By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – By the time the clock hit 10 minutes remaining in the first period, the question wasn’t “if,” but rather “by how much.”

Tyler Martin and Jon Rutt scored two goals each and Brady Backman and John Emerson combined for 15 saves as St. Dom’s rolled over Scarborough 8-1 in the Western Class A hockey semifinal at the Colisee.

The win is the second consecutive blowout playoff win for the Saints, which now advance to the Western Class A final against Cheverus on Tuesday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

“The difference (from the last game against Deering), I think, was that the players took a second longer to shoot, to see where the best shot would be,” said St. Dom’s coach Bob Boucher. “We had fewer shots but we took our time and made sure they were good shots.”

As usual, the St. Dom’s defense led the way, allowing just three or four quality chances to reach the tandem of goaltenders between the Saints’ pipes. This time, though, unlike in the quarterfinal victory against Deering, both goalies had to make a few key saves.

“They both had a couple of good saves tonight,” said Boucher. “Brady was solid for two periods and made the saves he had to make, and John (Emerson), what a first save to make if you’re going to make one.”

Emerson’s highlight-reel save came less than a minute after he took the ice. With 6:50 to play in the game, a Scarborough forward centered the puck from the left circle, hitting a teammate on the stick. Emerson left his right post and slid to his left, snagging the redirection just before it crossed the line.

On the other end of the ice, the St. Dom’s offense was clicking on all cylinders.

Martin got things rolling at 5:39 of the first with an unassisted, shorthanded goal as he sliced through three defenders and roofed the puck past Scarborough goaltender Josh Larrabee.

Freshman Mark Anthoine added another unassisted tally at 10:35 on a breakaway, and Rutt notched his first of the night on a short-side backhander at 11:04.

“Jon and Tyler had a couple of nice goals,” said Boucher. “Everyone was working well together up front and passing the puck well.”

Tom Gosselin, playing with Rutt most of the night, racked up three assists.

Martin and Dan Bulick scored goals 10 seconds apart as time wound down in the opening frame to run the score to 5-0, all but burying the Red Storm.

“When you have three All-State defensemen playing against you, you aren’t going to get a lot of shots,” said Scarborough coach Jay Mazur. “That’s what their whole season has been like. When you have a defensive line like that, it helps everything. The forwards get more confident and can run the offense and be in the right spots, having confidence that the puck is going to be there for them.”

Rutt and Kevin LaPlante added goals in the second, and Dylan Nadeau added the Saints’ eighth of the night 13 seconds into the final frame to cap their offensive output.

Scarborough forward Brent Mayo poked the puck past Emerson as time expired to spoil the shutout, getting an assist from Ben Tsujiura.