LEWISTON — Two. Twenty-three. Four.
Lewiston’s shots-on-goal totals by period Monday night were almost symmetrical, but hardly balanced. They told much of the tale in a girls’ hockey showdown at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
If the Blue Devils were to have any chance to spring the upset of the undefeated Scarborough Red Storm, they had to break through in the second stanza.
Instead, Scarborough senior Devan Kane stopped everything — early, late, and repeatedly in the middle — on her way to 29 saves and a 2-0 Red Storm triumph.
“We bounced it around in that crease a little bit, and we just can’t get it over the line, it seems,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “Their goalie played excellent. I give her credit. She’s always tough. She’s not going to give up a lot of goals. You know when she’s in the net your margin of effort is slim, and when you get behind by two, it’s tough.”
Alyssa Hulst and Sami Shoebottom each scored a goal for Scarborough (15-0).
Lewiston (10-4-1) dropped its second straight after a six-game unbeaten streak. The Red Storm also shut out the Blue Devils, 3-0, on Dec. 30, and have outscored their opponents 72-9.
“It’s a confidence booster for us, because Lewiston has always been one of our top teams to play against,” Scarborough coach Caitlin Cashman said. “They play well, they play tough and they play gritty. They can roll out a few lines.”
Then again, so can the Red Storm.
Hulst and Shoebottom, each the daughter of a former Maine Mariners/Portland Pirates hero, scored in a span of just over three minutes late in the first period.
Kane didn’t require any additional help. Among her nearly two dozen stops in the second period were an end-to-end rush by Mikaela Brown and a tip-in try at the goalmouth by Corinne Laberge.
She also stopped a tricky slow roller from the left circle — twice, because the first attempted scoop squirted out of her grasp.
“We’ve been so fortunate all four years. She’s just that type of goalie where if the puck goes in, she laughs it off,” Cashman said. “She has a great mental game. She loves games like this where teams go at her. She thrives in this. I’m like, ‘You’re a wacko,’ but whatever.”
Scarborough also killed off two penalties in the second period and another early in the third.
Kane went down from a collision after making a tough save against Laberge during the second 5-on-4. She shook off the effects, however, and Hulst, Rachel Wallace, Madison O’Reilly, Brenna Kent and Riley McKeown collaborated to stifle the remaining time.
“Second period obviously it helped that we had a few power plays, but still I think we kept the momentum (in the third),” Dumont said. “We were able to solve getting out of the zone and take a little different direction.”
Hulst hit the post in the second period and Shoebottom rang in it in the third.
Lewiston’s Paige Fontaine made 18 saves to keep the Red Storm within reach.
Wallace’s pass from behind the net fed Hulst’s tip-in at 9:41 of the first period.
Shoebottom, a freshman, connected at the end of a pretty two-on-one with classmate Elizabeth Gross at 13:14. Jenna Block set it up with a theft in the Red Storm defensive zone.
“The second one was beautiful. I told the kids, ‘They got you on that one.’ Give credit where credit’s due,” Dumont said. ‘”That was a great passing play and misdirection and everything. The first one, you know, bouncing around in front of the net. It just found its way through.”
Lewiston also fell in a 2-0 hole against Leavitt-Little on Saturday night before falling 3-1 to the Red Hornets.
“With a team like that worth all those (Heal) points, you’d love to get a win, but we keep growing,” Dumont said. “We know darn well they can compete. You’re down 2-0 and sometimes it’s easy to fold up, and we’re not giving up. We’re playing as hard as ever and it shows. That second period got things rolling. Now it’s just putting that little puck in the net.”
For Scarborough, the trick now is to keep from believing its press clippings.
Cashman’s advice has been to avoid reading them.
“I tell the girls all the time, try not to read the paper. It gets into your head. It makes me nervous to be undefeated,” she said. “I didn’t expect where we’re at now, which is great, but it’s just a matter of keeping it in perspective that you still have to work hard. Nothing is guaranteed at all.”
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