LEWISTON — When a dominant team plays for a championship, there is always the lingering thought of an upset.
The unbeaten and favored Lewiston High girls’ hockey team quickly settled that matter with a 3-0 first-period lead Saturday en route to a 5-2 victory over Falmouth in the state final at the Colisee.
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Allison Frechette scored four goals, including an empty-netter, and Erica Lemieux had one. Paige Fontaine recorded 27 saves.
Camden Carrier and Evie Clement scored power-play goals for Falmouth. Ally Hurdman made 33 saves.
Lewiston (20-0-1) became the second team in the seven-year history of high school girls’ hockey in Maine to win two state titles, joining Greely.
The Blue Devils also became the third girls’ hockey team to finish a season undefeated, after Cheverus and Scarborough.
Falmouth (16-5) collected its second state runner-up trophy.
Lewiston won the inaugural state championship in 2009, then reached the title game in 2010 and 2014. Coach Ron Dumont called this team his most talented, and Falmouth agreed.
“They are a very strong team,” Falmouth defenseman and captain Meg Pierce said. “They pass extremely well. They’re hard skaters and they never stop working.
“We went in knowing they weren’t giants but they would be hard to topple.”
Lewiston’s only blip was a 3-3 tie against Scarborough. The Blue Devils also had close calls in victories against Edward Little/Leavitt, including the 2-1 double-overtime thriller in the East title game Wednesday. Lewiston tied it after pulling its goalie in the last minute of regulation.
That may have marked Lewiston as vulnerable, but the Blue Devils pounced Saturday.
Frechette opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 4:24.
“They came out on fire,” Falmouth Coach Rob Carrier said. “After that first goal we were a little sluggish, and I think it carried through the rest of the period.”
Lewiston went up 2-0 when Lemieux got a loose puck and fired from the slot. The puck hit a stick and sailed up and in at 9:55.
Falmouth began wrestling some momentum back, but Frechette made a steal at the Yachtsmen’s blue line. She raced in and roofed a shot over Hurdman’s blocker at 13:35 for a 3-0 lead.
“I told them to just go out and play your game,” Dumont said. “Move the puck and have some fun. That’s what they did.
“The forecheck was really (strong). I think we put enough pressure on them.”
Lewiston led in shots 19-10 after the first period – a sign of the Blue Devils’ power but also Falmouth’s resolve.
“After the first period we got our legs back and kept fighting,” Carrier said.
The Yachtsmen scored in the second period when Carrier drilled in a shot from the slot at 10:58. Clement and Caroline Proctor assisted.
Seconds into the third, Fontaine stopped Carrier’s shot at the doorstep. Lewiston skated right back, with Frechette shaking off a defender and scoring 37 seconds into the period for a 4-1 lead.
“She’s money in the bank,” Dumont said of Frechette. “I was kidding her that when we last played them, she didn’t even hit the scoreboard … I said ‘I’m expecting something from you.’ ”
Frechette delivered.
Clement made it interesting, scoring from a scrum in front of the crease at 10:58. Abigail Lebel got the assist.
Falmouth immediately went on another power play and Hurdman was eventually pulled, giving the Yachtsmen a six-on-four advantage. But Frechette got the puck and scored into the empty net at 12:39 for a clinching 5-2 lead.
After the game, while Lewiston players posed for pictures, the Yachtsmen headed for their locker room, Pierce carrying the second-place award.
“This has been a fantastic season,” Pierce said. “These girls are my sisters. It’s been a wonderful time.”
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