LEWISTON — For the third straight year, the Lewiston boys hockey team would win the Class A State Championship, beating Biddeford 2-1 on Saturday evening.
The Blue Devils dominated the pace throughout, and outshot the Tigers 32-15. However, Biddeford managed to stay within one goal until the final minutes, but was not able to pull through and force the tie.
The Blue Devils held a tight 1-0 lead heading into the third period, and had Biddeford in trouble when Alex Robert scored with 7:03 left to make it 2-0.
Logan Magnant would respond with a goal less than two minutes later, assisted by Nick McSorley, to make it 2-1 and keep up the pressure, but Lewiston’s defense held up in the waning minutes to secure its 23rd state title.
“Their team is great, not just their defense but they backcheck the middle of the ice very well. We knew they were going to do that, the first period and a half we were trying to force stuff into the middle, at the end of the second we started actually getting some chances because we were driving wide. They’re good everywhere, they’re a good team,” said Biddeford coach Jason Tremblay after the loss.
The two clubs went scoreless in the first period, but Lewiston would carry a 14-5 shots on goal advantage into the second. Jack LeBlond would get Lewiston on the board less than two minutes into the second.
“We knew that they would come out flying, they have a huge crowd here. We just weathered the storm in the first period,” said Tremblay. “We had our troubles, we were running around for a little bit, made adjustments. We took away their shots from the point and it gave us a chance in the end.”
The Tigers had a handful of opportunities that fell short late in the game. Perhaps the play that will be remembered most came early in the third period, when Ian Couture sent a puck into the zone that hit off the Lewiston post. Tyler LaFlamme crashed the net to finish the play, but the officials ruled no goal after a review.
“We had four or five chances to tie it, (Lewiston goalie Conrad Albert) came up big. It is what it is at the end of the day. They waved off the goal because it’s like the NHL, it has to be conclusive (video evidence),” said Tremblay.
Biddeford goalie Owen Sullivan had a big night for the Tigers racking up 30 saves in the contest.
“He was excellent. He was making saves, they were getting shots, getting shots from the point. We were trying to limit their chances, we held on to what we wanted to do. He had a heck of a game, he was excellent,” said Tremblay. “I told him after the game, ‘You’re the reason we had a shot in the end.’”
Biddeford will now flip the page to 2018-19 and say goodbye to its large senior core. Tremblay will miss the veteran group, and appreciated the effort they put in on a nightly basis.
“It’s a tough group to say bye to,” said Tremblay. “It’s hard because you had 10 seniors that were all in, and when you’re all in it hurts. It’s a life lesson — go all in, make it hurt sometimes. These guys definitely didn’t have fear, I can’t be more proud of the effort they put in tonight.”
— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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