HEBRON – Thirty-two programs play Class A boys’ hockey in Maine, but they live, work and do business in different parts of town.

Poland/Gray-New Gloucester’s cooperative team celebrated more than double the victories ascribed to Portland prior to Saturday night. The degree of difficulty, however, defied comparison.

The visiting Bulldogs gave the Patriotic Knights a taste of the middle-to-upper tier, with senior sniper Sam Guimond notching three goals and two assists to set the table for a 6-3 triumph at Robinson Arena.

Guimond gleaned two of his tallies on the power play, staking Portland (4-5-1) to a 4-1 lead at the end of one period and 6-2 after two.

“They came in ready to play. They really took it to us first period, and by the time we figured it out it was too late,” said Poland/G-NG coach Aaron Rand. “We tried to tell the boys that this was going to be a tough game. Sometimes they don’t take it too seriously until they get out there. Then they saw it first-hand.”

Ben Piper, Kolby Arnold and Jake Trickey gave the Patriotic Knights a goal in each period, all with the man advantage. Piper and Seth Champagne each registered two assists. Arnold added a helper.

After years of 17-0 and 12-1 routs that drove coaches at both end of the spectrum bananas, Class A hockey now operates with a schedule that generally permits developing teams to pick on foes of their own stature.

Poland/G-NG (7-3) entered this slight upward climb on the ladder having only two common opponents with Portland: South Portland and Deering. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have run a gauntlet of Kennebunk, Biddeford, Thornton and St. Dom’s. Two games ago, they dealt Gorham its first loss of the winter.

“We started off pretty slow at the beginning of the season, but we got a pretty big win under our belt with Gorham,” Guimond said. “We’re just looking forward now.”

Guimond’s 13 goals are third-best in the Western conference. He took the Bulldogs’ first two shots and potted both.

Scott Briggs set up a power-play goal for a 1-0 lead at the two minute mark. Guimond zigzagged end-to-end for his second strike, unassisted, at 4:17.

Piper’s ninth goal of the season brought the Patriotic Knights within one, but Portland piled on a pair in the final 44 seconds before intermission. Greg Leborgne cashed in 5-on-4 with the aid of Brian Watson and Guimond. Back at even strength, Watson redirected another Guimond offering.

“Power plays were huge today. They really capitalized early on their chances,” Rand said. “It was a little choppy at first, and it was hard to connect a few passes in a row. Once we settled down, we worked the puck pretty good.”

Guimond completed his hat trick and Jason Knight followed 50 seconds later with an unassisted goal early in the second stanza to put it out of reach.

Sean Bilodeau made 23 saves for the Patriotic Knights, denying four breakaways to keep the deficit manageable. The Arnold/Piper/Champagne line inflated its point total to 49 through the first 10 games.

Poland/G-NG remains on pace to possibly match last year’s 15-6 mark and Eastern Class A preliminary playoff appearance. The Patriotic Knights entered the week fifth in Heal Points, trailing only Waterville, Brewer, Lewiston and Bangor.

“It could be a little bit better, but the boys are working hard toward the ultimate goal of making the playoffs,” Rand said. “We need to get a home (top four) seed.”