LEWISTON — Through two periods, undefeated Lewiston got all it could handle from also-unbeaten Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland, then a Capers power play with a chance to take a fourth lead early in the third went by the wayside.
So, too, did the Capers’ undefeated start to the season, with the Blue Devils scoring three goals in the final 6:03 of the game to win the girls hockey clash, 6-3, on Saturday at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
“The wheels kind of fell off in the third period a little bit,” Capers coach Bob Mills said. “We had a power play at the beginning of the third period that was not very efficient, and that sort of set the tone for the rest of the period.”
The Capers (7-1-1) went on one power play 1:39 into the final frame, and both teams put two shots on goal in the two minutes. Another power play 4:13 in netted no shots for the Capers, and a penalty of their own gave the Blue Devils (10-0) a power play of their own and a chance to gain momentum.
Lewiston also couldn’t convert on the advantage, but Paige Pomerleau put the Blue Devils in the lead for the first time 8:57 in. Gemma Landry assisted on the goal, scored one of her own with 4:14 left, then assisted on Leah Landry’s breakaway goal with 2:51 left.
“Like I told them going into the third, ‘It’s a 15-minute game. So you decide what you want,'” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “So I got to give them credit, they did step up and get it done. It was not pretty, but they got it done.”
The Capers killed off a penalty called 55 seconds into the game, then took the initial lead on Nicoletta Coupe’s goal from Annie Guimond 4:43 in.
“I think they put us on our heels,” Dumont said. “We’re not used to getting that kind of pressure.”
“They really work hard,” Dumont added. “They’re the first team that really puts constant pressure on us. They moved the puck quick. They were on us quick.”
Leah Dube tied the game less than two minutes later with an unassisted 4-on-4 goal.
Coupe assisted on a Bella Schifano goal less than five minutes into the second to regain the Capers’ lead. Dube scored another unassisted goal later in the period, but Katherine Blackburn scored off an icing faceoff just over a minute later to make it 3-2 Capers.
Mills said the key was his players taking “purposeful shots.”
“So trying not to hit (Lewiston goalie Camree St. Hilaire) in the chest too much,” he said. “(We’re) trying to place our shots so we could get rebounds from it.”
Leah Landry scored a power play goal, with an assist from Dube, with 52.6 seconds left in the second to send the game to intermission tied 3-3.
St. Hilaire made 15 saves, while Capers freshman goalie Abbey Steinhagen stopped 17 shots.
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