LEWISTON — By the time Lewiston’s Kristen Lachance scored in the third period of Monday’s girls hockey matchup with Brunswick, the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt.
However, the senior forward’s goal meant that all 12 Blue Devils skaters earned a point in their 11-0 victory at The Colisee.
“It’s actually something we’ve kind of been working on. It’s not designed, but moving the puck and getting everybody involved,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “Typically with the first group, they’re the scoring line, but we still want them to distribute the puck. But the blue line, which is our second line, they did well, too. They’re starting to move the puck much better, as well as involving the defense. So I think they were playing much more as a unit of five, as opposed to a unit of 3-2, or one person doing some of the work or all of the work.
“So that’s exactly what we were kind of looking for — and our third game in, not too bad.”
Brunswick (1-2) senior goalie Alamea McCarthy made life difficult for Lewiston’s shooters in the first period, stopping 23 shots.
Toree St. Hilaire broke the ice for the Blue Devils (3-0) just under six minutes into the game, forcing a puck inside the left post after McCarthy stopped Leah Landry’s initial shot.
Courtney Lachance doubled the lead to 2-0 nearly four minutes later with the first goal of her high school career. The freshman took advantage of a open net after McCarthy lost the puck at the left post and it squirted away to the right circle, where Lachance was all alone.
Dumont said that seeing a player score their first goal never gets old.
“I told her after, when she came to the bench, I told the other girls, I said, ‘Now that’s how you celebrate right there.’ She was happy as could be. I think she fell right back on her butt,” Dumont said. “But when something’s new like that, obviously, she’s very excited, and that’s what you like.
“And, you know, it becomes old hat, maybe, for the girls that have been around a while, but it gives you a new kind of boost to see somebody coming on — a new kid, a freshman like that — and getting her first goal. I think it goes throughout the whole team.”
Fellow freshman Sadie Morgan — who scored her first two high school goals in the Blue Devils’ season-opening win over Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Lincoln on Wednesday — scored twice Monday, the first on a power play late in the opening period with a point shot off a feed from Alyssa Marcoux.
“It’s really exciting because we see them at practice working really hard, and then it’s just really exciting when you see them go out on the ice and get their chance to score as well,” Landry said.
The disparity in shots on goal stood at 26-1 after one period.
“We came out (for the second period) knowing that we were going to have to try a little harder and really look for the corners, and get passes across to get (McCarthy) moving for easier goals,” Landry said.
Lewiston took little time before scoring again in the second. Lilly Gish scored on a point shot off a feed from Landry.
The scoring quieted for nearly five minutes until Morgan (unassisted) and Landry (assisted by Leah Dube) scored 17 seconds apart.
Landry admitted to being frustrated by missed opportunities earlier in the game, but knew if she kept at it one of her shots would eventually go in.
Rebecca Lussier (assisted by Charlotte Cloutier), Dube and Ava Geoffroy (assisted by Avaya Desjardins) all scored in the final five minutes of the frame to make it 9-0 after two periods. The shots on goal had risen to 50-3 heading into the third.
“Regardless of where we stand or where in the period, once we get a goal, we like them to finish what they start, so to speak,” Dumont said. “And it isn’t to pile on against the other team, but they need to know that once you get one or two … that might be, in a tight game, something you need to do, to just keep on playing and keep being aggressive.”
The Dragons focused on damage control in the third period, protecting the area in front of McCarthy to limit further Lewiston scoring.
“It’s much less stressful when it’s in the offensive zone the whole time, and that’s where we aim to keep the puck,” Landry said. “So it felt good that it was down there tonight.”
Kristen Lachance finally ended the drought with just over three minutes remaining. Marcoux recorded her second assist on that goal and then added a goal of her own with less than a minute left to round out the scoring.
“That’s awesome because it’s what we have been looking for all season, everyone contributing,” Landry said.
“It felt really good because our last game we struggled a little bit offensively,” Landry added. “We won 3-0 (against Yarmouth/Freeport), but we thought we could have done a little better than that, and we just weren’t really clicking as much. It just felt good for everything to click tonight.”
McCarthy finished with 51 saves on 62 shots, while Lewiston junior goalie Kim McLaughlin stopped all three shots she faced.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
