While celebrating its state championship on the ice at Troubh Arena, the Lewiston High girls’ hockey team couldn’t help but think about what might have been.
With a 3-0 victory Saturday over Scarborough, the Blue Devils won their second straight state title. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no state tournament in 2021, so those championships came with a gap year.
A repeat could have been a three-peat, but the Blue Devils didn’t take too much time wondering if the pandemic effectively swiped championship rings off their fingers.
“I think we had a really (good) shot at doing it three years in a row. It really just stunk that we couldn’t, but at least we got this one,” said Lewiston senior defenseman Charlotte Cloutier.
“Nothing is guaranteed. There’s a lot of good clubs out there. I was real pleased for the seniors. After that (2020) season, I said, we’ve got a shot, but then COVID just …,” said Lewiston Coach Ron Dumont, letting the thought trail off. “But everyone’s in the same boat.”
Lewiston (17-2) won Saturday with a couple of perfectly placed shots against Scarborough’s excellent goalie, AJ Swett, and with a suffocating defensive effort. The Red Storm (12-6-1) never were able to generate a sustained attack, and Lewiston goalie Kim McLaughlin needed to make just 11 saves.
“They’re just a good team. They’re big and strong and aggressive and skilled. We couldn’t find the net,” said Scarborough Coach Taylor Fowler.
Lewiston’s defense was at its best in the third period, when the desperate Red Storm were able to get a little more pressure on McLaughlin.
“We did what we wanted to do. We didn’t want them to gain any traction. We knew early on in that (third) period they were going to make a push,” Dumont said. “We needed to eat up that clock. When you’re winning, that clock never seems to move. When you’re losing, it’s going 100 miles an hour.”
Senior defenseman Lily Gish said defending Scarborough was an overall team effort.
“We knew we had to keep them in front of us and get help from our back check. We focused on that a lot. We had a lot of help from our forwards,” Gish said.
Lewiston’s Leah Landry broke the scoreless tie at 3:36 of the second period. Landry’s shot went high to the short side. Gish added a goal at 9:33, wristing a shot from the slot after getting control of her own rebound.
“AJ is a really good goalie. On her, you just have to find the corners, so I was thinking about that and saw the low corner,” Gish said.
Swett made 18 saves. The Blue Devils’ final goal, Landry’s second, came into an empty net with 1:25 remaining, just seconds after Scarborough started a power play. Throughout the game, the Blue Devils were aggressive when killing penalties, working hard to follow Dumont’s mantra of not letting the opponent set up the attack.
“Don’t let other teams set up, and they waste a lot of energy going back to get the puck. We’re burning a little energy in deep trying to get them not to connect their passes and set up, but I think it’s well worth it, and I think it gives us an advantage,” Dumont said.
Fowler pulled Swett for an extra attacker with 1:32 to play. With Lewiston consistently controlling the puck, Fowler said she did not see an opportunity to pull the goalie sooner.
“I thought about it, but things just weren’t going our way,” Fowler said.
For the Red Storm, this could be the final season without joining or forming a co-op program. Nine of the 13 players on Scarborough’s roster are seniors.
“They’re a great group of kids. They’re my first group of kids to coach. I came in their freshman year as an intern, and their sophomore year, I took over,” Fowler said of Scarborough’s seniors. “It’s special to see them through and to get as far as we did.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
