Maineiacs come up short in Moncton

Published on: 1st December, 2009 by Nathan Fournier

For the third straight game, the Lewiston Maineiacs played well enough to earn two points, only to come up short in a 2-1 loss to the Moncton Wildcats in front of 3,758 fans at the Moncton Coliseum on Tuesday night.

The loss extends the Maineiacs’ losing streak to ten games.

“The game tonight was similar to Saturday night where played really well and worked really hard,” Lewiston Maineiacs head coach Don MacAdam said.

With the game deadlocked at a 1-1 tie with 5:30 to play in the third period, Daniel Pettersson scored the eventual game winning goal while Moncton was shorthanded.

“For ten seconds we were on the powerplay, we turn the puck over and ten seconds later it’s in the net – there goes the two points,” MacAdam added.

At 12:52, with the Wildcats on a five minute power player, it only took Scott Brannon 12 seconds to find the back of the net, giving Monction a 1-0 lead.

The Maineiacs penalty kill was able to buckle down and Moncton went scoreless for the final 4:48 of their man advantage.

“This group of guys don’t give up,” stated MacAdam. “We can’t seem to find a way to get two points, but it’s not because a lack of effort. These guys work very hard and battle all the time. It’s just one of these stretches where nothing is going in for us.”

Lewiston certainly had their chances in the third period as they outshot the Wildcats 13-10 in the period.

During the first two periods Lewiston only tallied 14 shots and MacAdam credits the Wildcats’ game plan for keeping shots down.

“They got three of the four better defenseman we seen. They are really good taking the shooting lanes and we were going to the middle of the ice more than we should of. They play a defensive style of hockey so it makes it difficult to get the puck through.”

Billy Lacasse tied the contest with an unassisted effort at 8:24 into the third period.

“He came down and he used his outside speed to beat the defenseman wide and shot the puck on goal,” MacAdam said. “It was a great shot and great by play by him. It’s what we do well when we use our speed.”

Adrien Lemay made 30 saves and was named the game’s first star. Shane Owen stopped 26 shots for his second victory this season.

The Maineiacs were 0-for-4 on the powerplay and Moncton was 1-for-5 with the powerplay.

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