MAINEiacs celebrate ‘Pink in the Rink’ with 7-2 route of Tigres

Lewiston, ME–The Lewiston MAINEiacs returned to the friendly confines of the Androscoggin Bank Colisee fresh off a five-day, four-game road trip to Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d’Or and treated the 2,208 fans on hand for the annual ‘Pink in the Rink’ night with a 7-2 drubbing of the Victoriaville Tigres.

“It’s pretty cool to do something special like [‘Pink in the Rink’] for a good cause,” said Cameron Critchlow about the special event raising money and awareness about breast cancer. “It brings a lot of energy.”

The energy was evident as Lewiston scored six straight unanswered goals including two goals and an assist from Olivier Dame-Malka, who lead a balanced Lewiston attack that boasted 12 of 18 skaters with a point. Meanwhile, Nicholas Champion held strong in net to turn away 16 of 18 shots.

“I feel like I’m in top shape, you know,” said Dame-Malka after the game, “the team played really well. All of my goals were a result of nice passes and nice plays.”

It took Lewiston just 35 seconds to take a 1-0 lead, as a Victoriaville turnover in the neutral zone proved costly after Frederic Tanguay slipped a pass to Etienne Brodeur who tapped the puck inside the right post for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

A couple of goals on special teams would give Lewiston a 3-0 advantage heading into the locker rooms for intermission.

First, with Lewiston on the penalty kill, Antoine Houde-Caron forced a turnover just inside his defensive zone and was off to the races. Brodeur’s speed created a two-on-one with Houde-Caron who decided to keep it for himself to bet David Honzik glove side for the shorthanded goal and a 2-0 lead.

Lewiston struck again at 15:01 in the first on a power play goal by defensemen Oliver Dame-Malka, who slapped home a feed from Samuel Carrier and Tanguy just as a five-on-three advantage came to an end.

The second period was much of the same for the MAINEiacs, as Dame-Malka scored his second of the game at 2:55. The goal looked to be a harmless slap shot from the blueline, however it tipped off Honzik’s glove and into the back of the net.

The wheels continued to come off from there for Victoriaville’s goalie. At 10:00 in the second, Honzig made a mess of a puck in front of his own net and left it sitting for Tanguy to deposit Lewiston’s second power play goal of the night. The fifth goal allowed would mark the end of the night for Honzik who allowed eight goals and made 13 saves of 18 shots.

Antonio Mastropietro entered the game in between the pipes for Victoriaville and was greeted by Samuel Henley who was able to push home the sixth Lewiston goal through a crowd in front of the net.

Victoriaville would find their way onto the board at 15:34 in the third on a shorthanded goal by Phillip Danault with assists from Samuel Groulx and Philip-Michael Devos. The assist for Devos was his 16th of the season, which now puts him at 21 points in just ten games.

The goal spoiled Champion’s bid for his first shutout of the season, instead he will settle for his fourth win of the season to improve to 4-2.

“We really wanted the shutout for him,” said Dame-Malka, “he deserved it.”

Mastropietro finished strong for Victoriaville, turning away 11 of the 13 shots he faced. His teammate Honzik took the loss and fell to 1-5.

Both sides would exchange late power play goals to round up the scoring. Samuel Carrier struck at 16:34 for Lewiston and Vincent Marcoux at 14:51 for Victoriaville.

The MAINEiacs enjoyed a three-for-nine night on the power play, while the Tigres scored once in four tries with the man advantage.

NOTES: The Lewiston MAINEiacs 5-4-0-2 (12 pts) and the Victoriaville Tigres 4-5-0-1 (9 pts) will face-off again on Sunday afternoon from the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. The puck is scheduled to drop at 4:00 p.m.

The Three Stars of the Game:
1: Olivier Dame-Malka
2: Jess Tanguy
3: Antoine Houde-Caron

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