AUBURN — In the first period, St. Dominic Academy goalie Goalie Kyle Welsh appeared to be impenetrable.
In the second, Lewiston’s attack proved unstoppable.
The tale of two periods, of two longtime rivals, had a happy ending for the Blue Devils, who turned a close game into a blowout in the blink of an eye for a 9-1 victory in Class A North boys’ hockey clash at Norway Savings Bank Arena on Thursday.
Welsh, the Saints’ senior goalie, stopped all but one of the 20 shots he faced in the first period.
“Kyle stood on his head and he did his best to help his team win,” St. Dom’s coach Bob Parker said.
The lone one to get by him came awkwardly off the stick of Jack Leblond, who took a feed in the slot from Ryan Bossie out at the right point.
The Blue Devils (8-0) finally made Welsh look mortal in the second. He lasted four minutes and seven shots unscathed before Lewiston started lighting the lamp at a blistering pace.
“It’s a one-goal game, next goal’s big,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau told his team during the first intermission.
Jeromey Rancourt started the spree 4:15 in, then Nick Bisson (on the power play) and Luc Dostie added their own goals within the next 100 seconds.
Joe Bisson started another spurt to end the period, with Dustin Larochelle and Nick Bisson again each scoring in the final three minutes of the frame.
“A couple of minor adjustments where I thought we could get some better quality shots. We did take a lot of shots in the first period. We expected their goalie to play well,” Belleau said. “We made that adjustment in the second and third, and I think it made a difference.”
The Saints (4-2) more than doubled their tally of shots on goal from the first to the second, slapping seven at Lewiston goalie Jacob Strout in the second after just three in the first. St. Dom’s senior captain Noah Toussaint had the best chance, but his breakaway attempt with the score still 4-0 was denied by the senior Strout.
The Saints eventually did got on the board in the third, but not before Joe Bisson scored his second of the game. Rancourt later scored his second as well.
Freshman Jacob Lewis ended the shutout for the Saints, scoring on a rebound from Justin Keaney’s initial shot. Will Fletcher also assisted on the goal.
The Blue Devils put 61 shots on frame, with Welsh stopping 52 of them.
“You’re not going to stop all of them when you see that many of them, and he did a great job,” Parker said. “We have to play a lot better in front of him than that.”
Strout made 12 saves for Lewiston.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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