LEWISTON – If the defending Eastern Class A champions were hoping to make a statement at the start of this year’s tournament, they made it loud and clear Tuesday night.
Brandon Girardin’s goal just 45 seconds into the third-seeded Blue Devils’ quarterfinal with No. 6 Lawrence opened the flood gates for an impressive 9-0 win at the Colisee.
Lewiston will meet No. 2 Bangor in the semifinals at the Colisee Saturday.
Girardin potted a pair of goals, as did Casey Poussard. Toby Poirier tallied a goal and two assists and Robbie Leeman got a goal and an assist for the Devils (13-6-2). Brian Nason stopped 16 shots to earn the shutout.
“We just came out knowing we had to prove a point,” said Girardin, whose team had beaten the Bulldogs, 9-1, two weeks ago. “They said the last time we played them was a fluke, so we just wanted to prove that it wasn’t a fluke.”
“You come into this building, it’s tough building to play in,” Lewiston coach Norm Gagne said. “I told the kids it’s playoff time now, and it’s not always the most talented team that wins, it’s the team that wants it the most, and that’s the way we’ve got to play from here on out. I think we went out there and took control from the get-go.”
The Devils scored on their first shot, as Danny Cloutier found Girardin in the left circle for a one-timer that beat Lawrence goalie Allison Woods (28 saves). A breakdown in the Bulldog defense allowed Leeman to streak into the slot all alone and convert a pass from Travis Lebrun along the right boards to make it 2-0 just 3:28 in.
“We needed to come out flying and not allow them any momentum, just so we could get into a rhythm,” Girardin said. “We moved the puck really well all night.”
Poussard capped the first-period scoring with his first goal on a rebound of a Poirier shot with 41 seconds left in the period.
“He’s our third-liner, and Leeman had one, too,” Gagne said. “Those kids came through big for us, and then you add in Girardin and the Cloutier line with Ian Doucette, they were all over them.”
“We played 13 minutes of good hockey. They got two right off and one at the end. Between that, we played pretty good hockey,” said Lawrence coach Josh Blaisdell. “Same thing in the second (period). We let down for four minutes in the first 30 minutes and they capitalized.”
Broussard scored off a face-off pass from Matt Letourneau 2:12 into the second period to make it 4-0.
After a penalty-free first period, Lawrence (14-7) got the first power-play chance five minutes into the second. The Bulldogs had four power plays in the period, including a 4-on-3 that backfired when some good forechecking by Poirier led to his goal that put the Devils up 5-0. Girardin added a power-play goal at 13:52.
“We came out a little flat at the beginning of the second period and then we started taking penalties. I told them, we play best when we’re in rhythm, and that’s where we were in the first period,” Gagne said. “We got out of it a little bit in the second period, but then we stole a few goals. We took advantage of some mistakes that they made.”
The Blue Devils have had a tendency to let up with the lead this season, but they came out snarling for the third period, outshooting the Bulldogs 20-3 in the period (37-16 for the game). Tim Gilbert, Jon Roy and Andrew Joy (power play) capped the scoring.
“We’re starting to come together right now, which is vital,” Girardin said. “This is the time of the season where you need to step it up.”
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