BRUNSWICK — Brunswick scored in the closing seconds of regulation to tie its girls’ hockey game against Lewiston/Oak Hill/Monmouth and again in overtime to win 3-2 on Monday.
The last four goals of Monday night’s contest came at particularly inopportune times for the opposing teams.
The first two came from the Blue Devils, who scored at the beginning of both the second and third periods. One, just 22 seconds into the second, tied the game, and the other gave the visitors their first lead of the night and all the momentum.
But back came Brunswick, somehow still alive in the final seconds of regulation and desperate for an equalizer. Jenna Brooks found it with a mere four seconds left on the clock, and Victoria Stevens tapped in the game-winner in overtime to secure an improbable Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win.
Even 10 seconds prior to the game-tying goal, the Dragons looked down and out.
“I was just looking for the net, looking for my teammates,” Brooks said. “It just so happened that I got the rebound.”
“The players just never gave up,” Brunswick coach Dave Boucher said. “Had a 2-on-1, lost the puck, got it back, got it in front, shot, rebound. That’s some good concentration by our team.”
It didn’t look game-changing at the time, but in the final minute of regulation, Brunswick (3-3) goaltender Marilyn Daniel made an acrobatic save across the face of goal to keep the Lewiston (2-4-1) clincher out.
“They had a half-open net and Marilyn (Daniel) made a great save. Got in position,” Boucher said. “I think she might have stopped it with her head, but she dove in front of it and she made some key stops the whole game.”
Fewer than 50 seconds later, Brooks was down on the other end and poised for the equalizer.
The Blue Devils had controlled the puck in Brunswick’s half for a solid two minutes before the switch of play, firing shots on Daniel and winning puck battles on the boards. Then, all of the sudden, the puck was on its way to Lewiston goalie Meagan Gosselin’s net.
Brooks punched in the game-tying goal while Daniel was on her way to the bench.
“That late in the game, you can’t let up a 2-v.-1,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “We just talked about that. Goalie made a nice save and we had no back pressure getting back. The forwards couldn’t get back in time and they recycled the puck. It wasn’t our night. We missed a lot of opportunities early on.”
Daniel, who finished with 22 saves on the night, came up big again in overtime, blocking three Lewiston shots and making a glove save in the first three minutes.
On the other end, Gosselin saved a shot from Brooks just 10 seconds into the period and a blocked a breakaway attempt right before Stevens tapped in the game-winner on a loose puck at the 3:58 mark.
After replacing freshman Camree St. Pierre midway through the second period, she finished with 18 total saves.
Out of the Gates
Brunswick’s only two penalties of the night came in the first period, but luckily for the Dragons, the game was in their control. The Blue Devils managed just three shots on goal in the frame and were having trouble keeping the puck.
Beth Labbe finally made them pay with under three minutes to go when she punched in an open-net rebound to make the score 1-0.
“We have a pension for having trouble getting our legs moving and stuff,” Dumont said. “That’s been not just tonight. That’s been over the course of the season, trying to get a better start. I think we got better as the third went on.”
Brunswick also killed both power plays of the frame with ease, holding Lewiston to no shots over the four-minute span.
“The first period, Brunswick was doing a real good job,” Dumont said. “I think we had a couple power plays and didn’t even have any shots. Just not moving our legs. It wasn’t any big change, just told them, ‘You got to start moving to the puck. They’re a well-coached team and they’re getting to the puck first.’ It’s hard to play defense, easy to play offense.”
It didn’t take long for Dumont’s group to respond in the second period, as captain Chloe Morin shot in the equalizer at 14:38. A glove save on both ends, a Lewiston power-play kill and a missed breakaway opportunity kept the score even headed into the third.
That’s when assistant captain Jordan Mynahan fired low into bottom left-hand corner to give the Blue Devils the lead at 13:45. Three key saves from Daniel, including a power-play chance at 12:21, kept the visitors from adding to the score before the diving block in the final minute.
Lewiston, which has now dropped three games in a row, and Brunswick both finished 0-for-2 on the power play. It’s the first time the Dragons upperclassmen have beaten the KVAC semifinalists.
“For our seniors and juniors, they’ve never beaten Lewiston,” Boucher said. “So it’s a great win for them and it was a senior, Victoria (Stevens), who scored the winning goal. It’s great for the seniors. A lot of hard work.”
“It’s definitely a builder for the team,” Brooks said. “We’re all getting together and getting ready for playoffs.”
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