LEWISTON — Sophie Goulet shined bright for St. Dom’s last season.

A junior, Goulet played defense, but was the Saints’ version of a quarterback, running the offense from her point position.

It was fun, and she was successful. But it was also tiring.

As the curtain opened on the 2010-11 season Monday, with high school girls’ hockey teams allowed for the first time to skate together as a team, Goulet had some company on her bench. Marisa Zamrock transferred in from Lewiston. Lauren Ratsep came from Hebron Academy. Other top players — Kayla McLellan, Anna Desjardins and Nicole Keaney, to name a few — are a year older and a year better. So what happens now?

“You get magic, that’s what happens,” Goulet said with a smile that shone through her face mask. “I’m pumped for the season, I’m ready to win a state championship.”

And there is little doubt the Saints begin the season with a target painted on their collective back.

“It changes everything, it changes our practice plans, our games we’re going into with a whole different attitude,” Saints’ coach Don Boucher said.

And why not? The Saints were among the top teams in Maine last season after suffering through a painful building season the year before. It was a departure from the norm, as the Saints, before the MPA began sanctioning the sport in 2008-09, were consistently among the top four teams in Maine.

Goulet is a constant. Adding Zamrock, a junior, and Ratsep, a senior, just adds firepower to an already potent Saints lineup.

“It’s a lot of pressure, because everyone is expecting a lot out of us,” Goulet said. “We know what we have to do, and we know we’re not going to win anything easily. We’re going to have to work hard to get where we want to be.”

For Zamrock, who spent the last two seasons playing for rival Lewiston, just getting back out onto the ice in a team setting is enough for her.

“Definitely ready to start a new hockey season,” Zamrock said. “I’m always ready for hockey. New friends, new coaches, it’s going to be a good season.”

The added pressure to the top players will help pressure on the rest of the girls, which should help create a balanced attack, Boucher said.

“There’s going to be less pressure on a lot of the girls in that respect,” Boucher said. “I think everyone’s going to know their jobs, going into the season they’ll know where they’re at. It’s going to become a lot easier for these girls.”

And then, of course, there’s Keaney. She enjoyed a breakout season a year ago between the pipes as a sophomore.

“We have her for two more years, so we’re excited about that,” Boucher said. “She’s probably not going to see as many shots as she did last year, but she’ll be our backbone for sure.”

And even with the star power the team has, Goulet assured everyone that each player would make a difference.

“Everyone has a role on this team has a role, whether they’re sitting on the bench cheering, or scoring a lot of goals,” Goulet said. “That’s what’s great about this group of players.”

Blue devils open up, too

Across the ice, as the Saints weaved their way across the ice, Lewiston’s players trudged into the locker room for the first time. In danger of potentially taking a year off due to low numbers last spring, the Devils successfully recruited from within. As many girls (15) will begin the season for Lewiston as will for the Saints.

“It’s great to see how passionate the girls were, and what a good job they did of getting their friends to come out and play and experience this,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said.

Dumont agreed that the Saints will likely be the favorite, but still believes there is a competitive balance.

 “We know they’ll be tough, and we’re going to work to try and figure out how to at least try and slow them down,” Dumont said. “But there are other teams in the league, too, and we feel as though we’ll be just as competitive within the league.”

Lewiston returns seven skaters and a pair of goalies from a year ago, and welcomes six new players to the fold.

Games in girls’ hockey begin on Friday, Nov. 26. Lewiston, St. Dom’s and the new Edward Little/Leavitt co-op team will all start the season on the road.

Lewiston is the first area team to open its regular-season home schedule when it faces Yarmouth on Nov. 29. EL/Leavitt opens at home on Dec. 1 against Gorham/Bonny Eagle, and St. Dom’s will square off against Greely on Dec. 3 in the Saints’ first home game.

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