By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

AUBURN – It didn’t take long to realize that special teams were going to play a significant role Saturday night.

And that’s just what Edward Little coach Jamie Belleau didn’t want.

“I’m happy about the effort, but I’m disappointed that we practiced all week about maintaining our composure and not taking some penalties,” said Belleau. “That makes a difference at this level, and hopefully the kids will learn from it.”

St. Dom’s scored on two power plays and added a third goal moments after killing off an EL advantage in a 3-0 win.

“Special teams was a factor,” said St. Dom’s coach Bob Boucher. “I think we probably had too many special teams. We couldn’t get a regular flow of three lines, and that certainly hurt our overall offense.”

Ryan Guerin, Nick Stalford and Matt Manson all had goals for the Saints (9-2) while Brady Blackman had the shutout with 15 saves. EL’s Kris Bennett made 34 stops.

“Our penalty kill has been outstanding but as far as the power play, it’s been very inconsistent,” said Boucher. “The second half of the season, we’ve started to pick it up a little more the last two or three games.”

St. Dom’s had six power plays while Edward Little had eight. The two clubs combined for 32 minutes in penalties. Though St. Dom’s managed to take advantage with its power play, Edward Little (7-6) came up empty, including getting blanked on a five-on-three advantage in the third period.

“It’s frustrating because we knew going in that St. Dom’s, in my opinion, was the most talented team in the state, and we knew their power play was very good,” said Belleau. “We took too many penalties. You take away two of those goals, and it’s a 1-0 game. We had some good scoring opportunities, more than we did the first time against them, and their goalie made some good saves.”

EL, which lost to St. Dom’s 2-0 earlier in the year, had two early power play chances to start Saturday’s game but could only muster one shot on goal. St. Dom’s then got its crack at the power play and made it 1-0 at 7:11. Guerin wristed one from the left circle.

Then with 1:20 left in the first period, St. Dom’s made it 2-0 when Stalford wristed home a rebound. EL had just come up empty on its third power play try in the period.

“We didn’t capitalize on our power play opportunities, and we’ve been working on it,” said Belleau.

EL’s best threats came in the second. Corey Larue had a breakaway but his shot went wide. Larue and Kevin Smith broke in on a two-on-one, but couldn’t get a shot off. EL was outshot 30-6 in the first two periods.

St. Dom’s made it 3-0 with 2:30 left in the second. Matt Mason scored on a rebound from the left circle for another power play goal.

“When they’re scoring power play goals, it changes the whole dynamic and momentum of the game,” said Belleau. “If we’re not in the box, and we’re not consistently trying to kill off penalties, some of our chances we may have capitalized on because of the momentum of the game.”

The final period was bogged down by seven penalties, but EL created some of its best pressure of the night. The Saints defense didn’t relent and killed off three power plays, including the two-man advantage.

“The defense has done its job, staying at home,” said Boucher. “We were able to mark up some players that were coming through the lanes, and that helped close them down a little.”