The radio voice of the Lewiston MAINEiacs Jeff Mannix checks in from the KC Irving Centre… 

This is the stretch of games that fans and pundits alike have been looking toward, at least a week ago, were saying may sink the Lewiston MAINEiacs chances of winning the Eastern Division. Just 11 games remain in the regular season, and Lewiston,whose win in its last road game at Shawinigan a week ago, was just its fourth since December 8, the MAINEiacs must play eight of them, including their next five, away from the Androscoggin Bank Colisse.

The swing begins tonight, as the MAINEiacs begin an important two-game series against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

The MAINEiacs have dominated the season series against Acadie-Bathurst so far, winning five of the six meetings to this point. The Titan’s only victory came in Bathurst on December 10 by a score of 6-2. Two of Acadie-Bathurst’s losses to Lewiston have come beyond regulation, one 3-2 overtime loss in Lewiston on November 7, then the 3-2 shootout loss on February 2.

Acadie-Bathurst is 4-4-0-2 over their last 10, while Lewiston is 7-3 in its last 10. The Titan won their last game, a 7-2 trouncing of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Sunday at home. Lewiston has won their last three since the big forward line shift of last Thursday, the last two in convincing fashion. Lewiston has scored 13 goals in their last two games.

Perhaps the biggest player to emerge from a funk during that time, though, is Marc-Andre Cliche. Since returning from the World Junior Championship, he was not good in the two weeks before he sustained multiple injuries in a hit in the January 25 game at Halifax. Since his return at Saint John on February 7, he has been very good. He has broken out over the last two games as he has scored four goals over the last two games.

The Titan will be without rookie goalie Antoine Tardif for the weekend, as he has left to play for Team Quebec at the Canada Games. MAINEiacs netminder Peter Delmas was to play for Team Nova Scotia, but because of the injury to Jonathan Bernier, Delmas has stayed with the team, and will continue to be the starter until Bernier has healed.

This five-game stretch will be important for the MAINEiacs. These next two against Acadie-Bathurst have to be considered games that the MAINEiacs should win. Especially, when you look at the last three games of the trip: @ Gatineau March 1, @ Rouyn-Noranda March 2, and @ Val d’Or March 3. The western Quebec trip is always a tough to win, but it is especially tough this year, as Gatineau is currently second place in the division, Rouyn-Noranda is sixth, but five points out of second place, and Val d’Or has a nine-point lead on the rest of the division. Add to the fact that Gatineau was dominated and embarrassed for 50 minutes of the game in Lewiston last Sunday, and you will have a determined team to try and show they are not the team that showed up in Lewiston last weekend.

And just because the MAINEiacs should beat the Titan, it doesn’t mean the will. The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles were supposed to beat the Saint John Sea Dogs and St. John’s Fog Devils at home last weekend and didn’t. The Eagles did close the gap for the division lead to four points with a 2-1 win in St. John’s, Newfoundland last night. The two teams finish a two-game series there tonight. The MAINEiacs currently have two games in hand on Cape Breton, but that will go away on Saturday.

This is an important trip for Lewiston. It starts tonight at 6:30 eastern time. Join me for the IBEW/NECA Pregame Show, beginning at 6:00 on 1470 ESPN Radio.