LEWISTON — The Blue Devils were ready on Saturday.
After dropping the season opener to St. Dominic Academy/Winthrop/Gray-New Gloucester, Lewiston responded Saturday with a 5-2 victory over the Saints at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
“We didn’t play that well, but they had a good game that first time,” Lewiston junior forward Leah Landry said. “We wanted to come back and show them (how well we can play).”
Paige Pomerleau led the Blue Devils with two goals, while Landry had a goal and an assist.
The Blue Devils opened the scoring when a Leah Dube shot went through Madyson Boulet’s (21 saves) five-hole. Assists went to Landry and Bailee St. Hilaire.
Lewiston coach Ron Dumont like the team’s start.
“We had some chances actually to put the game out of reach. We hit a few posts and (St. Dom’s) stayed in the game,” Dumont said. “Both Leahs are excellent and they provide a lot of offense for us. Leah Landry, I kind of kid with her, she lays in the weeds sometimes with that long reach and everything, she’s always involved in something and she creates offense.”
Lewiston went up 2-0 when Landry poked the puck away from a Saints defender at the Blue Devils’ offensive blue line. Landry skated in all alone and beat Boulet at the 5:22 mark.
“That was exciting, it’s always good to get a quick one,” Landry said. “It really sets the tone and I thought it was good to get that.”
Madi Pelletier, on one of the few offensive chances in the first period for the Saints, went bar-down from the slot to get the Saints on the board five minutes after Landry’s goal.
“What I can take away is we need more of those (chances),” Saints coach Paul Gosselin said. “I think at times we played okay, at other times we didn’t. I think you can’t play a good team like that and not come out (and play) 100 percent today.”
Landry set up Brie Dube for the only goal in the second period, near the six-minute mark of the frame.
Brie Dube announced on Friday that she’s going to continue her hockey career at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass. and study Health Sciences.
“She’s a fine hockey player,” Dumont said. “She’s the captain and she basically settles the team down. As much we were I think dominating the game or controlling the game, if you aren’t putting it in, you start pressing.”
The Saints had a couple chances in the period, including senior captain Gisele Ouellette getting a breakaway, but St. Hilaire chased her down on the back check and was able to poke the puck away. Later in the period, the puck bounced off a skate and it appeared to be heading past Lewiston goalie Kim McLaughlin (eight saves) but McLaughlin was able to cover the puck up before it crossed the line.
Luck was in the Saints’ favor early in the third period as Emma Roy from behind the goal line banked the puck off of McLaughlin’s skate and it went into the net at the 2:20 mark.
“Putting pucks on net, you never know what happens and you have to get pucks to the net, you can’t score if you don’t,” Gosselin said. “I think she was trying to feed it to the front (of the net) and it went off a (skate), a little lady luck.”
Lewiston responded nearly two minutes later as Pomerleau restored the two-goal lead. Pomerleau added another insurance marker with less than three minutes remaining.
Pomerleau, primarily a defender, likes to be that extra forward at times.
“It’s a part of our system, too, which works well, so we all can jump up in the play as defensemen,” Pomerleau said.
Madison Conley had assists on both of Pomerleau’s goals.
The teams meet again on Wednesday at the Colisee as part of a doubleheader between Lewiston and St. Dom’s
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