Lewiston Maineiacs goaltender Nicholas Champion has been turning heads in the greater Lewiston/Auburn area all season.

His efforts last week turned heads across the Canadian Hockey League.

The CHL announced Wednesday that Champion is the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending November 21.

Champion won two games last week in as many night, posting a goals-against-average of 1.94 and save percentage of .940.

Champion backstopped the Maineiacs to a key East Division win over the top-ranked Quebec Remparts on Friday night with 34 saves, including 14 in the third period, to preserve the 4-3 victory. On Saturday he continued his strong play with 29 saves, including four in the extra frame, defeating the Shawinigan Cataractes 2-1 in overtime. 

Champion, a 20-year-old keeper from Labrador City, Newfoundland, is playing in his fourth season in the Q and first with the Maineiacs. He leads the QMJHL with 16 wins and is among the league leaders in goals-against-average with a mark of 2.29, and save percentage at .908.

According to the CHL, Scott Wedgewood of the Plymouth Whalers was also considered for the award after winning two games and posting a goals-against-average of 1.50 and save percentage of .952. In the WHL, Laurent Brossoit of the Edmonton Oil Kings earned first star honors with a 3-0 shutout win over the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday night with 32 saves.

Champion is the fourth QMJHL keeper to be honored this season. His wins Friday and Saturday came against two of the other honored QMJHL goalies — Gabriel Girard of Shawinigan (Oct. 18-24) and Louis Domingue of Quebec (Sept. 23-26). Evan Mosher of the PEI Rocket also earned the honor this year (Oct. 25-31).

Powerless

Despite the success the Maineiacs have enjoyed on the penalty kill this season, one of the team’s pitfalls has been its play on the power play.

After a hot start in that department, the Maineiacs have cooled considerably. Lewiston is 19-for-106 overall on the power play for an efficiency rate of just 17.9 percent, 12th-best in the 18-team league.

“I’m confident that we have the right players on the power play,” Maineiacs’ coach J.F. Houle said. “It’s a matter of maybe switching their positions, or maybe of movement during the play. It’s about confidence with the puck and moving the puck well. We’re working on it. The fact that we’re doing well without it makes us that mush more dangerous when it starts to work for us.”

Still dinged up

Several players walked around the Maineiacs’ locker room with ice packs and wraps Tuesday, but none, according to Houle, are hurt badly enough to be an absolute, 100 percent scratch for Wednesday’s contest.

Even Jonah Coonishish-Coon, who’s been out for some time recovering from an upper-body injury, is a possibility to play this weekend.

One player who will not hit the ice in a game this weekend is goalie Andrey Makarov, who’s still feeling the effects of being hit in the head with a puck during warmups a couple weeks back, just as he was returning from a groin injury.

Scouting the Sags

The bread and butter of the Sags’ lineup this season has been goaltender Christopher Gibson.

Earlier this month, NHL Central Scouting came out with its list of the top prospects from each league for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. The top goaltender listed in the QMJHL was Gibson, whose sophomore season in the Q has started strong. The 18-year-old keeper leads the league in goals against average (2.20) and save percentage (.928).

In the season series to date, Lewiston and Chicoutimi have each earned a win on home ice. The teams meet for the third time out of six scheduled meetings this season Wednesday.

On Sept. 18, the Sagueneens erased a pair of one-goal deficits in a 5-4 shootout win at Centre Georges Vezina. Then, on Oct. 13, the Maineiacs earned a 3-1 win at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. Former Maineiacs forward Billy Lacasse has factored in all five goals for Chicoutimi , while Etienne Brodeur has four points to lead Lewiston .

This from the Maineiacs’ stat department: Tonight marks the 32nd all-time meeting between the Maineiacs and Sagueneens. Chicoutimi has the lead in the all-time series, winning 16 times. Lewiston has 14 wins against the Saguenéens, and there has also been one tie. The Maineiacs have had the edge at home, as they have won ten of the 16 games played at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, including that 3-1 decision earlier this year.

Guillaume Asselin has recorded 14 goals for the Sags, the lone player in the team’s lineup with more than 10 goals. Rock Regimbald has four goals and a team-high 20 assists.

Chicoutimi brings to town the 15th-ranked power play in the league (15.8 percent), and the 16th-ranked PK at 75.3 percent.