advantage. A quick passing play by Charles-Olivier Roussel and Jeremy Gouchie led Charles Landry in through the back door. Landry potted the power play goal from the bottom of the right circle.
Early in the second period, the MAINEiacs began to turn things around. Matt Bissonnette entered the offensive zone on the left side, before sliding a pass across to Etienne Brodeur, who blasted a one-timer glove side on Jean-Francois Berube. The goal was Brodeur’s 44th of the season, as well as Lewiston’s first on the power play since February 1st against Shawinigan.
Midway through the frame, Lewiston continued to have success on the power play. At the 9:18 mark, the home team crashed the net off of Olivier Dame-Malka’s initial shot from the point. Michael Chaput’s rebound attempt got denied, but Stefan Fournier made his shot count, knocking in the third attempt. 1:10 later, the MAINEiacs went ahead by two, when Cole Hawes took a feed from Kirill Kabanov and slipped a backhander past Berube.
While the MAINEiacs started the period strong, it was Montreal who finished strong. Louis Leblanc started the comeback for the Junior, sneaking a shot through Andrey Makarov’s pads from the left face-off dot. 1:15 later, Nicolas Chouinard tied the game, breaking away, and lifting a shot into the top part of the goal. Finally, with 35.4 seconds remaining, Jeremy Gouchie finished off a 2-on-1 rush with Trevor Parkes, giving the visitors a 4-3 lead after two.
Neither side found the twine in the third, as Montreal finished off the 4-3 win. Jean-Francois Berube picked up the win for the Junior, making 25 saves on 28 shots. Andrey Makarov took the loss for Lewiston, despite a 34-save effort on 38 shots.
The MAINEiacs will be in action again on Sunday at 4:00, when they visit the Rimouski Oceanic in the first game of a three-game road trip. Lewiston’s next home game takes place on February 27th at 4:00, when they take on the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
