Nordiques forward Charles Tardif attempts to tip a shot past Maryland goaltender Owen Lepak in second-period action Friday at The Colisee in Lewiston. Ron Morin photo
LEWISTON — Friday’s game was the Nick Romeo and Laurent Trepanier show for the Maine Nordiques.
Romeo scored two goals and had an assist, while Trepanier assisted on three scores for the Nordiques in their 4-1 victory over the Maryland Black Bears in a NAHL East Division contest at The Colisee.
Trepanier joined Romeo on a line with Jake Bernadet.
“I thought our breakout and connection was good today,” Romeo said. “I thought it built throughout the whole game. To get three points with (Trepanier), we had great chemistry going.”
Maine Nordiques coach Nick Skerlick wanted to move Trepanier away from the center position and put him on the wing.
“It was his first game playing left wing in seven years,” Skerlick said. “…He was incredible; he listened to every detail, and he worked so friggin’ hard. It was awesome to see him succeed.”
Skerlick said the move gives Trepanier a chance to use his straight-line speed more than at the center position.
Cody Pisarczyk contributed two third-period goals for the Nordiques (6-3-2, 14 points).
Maryland goalie Owen Lepak (36 saves) stood out early in the first period, shutting down Bernadet twice, including once on a breakaway. He also made another stop on Bernadet later in the period.
Black Bears (9-3-1, 19 points) coach Clint Mylymok said Lepak did his job.
“I thought he was our best player,” Mylymok said. “It was his first game and he was more than solid. He showed up on time.”
The Nordiques used their speed to generate chances in the opening period, but Lepak continued to make saves.
“I think there were a lot of guys sorry about the effort and attitude we gave last week,” Skerlick said. “We changed up everything we ran except the breakout. We changed our power play, we changed our forecheck and our neutral zone forecheck. I couldn’t believe the first five minutes how bought in — it’s frustrating because they can listen. It’s a big test for them the next 49 games.”
Skerlick said the new neutral zone forecheck will allow the Nordiques to make defensive plays, but also allows the team to gain speed on transition plays through the neutral zone.
Maine finally got one past Lepak on a power play late in the first. Trepanier fired a shot on goal from the slot that Lepak blocked, but the puck sat in the crease until Romeo poked it past the goal line with under two minutes remaining.
Defenseman Nick Bernardo had a secondary assist on the play.
“It was a nice shot by Bernardo and (Trepanier) got it and put it right there,” Romeo said. “I was lucky enough to get a little tap in. It felt good after a rough last week.”
Things got chippy in the middle frame when Maine’s Grant Dietz and Maryland’s Sebastian Backman each got two minutes for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct. There were a few more dust-ups throughout the period.
Maine almost scored on its lone power play in the middle frame, but Lepak was steady in his crease and stopped the shots.
The Nordiques, meanwhile, kept the Black Bears’ chances to a minimum and only forced goalie Thomas Heaney (34 saves) to make the initial save so he didn’t see many rebounds in the second period.
“There were a lot of perimeter shots and my defense was able to clear the guys out in front of the net,” Heaney said. “They made it easy for me to see the shots.”
Maryland kept the puck in the offensive zone early in the third period but didn’t have many Grade-A chances on Heaney.
Pisarczyk gave the Nordiques some insurance midway through the third period when he crashed the net to put home the second tally. Romeo and Trepanier had the helpers.
Romeo scored his second goal when Trepanier sent the puck into the slot from the right sideboards and Romeo poked the puck with his stick through Lepak’s five-hole with 4:52 remaining in the third period.
“It was a nice pass to find me and I just went five-hole,” Romeo said.
Maryland broke Heaney’s shutout bid with 3:33 remaining when Jesse Horacek’s shot found the back of the net.
Pisarczyk potted an empty-net goal with under two minutes remaining in the game.
The teams meet again Saturday night at The Colisee at 7 p.m.
Mylymok said the Black Bears need to erase the loss from their memory.
“I think after a game like that, throw it out, hit the reset button, and offensively be better, be sharper, get pucks to the net,” Mylymok said. “I thought our timing was off; when we (shot), our guys were late.”
Maine defenseman Luke Chappelle, right, battles with Maryland’s Luke Janus as Nordiques goaltender Thomas Heaney looks on during Friday’s game at The Colisee in Lewiston. Ron Morin photo
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