LEWISTON — In a defensive battle, Lewiston knocked off Edward Little 2-0 in a boys hockey game at The Colisee on Thursday night.
Gabe Pomerleau made 16 saves to earn the shutout for the Blue Devils (2-0). Camren Dufour was also outstanding in Edward Little’s (1-1) crease, making 25 saves.
“It was a tough battle between two teams, but our team stayed positive,” Pomerleau said.
Pomerleau earned the Blue Devils’ hard hat for being the hardest-working player of the game.
Lewiston coach Jamie King said the Blue Devils’ best defense was the offense, as they kept the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches throughout the game.
“We kind of settled down and got some offensive possession at that point,” King said.
Both coaches expressed to their players not to get too high or too low during a rivalry game.
“I had to explain to them before the game, a rivalry game, you have to stay focused,” Edward Little coach Norm Gagne said. “You can’t get up and you can’t get down. You have to keep doing what you have to do and play the system. We will get there, and I feel really confident if this group can keep improving that we can answer the bell at the end of the year.”
After a scoreless first period, sophomore defenseman Aizyk Laliberte got Lewiston’s fans excited early in the middle frame when his shot whizzed by Dufour, off the post and into the net 90 seconds in. Colton Daniels had the lone assist on the tally.
Laliberte said he noticed a small opening to shoot at.
“I saw the corner opened and shot it,” Laliberte said.
Edward Little had a golden chance later in the second period when freshman forward Derek Hart had a shorthanded breakaway but put his shot from the slot went right in Pomerleau’s breadbasket.
Pomerleau said he was familiar with Hart.
“I have played with him, so I knew his shot,” Pomerleau said. “I just came out square and saved the puck.”
Gagne said the stop was a game-changer.
“If you score there, it’s a whole different ball game,” Gagne said. “We needed a break and it didn’t happen tonight.”
Lewiston’s Issac Bellemore had a breakaway midway through the second period, but he missed on the opportunity.
Edward Little pressured early in the third period when the players tried to jam the puck past Pomerleau. The Red Eddies got a power play out of it as Lewiston’s Cody Dionne got called for roughing in the pile of humanity. Edward Little couldn’t get any shots on Pomerleau during the man advantage.
Dylan Blue added the insurance marker about eight minutes into the period when his shot from the left circle beat Dufour top shelf. Ethan Blue had the lone assist.
“The first one was big, but the second one in the third period, that obviously helps out,” King said. “It settled us down a little bit. Going up 2-0 with eight minutes helps.”
The Red Eddies only could pull Dufour for the extra attacker with 32.6 seconds left in the contest.
Both team’s chances in the first period came in bunches at the beginning and at the end of the stanza. The Red Eddies started the game off by getting a handful of shots on Pomerleau. Lewiston responded by skating to the offensive zone and getting a flurry of shots on Dufour.
“They had a good forecheck going on and the guys weren’t going up the strong side,” King said of Edward Little. “We had to make some adjustments. Yeah, they came out strong — it’s a rivalry game, so they are going to come hard and we had to weather the storm.”
In the middle of the first period, offensive chances proved hard to come by, but chances came again in the final minutes of the first 15 minutes.
“They are bigger and stronger, but we hung in there,” Gagne said. “I was pleased with the way we played, with the aggressiveness I wanted us to play, and we did that. The young players we had on the team really stepped up their game. They aren’t used to playing with the big boys like that. They showed they could, and I am proud of that.”
GAGNE’S LAST GAME AT THE COLISEE?
Thursday’s Battle of the Bridge could be the end of an historic chapter between the two rivals, as it could be the last game Norm Gagne ever coached at The Colisee, which he has a long history in both as a player and as a visiting coach and coaching the Blue Devils from 2005-2008.
This spring, Gagne, who has 806 total wins, which ranks second-most all-time in the nation for boys high school hockey announced he was returning for his 50th and likely final season behind a high school bench. Thursday’s game marked the only time Gagne is scheduled to coach at The Colisee this year during the regular season.
With the Class A semifinals and state championship at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, the only opportunity the rest of the season to coach at The Colisee again is if Lewiston hosts Edward Little in the quarterfinals.
Gagne said it hit him right before the game that it could be his last game in the arena in which he won many of his seven state championships as a coach.
“I was thinking that, myself, when they were playing the national anthem,” Gagne said.
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