Favoured Maineiacs take Game 1 of quarterfinal series from Herd  
Mooseheads lose steam in third period
MATTHEW WUEST
The Daily News

Chad Denny and the Lewiston Maineiacs made sure Good Friday was a bad day for the Halifax Mooseheads.

Denny, a defenceman from Eskasoni, potted a hat trick to lift the heavily favoured Maineiacs to an 8-4 victory over the Mooseheads in the opener of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League best-of-seven quarterfinals last night in Lewiston, Me.

The Mooseheads, 35-point underdogs, trailed by just a goal, 5-4, after two periods, but came unhinged in the third as the Maineiacs scored three unanswered goals to seal it.

"We played for 40 minutes, but they just outworked us in the third period," said Mooseheads right-winger Bryce Swan, a 19-year-old from Alder Point who netted a pair of goals.

"They bombarded (the goaltenders) and turnovers led to goals, opportunities and so on. We have to play a whole game, because we were with them for 40 minutes."

Cannonading point blast

Denny, an Atlanta Thrashers draft choice known for his cannonading point blast, scored two of his goals on one-timers on the power play and another racing off the wing on a turnover.

Maineiacs fans rained down dozens of hats - a sombrero included - while Denny wore a wide smile and grabbed the puck for safekeeping.

"It's a huge win for us," Denny said. "We needed this. We have home ice, and we needed to get a win to start the series."

The Maineiacs showed why they were the QMJHL's top team in the regular season, attacking with speed and a hard edge to keep the Mooseheads' defence on its heels. They had plenty of odd-man rushes near the end and finished with 46 shots to the Mooseheads' 26.

The turning point came 13 seconds into the third, when Maineiacs captain Marc-Andre Cliche made it 6-4 on a penalty shot, beating Roger Kennedy, who had attempted a poke check.

But Cliche appeared to stop moving forward on the play, which is not permitted, and the Mooseheads argued it shouldn't have counted.

"One of the refs said he was stickhandling with it, and (that's why) it was a goal. The (other) ref that I talked to said he thought from his angle he stopped, and it shouldn't have been a goal," Swan said. "But we can't control that. We shouldn't have given them the breakaway that led to it.

"Unfortunately, I think that sank our ship right there."

The Mooseheads pulled starting goaltender Mark Yetman in the second period while trailing 4-2. Yetman had faced 22 shots. Kennedy came on in relief and finished with 20 saves.

Mooseheads head coach Cam Russell said he will not make a decision on his Game 2 starter until this morning.

It's a quick turnaround, as Lewiston hosts Halifax again tonight at 8 p.m.

Lost opener to Wildcats

For what it's worth, the Mooseheads also lost the opener in the last round, but eventually defeated the Moncton Wildcats.

"You could look at that as an omen, but we're not going to, obviously," Swan said. "We're down one game and we're that much closer to elimination. We don't want to be in this situation, and we have to come out and give our best effort."

NOTES: The Maineiacs have lost just six of 38 home games this season, none since Feb. 11 ... The Mooseheads scratched forwards Yuri Cheremetiev and Eric Louis-Seize ... Defencemen Graham Bona (3/4u), and Jiri Suchy (hamstring) sat with injuries.

mwuest@hfxnews.ca

highlight reel

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

Best-of-seven quarterfinals

At Androscoggin Bank Colisee, Lewiston, Me.

Yesterday

l SCORE: Lewiston Maineiacs 8, Halifax Mooseheads 4.

- SCORERS: Maineiacs - Chad Denny 3, Stefano Giliati 2, David Perron, Chris Tutalo, Marc-Andre Cliche; Mooseheads - Bryce Swan 2, Jakub Voracek, Ryan Seymour.

- WHAT IT MEANS: Lewiston takes a 1-0 lead in the series and hosts Halifax for Game 2 tonight at 8 p.m.

- ATTENDANCE: 3,283.