LEWISTON — Thornton Academy had puck luck and Lewiston did not.
The Golden Trojans defeated the Blue Devils 6-0 in a Class A boys hockey game at The Colisee on Monday.
The Blue Devils hit the post in the first period, and in the second period, Evan Knowlton had a breakaway that Thornton broke up at the last second.
“We had some chances at the beginning (of the game) and not being able to put them in,” Lewiston assistant coach Colt Steele said. “We had some bad puck bounces and we got down early. Things happen; overall, I thought we played pretty good towards the end.”
Lewiston ends the regular season with an 8-10 record.
“That’s a dangerous team, they have some kids to come up and down the ice with us,” Thornton Academy coach Jamie Gagnon said of Lewiston. “We had to play pretty stiff defensively and turn good defense into offense. When we got possession in the offensive end, try to work the puck enough to get those (opportunities) where you are digging around trying to put something in or get something off the rush, like we’re able to do as well.”
Thornton Academy (11-5) received two goals apiece from Evan Beaudette, Alex St. John and Jacob Marcotte.
“Like I said, I was pretty pleased with our ability to put (the puck) in the net,” Gagnon said. “To get contributions from guys that have been close, but not quite there. I think we were able to do that tonight; that was probably the difference.”
Thornton survived Lewiston’s early attack through the first five minutes of the game. The Golden Trojans got the puck deep into the offensive zone and St. John, from behind the goal line, sent a pass to Beaudette in front of the crease. Beaudette quickly shot the puck past Lewiston goalie Ben Cloutier into the net for a 1-0 lead.
“We have to set the tone early and we went out and did that to get the job done,” Beaudette said.
Shane Bergeron also assisted on the goal 6:34 mark into the first period.
Nearly three minutes later, Marcotte skated around a Lewiston defenseman at the offensive blue line and had a partial breakaway; he kept the shot on the ice, which beat Cloutier through the five-hole for a 2-0 lead.
“It was (important of Marcotte) to get his head up and see that was open,” Gagnon said of him going five-hole.
Lewiston’s next best chance offensively came with 30 seconds left when the puck rang a post.
In the second period, the Golden Trojans continued to find the back of the net. St. John drove to the net and Cloutier stopped his initial shot, but St. John found an opening to put in the rebound. Kyle Lesieur had an assist on the goal just before the seven-minute mark of the period.
The goal ended Cloutier’s night in goal after making nine saves on 12 shots. Evan Greaton came on in relief.
With 4:37 remaining in the second period, St. John skated down the left board and, at the top of the left circle, unleashed a shot that just went inside the far post for a 4-0 lead. Lesieur had the assist.
Marcotte scored his second goal of the game when he grabbed a rebound from a Lesieur shot and put it in the back of the net for a 5-0 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the period.
Beaudette scored his second of the game nearly nine minutes into the third period when Greaton tried to swipe the puck out of the crease, but it rolled off his stick, then Beaudette put the puck in the half-open net.
“We just went out there and had fun,” Beaudette said.
Thornton goalie Gage Tarbox-Belanger made 19 saves for the shutout. Monday’s win was his fourth shutout of the season.
“My defense did a good job in the second and third making sure I didn’t get many shots,” Tarbox-Belanger said.
Steele said the players kept their heads up to the final whistle.
“Overall, we battled; we stuck up for each other to the final buzzer,” Steele said. “I think on the bench it was positive; kids didn’t get mad at each other. Everything was positive.”
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