Maine Hockey Journal

Gratchev and Wright lead the way

Lewiston, Me– For the second time in three games, the Lewiston Maineiacs got another great goaltending effort. This time it was Phillip Wright who made 32 saves in the 3-1 victory over the Val d’Or Foreurs. Maxime Gratchev led the way with a hat trick. Maxime Sauve spoiled Wright’s shutout bid with three minutes remaining in the contest.

Alexandre Monahan went to the sin bin at the 1:41 mark. Lewiston had one great offensive chance on the man advantage. Eric Gelinas got into it next to the Val d’Or bench. Lucas LaBelle was called for roughing at the 4:21 mark. The Foreurs couldn’t get anything on Phillip Wright on the powerplay.

With 11:55 remaining, Danick Paquette found himself in the penalty box. Just a minute later, Michael Ward went to the penalty box. Val d’Or shot one high. The Maineiacs killed off the penalty. Eric Gelinas went to the box with 5:38 mark. Paquette had a chance while shorthanded.

There was some physical play in Lewiston’s zone. At the end of the period, players exchanged pleasantries. No one got a penalty.

Reul gets thrown into Val d’Or’s net. Jason Legault went to the box 71 seconds into the stanza. The Maineiacs gave up a short handed chance. Phillip Wright made the save. The Foreurs continued the pressure while shorthanded. The Maineiacs went back on the powerplay when Jonathan Hazen went to the box at the 3:59 mark. Lewiston had a flurry on Raffaele D’Orso.

With 12:51 remaining, Steeven Jacques went to the box. Wright came up big to keep the game scoreless. Garrett Clarke was nailed at center ice. There was no initial call came but Dominic Savoie challenged Alexandre Carrier. After the media timeout, they put a five minute major for elbowing with 9:45 left in the stanza. He also got a game misconduct.

Marco Scandella drilled Maxime Gratchev. Danick Paquette quickly challenged Scandella to a fight. Scandella wrestled Paquette to the ground. Samuel Morneau went to the sin bin with 2:01 remaining on the major penalty. Maxime Gratchev made it 1-0 with a shot from the slot with 6:45 left in the middle frame. Alexander Beaton got the lone assist. Lewiston still had some powerplay time left.

With 3:27 remaining Gratchev found the back of the net for the second time. Beaton picked up his second assist and Michael Ward also got the assist. Maxime Lévesque sat for two minutes for boarding when he was called for boarding.

Val d’Or killed the rest of the penalty. Paquette was able to hit the side of the net. Marc Bourgeois got called got a five minute major for high sticking. He also picked up a game misconduct at the 4:26 mark. Gratchev broke in all alone but Marco Scandella tripped him up. Scandella went to the sin bin at the 5:31 mark.

Lewiston killed off the major penalty. Jean-François Caron made an open ice hit on Sean Stagles. Clarke challenged Caron but Caron didn’t want to go with Clarke. Paquette and Morneau each got a roughing call at the 8:16 mark.

Val d’Or put some pressure on Phillip Wright. Lewiston had a 2 on 1 but the shot went wide. The Foreurs came right back and had an open net but missed. A minute later, Val d’Or round itself on the scoreboard when Maxime Sauvé beat Wright on the blocker side with three minutes remaining. Alexandre Monahan and Jonathan Hazen grabbed the assists. 13 seconds later, Paquette went to the sin bin. Val d’Or couldn’t convert.

With 26 seconds left, Gratchev completed the hat trick as he put one in the open net. Paquette got the lone assist.

Phillip Wright made 32 saves in the victory. Raffaele D’Orso made 19 saves on 21 shots. Lewiston was 1 for 6 on the man advantage. Val d’Or was 0 for 8. The three stars were:

Maxime Sauve (Val d’Or)

Phillip Wright (Lewiston)

Maxime Gratchev (Lewiston)

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply