LEWISTON — Lewiston and St. Dom’s have long been rivals in hockey — and most other things, too. This season, both teams faced off in Tuesday’s North Final boys hockey game — and tension and excitement filled the Colisee.
To put into perspective how many people were at Tuesday night’s game, the entire residential downtown of Lewiston had been turned into a glorified parking lot lined with double-parked cars, allowing just enough space for a compact car to squeeze through. The Colisee’s lot had filled up early, and so had the nearby side streets and lots.
No one paid much attention to the “no parking this side of street” signs and parked in the middle of the street like they owned it.
That’s how full the rink was.
The magic of the Lewiston vs. St. Dom’s rivalry is that when the big games come around, the energy and school spirit does, too.
Every section of seating was jam-packed, and it was difficult to tell where one side started and the other ended. The only indicator was the shift of color from black-and-white to blue.
Seats were stuffed with students, staff, families and alumni from both schools.
Students decked out their side of the stadium with streamers and handmade posters, throwing confetti and cheering on their friends on the ice.
A few extra-dedicated students were covered in facepaint and glitter, literally embodying school spirit.
Lewiston students seemed to use their sheer numbers to their advantage, toning down the intensity of their cheers.
What St. Dom’s students lacked in numbers, they made up for in volume. Their “super-spirit” student section had a constant barrage of cheers ready to go, chanting, “I believe that we will win!”
You could feel the tense rivalry from the sheer energy emanating from the crowd and the players. Every possession change and approach to the goal had everyone on their feet, shrieking and hollering in the hopes that their team would score.
These two school have a lot of differences, it seems, in the fans, teams and schools themselves. But there’s one thing they have in common — an undeniable passion for hockey.
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