LEWISTON — The bells and whistles won’t all be there, but the hockey game sure will be.
And it should be a doozie.
Thursday, the most storied high school hockey rivalry in New England resumes with the first of two regular-season meetings between Lewiston High School and St. Dominic Academy, and for the first time in recent memory, neither school has yet to suffer a loss.
Not that it matters.
“I look at it, we’re playing St. Dom’s and it wouldn’t matter if they had six losses,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said. “You play St. Dom’s, a team that has the talent they have, we understand it’s going to be a battle and if we don’t execute the game plan well, we’re going to get beat by them.”
“We’re playing for first place, that’s what it comes down to now, ultimately,” St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette said. “The games between us will affect seedings at some point. To start the year, you usually look through the schedule and say, ‘Well, against this team, I at least need a split.’ Hopefully we can accomplish that in the first game.”
Last year, the Great American Rivalry Series featured the February contest between the squads in their national series, and presented photos and national exposure on their Web site at iHigh.com, as well as a pair of scholarships to deserving seniors from each team. With a five-game slate scheduled for Thursday — featuring Lewiston/St. Dom’s games at the middle school, JV, girls, alumni and varsity levels — the series was set to return, until unforeseen circumstances forced them to cancel their entire winter season.
But national exposure or not, it’s still a rivalry game. It’s still THE rivalry game.
“I don’t think the boys were thinking as much about the rivalry game part as much as, we’re playing St. Dom’s,” Belleau said. “Every time we play St. Dom’s, the goal is to win the game.”
Pegged to finish 1-2 in Eastern Class A, neither squad has done anything to diminish those early expectations. Both hold a big win over Western A favorite Thornton Academy to their credit, too.
“This is the first time in several years we’ll be 3-0 going into this game ourselves,” Ouellette said. “It matters, because basically, somebody’s going to be in the driver’s seat for a few weeks anyway, in the division.”
The last time the team’s met was in the playoffs in March. Lewiston, the No. 1 seed in Eastern A, fell flat against the fourth-seeded Saints.
“I think we understand that the last time we played them, it wasn’t this rivalry game, it was the game they beat us in the playoffs,” Belleau said.
“It’s still stuck in our minds that they kicked us out of the playoffs,” Lewiston forward Sam Cloutier said. “We’re not really thinking about the crowd, or that it’s a big event. We’re thinking, it’s St. Dom’s, and we want to beat St. Dom’s.”
On the other side, St. Dom’s is doing its best to leave that last game behind.
“Last year is last year, it’s a whole new season now,” St. Dom’s defenseman Dylan Rodrigue said. “We have friends on that team, of course, but when it comes to Lewiston-St. Dom’s, they’re not our friends at that point.”
Lewiston goalie Cam Poussard is in a particularly unique position. Now a senior, Poussard has played in every game between these two teams since the 2007-08 season.
“It always starts out well when, as a freshman, you shut them out in your second game,” Poussard said, remembering his second career varsity start. “That was incredible. It seems every year, we get even with each other. We’ll go up one game, they’ll beat us the next or the other way around. It goes back and forth.”
This year, a handful of Saints and a dozen Blue Devils get their last kicks at the can, starting Thursday night.
“I’ve grown up watching this rivalry, sitting in the crowd, watching the players fly around the ice,” St. Dom’s senior Alex Parker said. “I’m just happy to be a part of it now. I’m glad there’s meaning to it again.”
“It should be a great day, and if anyone is a hockey fan, if anyone is a high school sports fan, they should come to watch this game,” Ouellette said. “You’re going to come see two pretty well-experienced teams come battle and be competitive. Guys aren’t playing for money here, it’s guys playing for school pride and bragging rights. If anyone is a fan of that, they should be here.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
