By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Mason St. Hilaire allowed nine goals in his previous two starts, leaving many to wonder how he would fare in a Class A state title game.

Adam Wilding and the rest of the Lewiston faithful got a glove full of that answer in the third period, when St. Hilaire denied Wilding from point-blank range with five minutes to play Tuesday night.

“Maybe if we get that one, we put a little more pressure on them,” said Lewiston coach Tim Smith.

“I think the key to this whole game was Mason’s glove save,” agreed Cheverus coach Jack Lowry. “That would have made it 5-3 with about four minutes left to go. They would have cranked it up, and it would have gotten real interesting.”

It remained interesting all right – for the fans wearing purple and gold.

Cheverus got goals from Johnson, Arthur, Bryan Lavoie and Jonathan Anton, and three assists from defenseman Adam Horgan in a 5-2 win over the Lewiston Blue Devils in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Colisee.

Sam Johnson converted a feed from Alex Arthur in the right circle into a goal just 11 seconds into the game, sliding the puck under Lewiston starting netminder Nick Langlais as he sprawled from his right to left, catapulting the Stags to an early lead they would not relinquish.

“We knew that we had to start the game big,” said Johnson. “Alex and I have been playing together for a long time, and we knew it was a clutch goal. We had to come out and set the tone early. I got a perfect pass from him and tucked it in. It was a good goal for us.”

The state title is the first for Cheverus (21-1-0) in just the team’s second championship appearance. The win avenged a 3-2 loss to Lewiston in 2002, and makes Cheverus the fifth team currently skating in the Maine Principals’ Association league to hold the state title, joining Lewiston, St. Dom’s, Edward Little and Waterville. North Yarmouth Academy and Dixfield both hold titles, but are no longer skating in the league.

“I think we were a little bit more prepared mentally (than in 2002),” said Lowry. “I think this team is a little bit more mature, and I think that the quick start is what really made the difference.”

It wasn’t just the quick start that did it. The Stags’ defense rose to the occasion, allowing Lewiston just 17 shots on net, including two in the opening period.

“We didn’t match their intensity in the first period and we dug ourselves a hole,” said Smith. “Until we realized we could skate with them in the second and the third, you know, they dominated the game.”

Even with a 5-1 lead going into the third period, Cheverus never really felt safe. Lewiston racheted up the pressure in the final frame, getting three solid chances in the first half of the period, all stopped by St. Hilaire.

“At 5-1, I was comfortable,” said Lowry. “At 5-2, I started getting nervous again.”

“We knew that we had a big enough lead that, if we played good team defense, we had a good chance at winning,” added Arthur. “We had that one letdown, but we knew that if we could keep our composure that we could win the game.”

Lewiston got its second score of the night at 5:22 of the final frame when Brandon Girardin tipped home a Jonathan Roy feed from the right corner from just above the goal crease.

After Johnson’s early strike, Cheverus got another, this time from Arthur as he cut into the zone up the right boards and maneuvered past a Lewiston defender. Despite being slashed on his way by, Arthur faked Langlais to the ground and slipped the puck behind him for a 2-0 lead.

Lewiston settled down in the next few minutes, and got its lone goal of the opening frame at 5:58. After getting cleaned out behind the Cheverus net, Roy stumbled back toward the front of the cage with Cheverus defenseman Jordan Lailer on his back. Almost crawling, Roy got a stick on a Toby Poirier shot from the left point and redirected it past St. Hilaire, cutting the deficit to one.

Lavoie gave the Stags their breathing room back at 11:58, though, on the first power play of the game when he fired a backhander past Langlais on a feed from Horgan.

The Cheverus onslaught continued just 46 seconds into the middle period when Arthur collected his second of the night after avoiding a check on the right wing boards deep in the Lewiston zone. With a quick sidestep, Arthur moved to the middle and fired a wrister high to the glove side, beating Langlais.

Looking to avoid a collapse like that against St. Dom’s last week, the Stags tacked on a fifth goal at 6:50 of the second, this one from Jonathan Anton on a wrap-around that beat Langlais as he was searching for his stick in the crease. Brian Nason nearly flew off the bench following the goal, replacing Langlais between the pipes. Nason stopped all 11 shots he faced.

“Brian was the reason we won the Bangor game,” said Smith. “At the same time, Nick is the reason we won Messalonskee. If it wasn’t for a save against Messalonskee by Langlais, we’re not even here tonight, so that’s why I made that decision. Brian helped us there in the playoffs, but that’s just the way it happened.”

Lewiston (18-6-0) outplayed Cheverus in the final five minutes of the second and for much of the third, but a late penalty call against Kyle Beaulieu ended the Blue Devils’ chances of scoring in the second, and in the third, St. Hilaire stood tall.