Brunswick’s Lisi Palmer attempts to poke the puck away from Falmouth/Scarborough’s Amelia Brann. Cooper Sullivan / The Times Record

BRUNSWICK — To win at Watson Arena, a team must win the second period. At least this was the case during Monday night’s hockey doubleheader.

The Brunswick girls team and Cheverus/Yarmouth boys team each won their games by taking the lead midway through and never relinquishing it. The Dragons beat the Falmouth/Scarborough girls 2-1, while the defending Class B boys champions beat Brunswick/Freeport 5-0.

The first game of the evening wasn’t the typical high-scoring affair for Brunswick. In fact, it was the lowest-scoring game the girls team has played in this season, and head coach Chris Ledwick is glad it ended in the Dragons’ favor.

“I thought (Falmouth/Scarborough) took the game to us,” Ledwick said. “They had a lot of jump in their step. They were playing more disciplined hockey. They looked like the better-coached team, for sure, out there. They were moving the puck around. We were trying to do a little too much individually, I think, and not playing team hockey, which is what you’re going to have to do.

“It’s great to have some skilled players, but you got to play team hockey. They were doing it. We weren’t. We were fortunate to get the win tonight.”

The Navigators (5-7) jumped to an early lead as senior defender Elizabeth Brown and freshman forward Maya Fongemie pushed the puck to sophomore forward Lexie Bellerose, who unleashed a hard shot from the right side into the goal at the 3:17 mark in the first period.

Despite an aggressive attack throughout the first period, the Dragons (7-2) could not connect on any shot from distance. Both of Brunswick’s second-period goals — the tying-goal 21 seconds in from senior forward Paige Botts and the go-ahead goal from junior forward Addison Wight at 9:58 — came after players swarmed the net in pursuit of rebounded shots and poked the puck through a crowd of sticks and skates.

“That’s what I want to see, more of those goals,” Ledwick said. “The greasy goals with people chipping the puck in out there. Those are hard-work goals. They count just as much as the pretty ones.”

Brunswick winger Solveig Ledwick (14) attempts a shot against Falmouth/Scarborough goalie Tessa Woodbury. Cooper Sullivan / The Times Record

Falmouth tried to take advantage with a few more offensive opportunities in the final frame, but the Brunswick defense held strong and forced turnovers.

“That’s one of the reasons why they’re such a tough team to beat, is because you don’t get many quality shots on them, and when you do, you got to bury them,” Falmouth coach Rob Carrier said. “If you don’t, you know you’re going to be staring up at the scoreboard, hoping that there’s more time than there really is out there.”

Junior goalie Hensleigh LaBonte saved five shots for the Dragons. Sophomore Tessa Woodbury saved 15 shots for the Navigators.

Cheverus/Yarmouth wins again

The boys game featured Brunswick and Cheverus facing off for the second time in four days. And once again, the Stags (8-0) pitched a shutout of the Dragons (1-5). Cheverus senior Brayden Fitch, who was in goal for both matchups, saved 15 shots on Monday.

“Huge thanks to the defense,” Fitch said. “Everything that I coughed up, the rebounds, they were there getting it out. That first game (against Brunswick), I saw what they had, I knew what I had to do and got it done.”

Cheverus/Yarmouth won 3-0 on Jan. 2.

Cheverus/Yarmouth forward Hakon Yeo avoids the stick of Brunswick/Freeport defender Avery Sampson. Cooper Sullivan / The Times Record

The two teams kept it close in Monday’s opening period, firing a nearly equal amount of shots on goal (Cheverus 10, Brunswick eight), as Fitch and Brunswick/Freeport sophomore goalie Michael Shoemaker (21 total saves) traded impressive body blocks.

Cheverus finally took control early in the second period. Junior forward Hakon Yeo started the scoring barrage at 3:38, and within the next 64 seconds, junior defender Colby Carnes and sophomore defender Owen Cheever made it a 3-0 game.

Cheever, who also scored a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal in the third period, said the Stags were “running around a bit to begin with” but once they started to execute their offensive systems, “we were just on a roll, and we knew what we could do from there.”

Senior defender Noah Sahagian notched the first goal of his career at 11:38 in the third to stamp the final score and hand Brunswick its fourth-straight shutout defeat.

“We’ve emphasized attitude, and we’ve added emphasized process over success,” Brunswick coach Dennis Hagemann said. “It’s not necessarily about wins and losses, it’s how you get there. The boys are buying into that system, I think, fairly well.”