LEWISTON — When it comes to high school hockey in Maine, there is no better rivalry than St. Dominic Academy and Lewiston High School.
The two schools are decorated with a tradition and they have an expectation of winning. They have 44 state titles between them and a slew of regional titles dating back to 1938. The rivalry has become a family tradition, with parents and grandparents of current players participating in the crosstown clash when they were high schoolers.
Since the Saints’ transition to Eastern A following the 2009 season, the road to the state title game has each year but one brought the two programs together for a final, high-stakes postseason clash. St. Dom’s and Lewiston have met in the playoffs four of the past five years, but haven’t met in the regional final since 2012. The Saints have won three of the four meetings, including the the past two.
Tuesday, the teams add another chapter to the rivalry when they battle for a spot in the state championship game at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
“It’s going to be high-energy, high-intensity,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said. “There’s a lot of rivalries in high school sports, this one doesn’t really take a backseat to any. It’s what you hope for. You play at Lewiston High School, you have a chance to win a championship. Normally, you’re going to have to go through St. Dom’s and that’s what we get. We’re going to give them everything we have.”
The Saints won the regular season series, 1-0-1, but the Blue Devils were the only team other than Falmouth to blemish the Saints’ record. That tie came on Jan. 3 at Norway Savings Bank Arena. Lewiston led three times, only to have St. Dom’s come back and tie it each time. Caleb Labrie drew the teams even one final time at 3-3, scoring with 4:30 left in regulation.
The second meeting went to St. Dom’s, 5-2, at the same venue where the teams will meet tonight. The Saints never trailed, getting a hat trick from Labrie and two more from Brad Berube. The win came despite missing five players — Austin Roy, Ryan Lutrzykowski, Dillon Pratt, Brian Bonenfant and Noah Toussaint — who’ve combined for 33 goals and 32 assists this season.
St. Dom’s depth has been a big reason for its success this season.
“I think it shows we tend to plug holes or fill in voids that need to be as the game moves on or try to change something momentum-wise if we need to,” St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette said. “It is nice being able to reach back in that tank and look down and see you have a kid who is 5-10 or 5-11, weights 175-180 pounds as opposed to maybe that younger, smaller kid. Size and strength always helps.”
Both teams have been playing their best hockey as of late, and neither has conceded a goal in the playoffs. Lewiston’s Nick Hawk and Jacob Strout each pitched shutouts in their respective playoff games, and St. Dom’s Kyle Welsh blanked Edward Little in the Saints’ regional semifinal contest. Hawk, Strout, Welsh and St. Dom’s Ridge Servidio have all seen time in net this season against their rival. As has been the case all season, no one outside their respective locker rooms will know who gets the nod until the starting lineups are announced.
While the goaltending has been sharp all season for both clubs, it’s not the only reason for their success.
“It starts with the defense with the blueliners but the reality is it’s good team defense,” Belleau said. “You have five guys on the ice for a reason, when you’re in the defensive zone or the neutral zone and the offensive zone, when you don’t have possession of the puck, you have five guys on the ice and you have five guys who have responsibilities and we take a lot of proud of making use our guys know what their responsibilities are. As much as a tip my hat to the defensive side, it’s really a team effort. We need all five guys on the ice executing on the defensive side of the puck.”
The Saints allow 1.9 goals per game. The Blue Devils surrender a shade more at 2.4 goals per game.
“I know it’s going to be a very big battle between both teams,” Lewiston senior Joey Frechette said. “That’s pretty much what it’s going to be. It’s going to be a big battle, a big game to play.”
With some much firepower on both rosters, both Belleau and Ouellette said they can’t focus their attention on just one or two players. Brendon Croteau has had the most success in the scoring category against the Saints, registering two goals and an assist. But there’s also Jeromey Rancourt (18 goals, 14 assists), Kyle Morin (11 g, 9 a) and Griffin Wade (9 g, 9 a) among others who can light the lamp for the Blue Devils.
It’s the same for the Saints. Labrie has torched Lewiston in two games with five goals and an assist. Berube has two goals and three assists. There’s also Roy (12 g, 11 a), Adam Poulin (8 g, 14 a), Toussaint (8g, 10 a) and Pratt (6 g, 6 a).
“We’ve got some guys who can finish,” Ouellette said. “We’ve got some guys who can play the muscle game and work the front of the net. We do have a lot of guys who can really fire the puck. We’ve got a lot of guys who’ve put up points, who’ve had success. The wealth has been spread around. I don’t think you can just key on those two (Berube and Labrie).”
The two teams have experienced similar success on the ice, but their rosters are something that sets them apart. The Saints have 11 seniors and nine juniors. The Blue Devils feature four seniors and seven juniors.
“We just, especially the seniors, have to give it our all,” Berube said. “We can leave nothing out there. Give 110 percent. … We have to skate fast. they have good offense and defense. We just have to get shots on their goalie.”
As for nerves, a game of this magnitude affects seniors as well as freshmen.
“You hope you have a certain level of confidence each game you go on and I think that’ll be the case, but they’re playing St. Dom’s at the Colisee for a regional final,” Belleau said. “I suspect kids in both locker rooms will be holding their sticks a little tight, adrenaline will be flowing. But that’s what it’s all about. It’s part of the adversity you’re going to face and you have to hope your kids respond to it well.”
“There’s going to be nerves no matter what year you are with what’s at stake,” Ouellette added. “For the seniors it’s down to those final moments. There is no next year. I hope the experience turns out to be a big advantage, but we’ll find out. Sometimes youthfulness and energy can create a lot of things as well.”
Either St. Dom’s or Lewiston has played in the state final in 12 of the past 14 seasons, and the teams have represented the East in five consecutive years.
Lewiston hasn’t won a state title, though, since 2002, while St. Dom’s drought stretches to 2000.
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