LEWISTON – The lights appear a little brighter and the stands fill up a whole lot more every time Lewiston High School and St. Dominic’s Regional High School meet for a regular-season Class A high school hockey battle.

Square in the middle of this year’s contests are a gaggle of freshmen – the highest number of total freshmen between the two schools in recent memory.

Two athletes in particular are making solid contributions

Clear vision

Jordan Bourgoin is a rare hockey player. Not only is he one of three or four freshman seeing the ice for the Blue Devils this season, but his vision on the ice, according to his coach, is nearly unmatched.

“He sees the ice better than a lot of players in general around the league,” said Lewiston coach Tim Smith. “At first when you watch him, you may not notice him, and he even looks lazy sometimes, but when you watch him shift to shift you see that he sees some things on the ice that others just don’t see.”

That vision has landed Bourgoin a spot on Lewiston’s third line, where he contributes on a regular basis.

“He gets a regular shift and sometimes his line does get some power-play activity,” said Smith. “He killed some penalties last week, too. He shows that he can do more than just play 5-on-5.”

“The biggest thing in tryouts was just to try my hardest and hope to impress the coaches,” said Bourgoin. “Just try hard and hope for the best. That’s all I can do.”

Playing bigger than his size hasn’t hurt either, especially in the team’s most intense game to date, a 6-2 loss against the rival Saints less than two weeks ago.

“He’s not afraid to be physical on the ice,” said Smith. “He takes his lumps out there like the rest of them, but he always pops back up and is ready to go. He gives out there about as much as he takes.”

“The first shift (against St. Dom’s), it’s so much faster than you’re used to,” said Bourgoin. “After a few seconds, though, the crowd’s not even there anymore. It’s just a hockey game. You grow up and you know the rivalry. It feels good just to be a part of it. After the first hit, it’s all out of the way. You give a hit, take one and keep going.”

Smith is happy to see how well and how quickly Bourgoin is adjusting, and knows that his success and that of his classmates are vital to the future of the Lewiston hockey program.

“For any player, in their first Lewiston-St. Dom’s countable varsity game, it’s a big eye-opening experience,” said Smith. “There are more people in the stands, all the lights are on. It takes a while for any first-year varsity player to adjust to that. We’re happy to have him, though. We have a big freshman class this year, and he’s part of that group that makes looking down the road easy. They are part of a solid group that makes this program look promising in the next couple of years.”

Shooting star

On the other side of the ice in that 6-2 St. Dom’s victory on Jan. 8 was freshman Mark Anthoine. A regular third-liner and sometimes-second-liner, Anthoine is one of just a few freshman in recent years to lace up his skates at the varsity level for the Saints.

“Over the years we’ve had our share of freshmen,” said St. Dom’s coach Bob Boucher. “We’ll have one, sometimes two, but that’s pretty rare. He’s just as strong if not stronger than some of the other players. His shot, too. You have to look at his shot among the juniors and seniors around the league. It’s not just hard, but he has a quick release.”

Anthoine’s family has deep ties to Lewiston High School, with members of his family excelling in several sports, particularly in basketball. He is the first to make the jump to St. Dom’s.

“I got teased a little bit at first. Oh, you’re going to St. Dom’s now’ and stuff, but it’s cool to be the first one here,” he said.

And it’s “cool,” said Anthoine, to be contributing so quickly.

“I worked hard before the season to get ready, so I don’t really feel out of place,” said Anthoine. “I just played some good competition.”

Over the summer, Anthoine participated in the Maine Selects program, traveled to Boston for the Hockey Night in Boston tournament, and represented New England on a team in Rochester, N.Y.

Now, as a third-line forward, Anthoine is back to business, and that includes against rival Lewiston.

“He’s able to adjust in a game really early,” said Boucher. “He’s doing that as a freshman, too. That’s good for him and good for us as a team, too. That’s what we need down the stretch in close games. In his first Lewiston game he was comfortable, he was able to carry the puck, he was looking around the ice. He was solid out there.”

Most of the younger players on the opposite end of the ice were quite familiar with Anthoine, too.

“It’s awesome because now, being from Lewiston, I’m playing with some of my buddies that I grew up playing with, but they’re on the other side,” said Anthoine. “Just from watching in past years, always wanted to play against a big rival like that.”

Shades of any Saints’ past?

Boucher said it was too early to tell. Still, the fact that Anthoine is out there at all is a testament to his ability. He is, after all, still a freshman playing varsity at St. Dom’s.

“Still kind of early to compare him to any other younger players in the past,” said Boucher. “We’ve only played may one-third of our league schedule. Maybe when we’re three-quarters of the way though we’ll have a better idea. He’s holding his own and doing a good job for us.”