LEWISTON – Three years ago, to imagine Tim Roy wearing a C’ on his Lewiston High School jersey would have taken a lot of foresight. After tryouts his freshman year, Roy was cut from the team without so much as a junior varsity assignment.
Kyle Beaulieu, meanwhile, was lacing up his skates as a freshman at St. Dom’s, and Toby Poirier was still day-dreaming of playing high school hockey in his eighth-grade math class.
Even last year, Roy was the fourth man in the rotation, Poirier the sixth and Beaulieu started the season playing for the black and white before transferring to Lewiston.
Now, all three are playing integral roles in the Blue Devils’ success this season.
“The strength of this team has to be the defense,” said Roy. “If we have an off-night, it shows on the whole team.”
“It comes with the defense having more experience, I think,” added Poirier, whose game-winner against EL put Lewiston in the Eastern Class A semifinals tonight against Messalonskee.
Lewiston coach Tim Smith, meanwhile, is just happy to have his top four defensemen (Poirier, Roy, Beaulieu and Kevin LeBlanc) healthy and playing well.
“We basically use four defenseman on a regular basis,” said Smith. “And we have two freshmen that also play. It’s nice when the defense plays well. You have to have faith and confidence that a veteran defense will play well for you in the playoffs.”
Smith said Roys is particularly important because of his role as captain and his persistence.
“When you cut kids as freshmen, they have two options,” said Smith. “Some of them get discouraged and don’t come back out as sophomores, and some of them have enough drive and belief in themselves to come back out and keep trying. Tim has really stepped up in the last three years, and this year especially, taking on the role of captain. he’s stepped up into that role well.”
Roy has been typically paired with LeBlanc, while Poirier and Beaulieu share the ice on their shifts.
“Toby was the No. 6 guy last year,” said Smith. “He got the chance to sit on the bench during varsity games and watch and get used to the level of play, to learn from what he saw, and this year he’s really stepped up to fill that spot.”
“I think I learned more from playing over the summer and this year as it went along,” said Poirier. “Honestly, that was much better for me, to get thrown into it, that sitting and watching.”
No matter how, it all worked out in the Blue Devils’ favor.
Beaulieu, meanwhile, came in midway through last year’s campaign and immediately brought a tough factor to the Lewiston blue line.
“I’ve pretty much been in the gym for four years straight,” said Beaulieu. “There are a lot of smaller players in the league, and to have that as an advantage is a big deal.”
Roy and Poirier have also made strides in the weight room, and Roy showed that off a few weeks back when he won the fastest-skater competition in the high school division of the Lewiston Maineiacs’ skills competition.
“A big part of this game is off the ice,” said Roy. “You can’t just sit around all summer and expect to get better. Getting in shape is all part of it.”
The Blue Devils’ blue line will face a stiff test against a tough Messalonskee team that upended Waterville 6-1 Tuesday. The Eagles and Blue Devils battled in a classic at the Colisee earlier in the season, and tonight will square off in a one-and-done game to see who will earn a berth in the Eastern Class A finals. The first game of the night will feature No. 1 Bangor and No. 4 Brunswick. The Rams thrashed Mt. Ararat 6-0 in the first round, while the Dragons put up nine goals in a 9-4 win over Brewer. The first game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at the Colisee.
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