LEWISTON — Lewiston/Oak Hill/Mt. Ararat/Morse skated with Brunswick for nearly the entire game.
However, two goals in the final two minutes gave the Dragons a 4-2 victory over the Blue Devils in a girls hockey contest Monday at The Colisee.
Lewiston co-coach Sarah Pomerleau said the Blue Devils did well executing their game plan of limiting Brunswick’s shot opportunities for the first two periods.
“We did, and then I think they came out with fire in that third period,” Pomerleau said. “We had a slow start, which didn’t help, but we played through the period, we tried, we kept it close, and we’re really proud of that.”
Brunswick coach Chris Ledwick said the Dragons (12-3) played into the Blue Devils’ (8-8) hands for the first 30 minutes of the contest.
“I thought their team did a nice job of filling those shooting lanes,” Ledwick said. “And we obliged them and shot right into their bodies in the shooting lanes. The goalie, she was right in position where she needed to be. And so she gets credit for all those saves. And that’s a credit to her.”
Riley Walters made 24 saves for the Blue Devils.
All six goals came in the final period. Brunswick forward Gillian Countway scored the first goal of the game and the game-winner. Lauren Labbe had a goal and two assists for the Dragons.
“I think our mindset,” Labbe said of the third period, “was just focusing on trying to just work as a team and get, you know, together and try and put the puck in the net instead of just trying to, like, have a one-man show out there.”
Countway opened the scoring 3:04 into the final period. On the ensuing faceoff, Lewiston defenseman Avaya Desjardins rushed the puck and beat Dragons goalie Hensleigh Labonte (12 saves) for a goal five seconds after Countway’s.
“I think she does a good job taking the lead as captain, and she kind of took that moment to say, ‘I’m going to lead my team,'” Pomerleau said of Desjardins. “It did really help everyone on the bench feel like we could do it.”
Kylie Dulac gave the Lewiston co-op the lead when her shot from the high slot found the back of the net.
Pomerleau said the Blue Devils co-op tried to do too much down the stretch.
“And then, to be ahead with only five minutes left, we were feeling really good, Pomerleau said. “And then just, you know, we were trying to force some passes and force some play. And that cost us.”
The Dragons evened the game with a goal by Labbe nearly 10 minutes into the period after ramping up the pressure and keeping the puck in the offensive zone.
“I think our team was kind of excited, and then Lewiston looked a little bit rattled,” Labbe said. “I didn’t think they expected it as much, so we just kept our foot on the gas and kept going.”
Countway added the third goal with under two minutes to play, then Lisi Palmer recorded an empty-net goal.
Countway said it was important to score before the end of regulation because Brunswick hasn’t done well in overtime this season.
“That was, definitely, I think, a big goal for us, just because we didn’t want that to go into overtime because we’ve played where we’ve tied it, and then in overtime, the other teams run away with it,” Countway said.
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