LEWISTON — Perennial contender Lewiston got the quick goal that it coveted, the wake-up call it probably needed, and then showed its might when it had to in a 6-3 girls hockey victory over Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Lincoln at The Colisee on Wednesday night.
The Blue Devils, who returned many players from their 2020 state championship team, were playing their first game of the 2021-22 season. Junior holdover Leah Dube lit the lamp first 2:14 into the game, finishing an assist from classmate Toree St. Hilaire out in front of Eagles (1-1) senior goalie Greta Marchildon, who had already denied Dube twice in the opening minutes.
“I just knew that our line — we’re so strong, so I knew that eventually we would pop one in,” Dube said.
Lisbon native Sarah Moore tied the game for the Eagles just a tick under three minutes later, scoring on a breakaway ahead of the defense. Mallory Stuart had the assist. That goal came a minute after Marchildon stopped a Dube shot with her mask.
Lewiston senior Leah Landry gave the Blue Devils (1-0) the lead back a little over a minute later, finishing a connection from St. Hilaire and Dube.
“That’s going to be, clearly, a scoring line,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “… I mean, they’re clicking right away. There’s still little things they can clean up. I think we could have picked up a few goals here and there.”
A newcomer to the roster, freshman defender Sadie Morgan, added two goals to the Blue Devils’ lead by the end of the first period. Morgan scored her first high school goal with an end-over-end point shot that went over Marchildon’s shoulder.
Morgan scored again in the final minute of the frame with a shorthanded shot, again from the right point, giving Lewiston a 4-1 lead. Ava Geoffroy assisted on both goals.
“That’s great. Especially from a freshman,” Dumont said. “She’s strong, and she’s got a big upside. And she played a really good game, but I think every game she gets under her belt, you’re going to see her get even better and better because she’s got that potential.”
Penalties plagued much of the second period, but Dube scored again for Lewiston with just under two minutes before intermission. Landry fed her on a 2-on-1 and Dube slid the shot past Marchildon.
The Eagles coaching staff, on the heels of a season-opening 5-0 win over Biddeford/Thornton/Wells/Sanford last week, put things in perspective to the players between the second and third periods.
“(We told them) just to keep it going, keep your head up, don’t worry about the score,” Eagles assistant Dave Hunter said. “We try and put in their mindsets (that) it’s 0-0 at the beginning of every period. So just take it period by period.”
Moore made things interesting in the third.
On the Eagles’ third power play of the period — and sixth of the game after five previous unsuccessful advantages — Moore ripped a shot from the right circle over Lewiston goalie Kim McLaughlin and under the bar, making it a 5-2 game with five minutes to play.
“We even talked about in between the second and third, it’s pretty clear if you’re watching the game, who the person is that is generating most of their offense,” Dumont said. “And you can’t let her get cut loose like that, and be aware that she’s on the ice.”
Landry stretched the lead back out to four from the high slot off a feed from Charlotte Cloutier with just over three minutes to play.
Moore snuck a final goal in with 0.1 seconds left, mirroring her second goal but this time from the left circle, to polish off a hat trick.
“She’s got a rocket,” Hunter said. “And like the whole team, we try and focus on, ‘Never give up, right to the very bitter end.’ And it proved it in that last shot.”
Marchildon finished with 29 saves on 35 shots. Both Hunter and Dumont praised her performance after the game.
McLaughlin made 11 saves for Lewiston, though Dumont noted the Blue Devils left her “out there in no-man’s land” a few times.
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