LEWISTON — In a Class A state championship rematch at Androscoggin Bank Colisee Wednesday night, Lewiston defeated Scarborough once again.
The Blue Devils (2-0) scored three goals in the last five minutes of the second period to come back from a 2-1 deficit for a 4-2 victory over the Red Storm (0-2-1).
The last time the teams met was in March, when Lewiston edged Scarborough 2-1 for the Class A title.
“Playing Scarborough is always a fun game,” said Lewiston forward Joe Bisson, who scored in both games. “It’s always exciting because we’re big rivals. It can get pretty intense at times, and people can lose control over their emotions. But, overall, we love playing them.”
Penalties helped Lewiston notch two of those goals, with the Blue Devils capitalizing on two of their seven power plays. Lewiston gave Scarborough six power play opportunities.
“If we weren’t on a power play, they were, and vice versa – I guess that might have played to our advantage a little bit,” Lewiston Coach Jamie Belleau said of the second period. “I thought Scarborough played a really good game. They’re missing some players. … I thought they blocked a lot of shots and got under our skin a little bit.”
Scarborough was missing two of its top players – Cam Smith and Justin Perry – because of injuries, which forced the team to rely on some younger players. Sophomores Anthony Burnham and Brett Rockey accounted for Scarborough’s goals.
“That’s the top team in the state,” Scarborough Coach Norm Gagne said of Lewiston. “I told them I thought this was going to be the toughest team they’re going to face all year. … Overall, I was pleased.”
Scarborough goalkeeper Brandon Wasser kept the Red Storm in the game with 33 saves. Lewiston’s Jacob Strout made 10.
Lewiston outshot Scarborough 15-3 in the first period, but it was the Red Storm who managed to get on the board first. Burnham scored unassisted with 11:49 left to give Scarborough a short-lived 1-0 lead.
The Blue Devils answered less than a minute later when Bisson scored from Scarborough’s right post, tapping the puck past Wasser to tie the score 1-1. Cody Doyon and Brad McLellan assisted on the goal.
Scarborough again took the lead when Rockey scored a goal assisted by Eric Murray with 11:11 left in the second period.
However, Scarborough was only able to withstand the Lewiston attack for so long.
With 4:53 left in the second period, Sam Frechette capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play with a goal assisted by Jeromey Rancourt to tie the score again.
Dustin Larochelle gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the game less than 30 seconds later with a goal assisted by Frechette on a power play.
Lewiston’s Brad McLellan scored perhaps the most impressive goal of the game with 1:48 left in the period. From the center of the rink and with the Blue Devils short-handed, McLellan scooped up the puck and arced his shot into Scarborough’s goal for a 4-2 lead.
The final period was much less eventful, with neither team scoring. Lewiston notched a 10-7 edge on shots in the period and a 37-13 advantage overall. The teams are scheduled to meet again on Jan. 25.
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