On Saturday night in Quebec, the Lewiston MAINEiacs were down, but they certainly weren’t out. Lewiston trailed 4-2 entering the third period, before scoring three times, defeating the Remparts 5-4 in front of 14,964 at Colisee Pepsi. Michael Chaput’s power play goal with 28 seconds left proved to be the difference, as the MAINEiacs maintained their five-point lead over Baie-Comeau in the race for the final playoff spot.

In the first period, it was the Remparts who struck first, as Maxime Gravel and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault scored 62 seconds apart. Cameron Critchlow netted his second goal in as many nights, trimming Quebec’s lead in half at the end of the first period.

Early in the second period, Lewiston drew even, as Jess Tanguy found the back of the net for his 13th goal of the season. However, former MAINEiac Danick Paquette responded, scoring twice to give the Remparts a 4-2 lead after two.

The MAINEiacs’ comeback began at the 3:08 mark in the third, when Samuel Henley picked up his fourth of the season, assisted by Zachary Evans-Renaud and Zachary Shannon. Nine minutes later, it was Tanguy again, knotting the game at four with his second tally of the evening.

Those goals set the stage for the heroics of Michael Chaput. Marc-Olivier Vallerand and Guillaume Rousseau were whistled for back-to-back penalties, giving Lewiston a two-man advantage. With 28 seconds left to play, Chaput made the home team pay, scoring his 26th goal of the season for a 5-4 lead.

From there, the MAINEiacs’ defense held on, picking up two important points. That defense was anchored by Adrien Lemay, who made 25 saves on 29 shots for his 22nd win of the season. Louis Domingue suffered the loss for the Remparts, allowing five goals on 20 shots.

Courtesy of the Lewiston Maineiacs