Pierre-Olivier Morin broke a 1-1 deadlock with less than eight minutes remaining, and Lewiston’s defense made the lead stand, as the MAINEiacs picked up a 3-1 win over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in front of 1,723 fans at the Centre Henry Leonard.
In the first period, the Drakkar struck first. Kevin Bisaillon centered a pass to Pierrick Martel, who fired a one-timer over the right shoulder of Nicholas Champion. However, the MAINEiacs had an answer just under three minutes later. Stefan Fournier carried the puck in on the right side of the offensive zone, before centering a pass to Jess Tanguy. Tanguy faked a forehand shot, then slid the puck to his backhand for the equalizer.
After a scoreless second period, Lewiston took the lead at the 12:58 mark of the third. Michael Chaput won an offensive zone face-off back to Olivier Dame-Malka, who rifled a shot in on goal from the right point. Pierre-Olivier Morin deflected the shot in for his second tally of the season, putting the visitors on top.
Special teams played a big part in the contest, as the MAINEiacs’ penalty kill kept Baie-Comeau off of the scoreboard on seven opportunities, including one with 2:29 left in regulation.
Cameron Critchlow iced the win with an empty net goal with three seconds left in the victory.
Nicholas Champion picked up the win for Lewiston, making 27 saves on 28 shots. Jason Missiaen played well for Baie-Comeau, but took the loss, despite making 37 saves on 39 shots.
The MAINEiacs and Drakkar will conclude their weekend series with another 4:00 start on Sunday afternoon. Lewiston’s next home game takes place on Wednesday at 7:00, when the Shawinigan Cataractes visit the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
