LEWISTON — How infrequently is the Lewiston girls’ hockey team giving up goals this season? When it happens, everybody’s off kilter.

After Cheverus scored in the opening period Wednesday night, it took two minutes, two officials and two relocations of the net from its moorings before the puck was found wedged into the padding.

How efficient are the Blue Devils at the other end of the ice? Let’s just say the Stags probably wouldn’t have cared if the search took a little longer.

Lewiston scored five times in the first period. And after surrendering its first goal of the season, the Devils’ defense dug in and polished off a 7-2 victory at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

The Blue Devils (3-0) have outscored early-season foes Mt. Ararat, Brunswick and now Cheverus by a combined margin of 16-2.

“Other than the first-game jitters, we’re trying to make that something we do all the time and make a practice of getting started quickly, because you never know what you’re up against,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “We’re getting to play a lot of kids and everything, which is good.”

And most of them are getting into the scoring column. Eight different Devils scored at least one point against the Stags (0-1-1).

Erica Lemieux had two goals and two assists and Corinne Laberge added a pair of goals and one assist to lead Lewiston. Sam Cote, Erin Hubbard and Emily Turner each chipped in a goal.

“We’ve worked on forechecking a lot and getting up to the puck as quick as we can, and passing. Passing is a big one,” said Turner, a senior co-captain. “Just talking it out a lot helps. The faster we start, the better we keep up the pace definitely.”

Jill Hannigan delivered both Cheverus goals. Paige Fontaine made 10 of her 19 saves in the third period for the Devils.

“One of the things is that Paige doesn’t really get to get into a rhythm,” Dumont said. “And 13 (Hannigan) is a good shooter, and it’s hard when you’ve been sitting in a shell, not getting a lot of business. That’s something we’re going to have to deal with.”

Laberge provided the first-period highlight with two goals in a 15-second span. That outburst also supplied Lewiston’s response after Cheverus celebrated its glimmer of hope when Hannigan dropped the deficit to 3-1.

The sophomore followed her own shot after Cheverus goalie Taylor Courtois initially cradled the puck in her glove. She juggled it, however, and Laberge was there for the follow-up when it wound up on the ice at 8:14. Megan Pare notched an assist.

Lemieux set up Laberge’s encore at 8:29 to put the game out of reach. Lewiston went into keep-away mode for the remainder of the period, shooting only selectively.

“We kind of backed off our top two lines, the blue and the gray line, to give the other kids a chance to play,” Dumont said.

Pressure was mostly even in the second period, but that didn’t stop the Devils from padding their advantage to 7-1.

Cote delivered the first goal on the bang-bang play of the game at the 1:38 mark of the second. Laberge lasered a centering pass from the right circle, and Cote deflected it home. Lemieux was credited with another helper.

“We’ve been playing with each other for a long time,” Cote said. “And we’ve been playing all our lines, so they’re all getting game time and learning how to make it happen.”

Lemieux landed her second of the night at 6:35 with contributions from Mikaela St. Laurent and Hubbard.

Lewiston scored three times in the first 5:27 to take command.

Turner ignited the Devils by cashing in St. Laurent’s feed from behind the net.

Blocked shots at the point by Pare and Chloe Morin led to an uncontested rush by Hubbard from the Lewiston blue line and a 2-0 lead.

Lemieux got into the act from long range, set up by Field, prior to the first of Hannigan’s two blistering connections.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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