Maine Hockey Journal

Maineiacs Take Game One

Lewiston, Me– The Lewiston Maineiacs went toe to toe with the seventh ranked Drummondville Voltigeurs. The two teams needed to go to the shootout to decide this contest. Lucas LaBelle scored the only goal in the shootout against his former team to give the Maineiacs the 4-3 victory over the Voltigeurs. Maxime Gratchev had a shorthanded tally and added an assist. Peter Delmas made 22 stops in the victory.

After the teams skated back and forth for the first few minutes, Eric Gelinas went to the box for checking from behind. Drummondville peppered Peter Delmas with shots but Delmas held his ground. Lewiston went on the powerplay when Sean Couturier went off for roughing. The powerplay didn’t last too long as Danick Paquette went to the box for tripping nine seconds into the powerplay. Maineiacs had a short four on three powerplay when Dmitry Kulikov went to he went to the box.

Lewiston had a great opportunity but Antoine Tardif made a great glove save. Paquette goes to the box again during a powerplay for roughing. Phillppe Lefebvre had a breakaway but Garrett Clarke made a nice defensive play. Garrett Clarke went to the box shortly there after for holding the stick. The Voltigeurs finally struck with 2:10 remaining in the period when Dany Masse flicked the puck into the back of the net. Mike Hoffman and Yannick Riendeau got the assists on the powerplay effort.

It just took 75 seconds into the second period to strike back. Alex Beaton and Maxime Gratchev played pass and the puck was dished back to Eric Gelinas. Gelinas took a snap shot in the deep slot that went top shelf. Lewiston had another chance when Gabriel Dumont lost his stick in the defensive zone. The Maineiacs were able to a few shots off on Tardif.

Garrett Clarke went to the box for hooking. On the ensuing Drummondville powerplay, Maxime Gratchev skated down the Maineiacs side boards and snapped one past Antoine Tardif’s blocker side. Michael Ward and Alexander Beaton grabbed the assists. The shorthanded tally came at the 7:40 mark. Drummondville got the goal right back when Dany Masse scored on the powerplay at the 9:39 mark. Etienne Brodeur went to the box for goalie interference. Yannick Riendeau and Sean Couturier got the helpers on the play.

There was some physical play at the end of the stanza. Teams traded big hits. Tardif felt the pressure as the Maineiacs came in on him. When he stretched out to make the save, he knocked the net out of place. Yannick Riendeau drilled Marc Bourgeois into the boards. He got a five minute major for hitting from behind. Bourgeois took a minute to get back to his feet. The penalty came with 1:46 left in the period. Lewiston couldn’t get a goal before the end of the period. Drummondville had a great shorthanded chance with three seconds to go. Delmas held his ground on the breakaway.

The Maineiacs couldn’t convert on the remaining 3:14 on Riendeau’s penalty. The Voltigeurs responded for being a man down by retaking the lead. Samson Mahbod got his tenth of the season 4:16 into the period after Delmas couldn’t control the rebound. Mike Hoffman and Dany Masse got the assists. Etienne Brodeur skated in the offensive zone. He whiffed at one opportunity but slid it past Tardif at the 6:49 mark. Marc Bourgeois got the alone assist on the play.

Each team had an opportunity to retake the lead right after the goal. Lewiston went on the powerplay at the 10:28 mark. Michael had the best chance when he rang one of the post. The Maineiacs went on the penalty kill when Etienne Brodeur hooked a player down. The Maineiacs had another great scoring chance while shorthanded. Paquette found a trailing Eric Gelinas but the puck bounced off Gelinas stick. Denis Reul made a great defensive play on the penalty kill.

The game went into overtime. The teams went back and forth in the extra session. The Maineiacs had a great chance on a two on one but the puck bounced off a stick. Peter Delmas stopped Marc-Olivier Vachon who was the first shooter. Lucas LaBelle was the first shooter for the Maineiacs. He made a nice deke and put it past Tardif. Samson Mahbod fooled Delmas and the goal judge but shot it wide. Maxime Gratchev was the second shooter for Lewiston. He made a nice save but Tardif made an even better save. Mike Hoffman was Drummondville’s last shooter. Delmas made the easy save to give the Maineiacs the win.

Each goalie made 22 saves on 25 chances in regulation and the overtime session. The difference maker was Peter Delmas stopping all three shots he saw in the shootout. Lewiston was 0 for 5 with the man advantage. The Voltigeurs were 2 for 6. The three stars were:

3. Peter Delmas

2. Dany Masse

1. Maxime Gratchev

The two teams go at it again Sunday at 4pm in Drummondville.

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