LEWISTON — Scarier for Lewiston’s future opponents than the Blue Devils’ six goals and 39 shots on goal against Bangor on Wednesday is the defensive stat line from the third period: three shots against.

Colt Steele paced the offense with a pair of goals and Cam Poussard added to his guady career numbers with 13 saves on 13 shots to post his 48th career win and 22nd career shutout as Lewiston downed Bangor 6-0 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

“We knew Bangor was going to come in here pumped,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said. “Since the last time we played them, they’ve had some bumps in the road and they needed to beat a so-called Tier-I team, so I knew they were going to be hungry, and the kids knew they were going to be hungry. I was really impressed with the way we came out and played.”

The Rams (6-6-0) tested Poussard early, and most of the limited shots they managed were quality offerings. But Poussard was equal to the task, as he usually is.

“It’s not like he didn’t get any quality shots, either,” Belleau said. “His focus and athleticism are wonderful right now, he’s making the big stop when we need it, and the team builds off that, as well.”

Offensively, Lewiston is missing one-third of its devastating top line with Ben Wigant sitting out indefinitely due to an injury. Steele and Sam Cloutier, the other pieces of that top line, partnered with a few players Wednesday, and the end result was the same.

“Of course (Wigant) is a big loss,” Belleau said. “But we have to overcome that, and we have to play the games. We’ve played Thornton and Bangor and won 6-3 and 6-0 without Ben, so if Ben gets healthy, we get a trade deadline pickup, so to speak. Most of all, what we hope for is that Ben gets healthy and things work out for him…The rest of the team is going to have to pick it up; that’s the bottom line.”

On the other end, Bangor goalie Chris Howat was nothing short of stellar, stopping 33 of 39 shots in the loss.

“He was phenomenal,” Bangor coach Denis Collins said. “You can only stop so much rubber in one night.”

Through most of the first period, Bangor hung with Lewiston, a minor victory in itself, according to Collins.

“We consider that a success,” Collins said. “Any time we can stay with a team like that for a period it’s good. Obviously they’re good, they’re deep, they’re skilled and their goalie is excellent.”

Devon Beland caught Howat napping to put the Blue Devils on the board first.

After an evenly-played period during which both teams had chances to score, the clocked ticked into the final minute of the first frame with the teams still deadlocked.

Steele, at the end of a shift, saw the rest of his line change, gained the red line and dumped the puck. Beland, on with the new line, rushed after it behind the cage and, encountering less resistance than he thought he might, swung to the front of the net at the bottom of the left circle. He wristed the puck short side, catching Howat by surprise, to put Lewiston on top by a goal.

Lewiston carried the early momentum in the second period, launching seven shots on Howat in the opening 2:30 of the frame. Poussard saw just one shot in the stretch, but it was a doozie, as Phil Frost escaped on a breakaway. Poussard stopped his offering to keep the Rams off the board.

Steele cashed in on a long outlet feed from Jake Bergeron at 3:54 of the second to double the Devils’ lead, beating Howat with a snap shot short side from 25 feet out at the left circle.

Matt Melanson and Steele firmly entrenched Lewiston in the lead with goals 46 seconds apart later in the middle frame. Melanson finished a 3-on-0 with a shot through Howat’s five-hole after a Bangor defender fell flat trying to stop a 3-on-1, and Steele netted his second on a turn-around wrister through traffic that also danced through Howat’s pads.

“We broke the ice, so to speak, got a couple of goals there in the second,” Belleau said. “After that, I thought we handled the game pretty well.”

The Blue Devils tacked on two more in the third, one each from Cody Dussault and Matt Therrien.

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