They both entered the postseason as a No. 4 four seed, and both survived overtime games in the quarterfinals.
And now both Lawrence and Waterville face the same daunting challenge in the regional semifinals: A date with a dominant No. 1 seed at 8 tonight.
No. 4 Waterville (9-9-1) will play No. 1 Lewiston (15-1-2) in an Eastern A semifinal game at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
No. 4 Lawrence (8-9-2) faces No. 1 Brewer (17-0-1) in an Eastern B semifinal game tonight at Sukee Arena. Brewer, the defending Class B state champ, is 32-0-1 in its last 33 games.
Lewiston is 30-4-3 in the last two seasons.
“We’ll try to rise to the occasion,” Waterville coach Dennis Martin said. “When you are playing in the Colisee this time of year, things are usually going well.”
Waterville and Lawrence struggled with their respective opponents this season.
Lewiston won both regular season games with Waterville by a combined 16-2 score. Throw in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A championship game, and the Blue Devils won three games against the Panthers by a combined 21-3 score.
Brewer, meanwhile, defeated Lawrence 6-0 and 8-4 this season.
“There is absolutely no pressure on us,” Lawrence coach Dave Richard said. “I don’t they have the power they had last year. It’s up for Brewer. They are the No. 1 seed.”
The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals with 4-3 overtime victory against No. 5 Presque Isle. It was the first overtime victory for Lawrence in three seasons.
Now, the Bulldogs have to contend with a Brewer team that went 4-0-1 against Class A competition this season.
Evan Nadeau, Lucas Lamond and Tyler White lead the Witches, who ousted the Bulldogs in the regional semifinals last season.
Devan Belanger and Matt Woodbury each have scored more than 20 points for Lawrence this season.
“It’s going to be a good one,” Brewer coach David Shedd said. “Belanger is good with the puck and Woodbury is a strong house. The two of them are the only ones we’ll focus on right now. If we can contain them then things will go in our favor.”
Added Belanger: “Hopefully, we can take it to Brewer. They beat us up good the last time we played them. We’ll come out ready.”
Waterville, meanwhile, will have to contend with one of the deepest teams in the state. Lewiston, which lost in the quarterfinals as a No. 1 seed last season, rolls four lines and features some prolific scorers.
The Blue Devils feature three Travis Roy Award semifinalists — goalie Cam Poussard, forward Colt Steele and forward Sam Cloutier.
Steele and Cloutier are tied for second in the state in scoring with 47 points. Poussard is 53-15-5 with 27 shutouts in his career. He leads the state with a .730 goals against average.
“He is their ace in the hole,” Martin said. “The bottom line is, we have to play three real good periods and try to stay with them. They have a lot of depth and you might stay with them for one, two periods, but sooner or later they can get on you.”
Added Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau: “This team has won over 30 league games and lost only 4 in the last two years. We’ve done everything but get to the state championship game, and that is the expectation. We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to last year.”
Matt Lee leads the Panthers with 35 points. Kyle Bishop (30), Tim Locke (25) and JT Whitten (20) follow.
“Waterville will be ready to play,” Belleau said. “They can sneak up on you. They’ve won a state championship here. They’ll be ready.”
Bill Stewart — 623-3811, ext. 515
bstewart@centralmaine.com
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