LEWISTON — Thornton Academy played better against Lewiston on Wednesday night than it did a month ago, but in the end, the result was the same. The Blue Devils got the best of the Trojans yet again with a 3-1 victory in a Class A boys hockey game at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
The two teams combined for five goals in the first period in their previous matchup on Jan. 11. On Wednesday night, however, a late goal by the Blue Devils was the only offense in the opening period.
Jean-Luc Dostie collected the puck on a turnover with less than five minutes to play and ran up the right boards before beating Thornton goalie Andrew Huot with a shot from the right circle.
The Trojans (6-8-1) tied the game up less than a minute into the second period with a power play goal by Taylor Browne. Thornton started the period with 1:03 left on the man-advantage, and after squandering much of the time, Browne was able to find the back of the net with a shot from the left point with 10 seconds left on the power play.
“It was open, and it hit someone at the end and barely got in, but I’ll take it,” said Browne.
Thornton gained all the momentum after the goal, as the Trojans dominated play in the middle period. They nearly took the lead right after Browne’s goal, but a shot by Jimmy Remmes rang off the left post 1:30 in.
“We were able to settle in and run our tempo game in the second, and had a much better effort,” said Thornton head coach Jamie Gagnon. “I felt much more confident about our game in the second than I did in the first.”
“In the locker room we (talked about) keeping up the tempo. We want to play pretty fast, and stay on our game. It kind of came out in the second,” said Browne. “In the second we controlled most of the period. I think that’s the team we can really be.”
Thornton had another good opportunity with five minutes to play in the period went it went on a power play, but four solid looks from the point all were either deflected away by Lewiston goalie Nick Hawk or aimed just wide.
The man-advantage soon turned into a disadvantage as Browne was sent to the penalty box for a slashing minor when Lewiston’s Kyle Lemelin took off on a breakaway attempt late in the power play.
Lemelin then took advantage of the Blue Devils’ power play chance as he snuck a shot under Huot from the right circle with less than two minutes left in the second.
“That one hurt us,” said Gagnon.
The Blue Devils (13-3-0) nearly netted their third goal a few times early in the third, but Huot made three tough saves in the first five minutes.
That third goal finally did come for Lewiston midway through the period, as a Max Bolduc shot from the point re-directed off Griffin Wade and past Huot. The goal came at the end of a Lewiston shift in the attacking zone that lasted more than a minute.
The Trojans made a comeback more difficult for themselves as they were called for three penalties over the final 6:30 of the game.
“We took a couple undisciplined penalties. That hurt our chances of being able to battle back,” said Gagnon.
“We’ve got to stay disciplined. We got to stay out of the box,” said Browne. “We’ve got to help ourselves out.”
Thornton’s last gasp rang loudly, as Alex Fallon hit the right post on a short-handed breakaway with 1:15 left. Drew Lavigne went to the box soon after as the Trojans ended the game a man down.
“The reviews are mixed, to be honest. I thought at times we played very well. I thought in the second period we played very well,” said Gagnon. “When we played a disciplined game and decided to skate with them, we were able to stay in the game.
“We’re less concerned about the wins and losses and more concerned about the way we play. And for the most part tonight I was pleased with the way we played.”
— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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