AUBURN — The Lewiston offense hasn’t missed a beat, even without Ryan Pomerleau, last year’s Travis Roy Award winner, and award semifinalist Kurtis Pelletier, who both graduated.
The defending Class A state champions shot early and often as the Blue Devils outshot their rivals, St. Dominic Academy, 41-12 in a 7–2 victory at Norway Savings Bank Arena on Saturday.
Damon Bossie had two goals and an assist to lead six different Blue Devils (1-0) scorers.
“We haven’t played in a while, we just wanted to get out there and have fun, show everyone we have been practicing,” Bossie said.
The Blue Devils were without head coach Jamie Belleau, who missed the game due to health and safety protocols pertaining to contact tracing, according to Lewiston Athletic Director Jason Fuller.
The team wanted to win one for Belleau.
“It sucks he wasn’t here, but we have a good coaching staff that surrounds him,” Bossie said.
This season, because of coronavirus protocols, boys hockey games will be played in two 23-minute halves.
The change is something St. Dom’s will have to get used to.
“In the second half we said let’s go win this period and we tied them 1-1. I think we made some big strides in the second half, we had a solid half,” St. Dom’s coach Dan D’Auteuil said. “We have a young team, half my team are freshman and sophomores. Playing this new midget (hockey) style, 23-minute periods is tough on a young team. Some of the inexperience showed tonight, and nervousness.”
The scoring started early in the first half as Bossie scored his first of the half just past the four-minute mark to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead. Cody Dionne and Tyler Leger had the helpers.
St. Dom’s (0-1) quickly responded as junior forward Colin Casserley came in on Lewiston goalie Keegan McLaughlin on a breakaway and went top-shelf.
The game remained 1-1 for about seven minutes until Lewiston sophomore forward Daxton St. Hilaire jammed home the puck at the 12:14 mark.
Bossie scored his second of the half with a blast from the right point off a faceoff at the 17:41 mark. Less than a minute later, Mason Beaudoin stretched the lead to 4-1 as he tipped in an Andon Cox pass from the point. Evan Knowlton had the secondary assist.
The Blue Devils were anxious to get back out on the ice after an 11-month layoff.
“The kids have been waiting to play, the last three months they have been waiting to get started,” Andy Guerin, Lewiston’s acting coach, said. “We had our game last week (against Edward Little) canceled; they have been sitting there waiting. Today was their day.”
D’Auteuil knows he has to better at getting his team prepared.
“They got some bounces, we weren’t in the right position and our nervousness got to us and it’s my job to get them all ready and we didn’t do that tonight,” D’Auteuil said
Lewiston continued to to press in the final minutes of the opening half as Nick Pelletier and Tanner Anctil each scored on a breakaway as the Blue Devils ended the half with a 6-1 lead.
Bossie fed Anctil with a pass for an assist.
Pelletier is a freshman, while Anctil is a sophomore.
“We have a good, young group and they are working hard and learning our systems and hopefully they will be around for four years,” Guerin said.
Sophomore defenseman Miles Frenette potted the Saints’ second goal of the game as his point shot deflected off a Lewiston player’s stick and changed direction on McLaughlin.
Cooper St. Hilaire scored the lone goal for Lewiston in the second half with Knownlton picking up his second assist of the game.
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