By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – The edge in tonight’s Western Maine Class A hockey final at the Cumberland County Civic Center belongs to No. 1 Cheverus, right?

Or was that No. 2 St. Dom’s?

It depends on who you ask and what you ask.

“If you look at both teams, I think both teams are very balanced,” said St. Dom’s coach Bob Boucher. “Both teams have good defensemen, both teams have good scorers and both teams have consistent goaltending. They’ve shown that all year long. Because of that, you have to expect it’s going to be a close game.”

“The teams are so even, it’s going to come down to mistakes,” agreed Cheverus coach Jack Lowry. “The team that makes the least amount of crucial mistakes is going to win.”

Previous games have been telling, but this year even those have been tight, one-goal affairs. Each team took one win, but only Cheverus’ 3-2 win at Portland Ice Arena, counted in the standings.

The venue might play as big a part in the game as some of the players. The Saints, however, won at the Cumberland County Civic Center last year for the first time in what seemed like years, but the ice surface is different now. The blue lines are bigger and the neutral zone shrunk with the new AHL rules by which the Portland Pirates abide.

“Don’t think there’s much of a difference between that arena and ours now,” said Boucher. “Ours might be a little bigger. The kids are going to play the blue lines like they always play the blue lines. I don’t think that will make any difference.”

As with any playoff game, the goaltending situation is of particular interest. Brady Blackman is the St. Doms’ starter, and with few exceptions, has faced fewer than 20 shots in nearly every game he has played.

“We have confidence that he can make the big saves when he is asked to,” said Boucher.

Mason St. Hilaire will likely start for Cheverus, although he is fresh off a four-goals-on-14-shots outing against Falmouth.

“That’s not normal,” said Boucher. “Everyone is entitled to an off-night during the season, and he had his that night. You can’t expect that he’s going to allow five goals in a game again.”

Lowry admitted that his sophomore might have a short leash against the Saints.

“I talked to him (Sunday),” said Lowry. “I told him that his practice on Saturday stunk, and that he’d better not still be thinking about Friday’s game. We had a good long talk and I think he’s ready to go now. I didn’t go as far as threaten, but I have to let John Spring, my other goalie know, to be ready to play (tonight), so I told Mason that any soft goals and he’d be coming out.”

After seeing St. Hilaire give up a couple of soft goals against Falmouth, the Saints’ forwards devised a simple game plan.

“As the game goes on, (St. Hilaire) builds momentum with each save,” said St. Dom’s forward Jon Rutt. “We have to go to work on him early and build our own momentum. They have bigger defensemen than we are used to facing, and they play a really physical game, so we have to be able to go out wide and then crash the net.”

Defensively, St. Dom’s is in good shape.

“It’s important to have defensemen like we have,” said goaltender Brady Blackman. “Teams like Cheverus like to crash the net a lot, so our d-men need to do what they have been doing all year, and I need to put the rebounds in the corner or cover them up.”

On offense, Boucher is concerned about being too anxious to score.

“We have to make sure we don’t get caught three-deep,” said Boucher. “That’s the one thing we’ve focused on all year. We do sometimes get caught with that third man too deep, but we have to make sure he’s high in the slot to help out the defense and hopefully slow down their transition game.”

And for the Saints’ offense?

“We’re hoping the same thing happens (tonight) that’s been happening all year,” said Boucher, “and that for all three lines to get in there and contribute. The first and second lines are about even in producing goals and points this year, and the third line chips one in there now and then, and that’s what’s going to have to happen tomorrow.”

Sam Johnson and Alex Arthur have also been able to light the lamp with regularity for Cheverus, making the matchup that much more intriguing.

“I really don’t believe there is an edge,” said Lowry. “I’ve been nervous about this game since ours got over Friday night. It should be a great high school hockey game.”