LEWISTON – Offense is fleeting and fickle these days for the Lewiston High School boys’ hockey team.

Defense? Now there’s a loyal friend that could chauffeur the Blue Devils on another run deep into the Eastern Class A playoffs.

The four-time reigning regional champions weren’t flush with firepower Wednesday night, but a goal in each period was more than enough ammunition for goaltender Cam Poussard and the Lewiston defense to tuck away a 3-0 victory over league rival Brunswick at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Ryan Lemelin, Ben McDonough and Nick Mathon found the net for Lewiston (9-5-1). Mathon, Jake Brown and Devin McLellan led the defensive resistance in front of Poussard, who finished with 22 saves.

“We’re really clicking. The effort’s there. A lot of us, we’ve been there. We’ve been to three state championship games,” said Brown, a senior captain. “We knew there were going to be low-scoring games, but we’ve got a great goalie.”

Since erupting for 32 goals in their first three trips to the ice in December, the Devils have celebrated only 28 goals in their last dozen appearances. They were goose-egged in their last three losses to Brewer, Waterville and Bangor, the three teams Lewiston is chasing for seeding in the divisional playoffs.

Lewiston’s goals-against average is a sterling 1.53, though. Seven of the Devils’ nine wins have been shutouts.

“We have a very good goaltender. We have a good group of defensemen. We have forwards who know how to play well defensively,” said Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau. “It goes without saying that we’ve struggled to put the puck in the net, but any time we keep the other team from scoring goals we give ourselves a chance to win the game.”

The Blue Devils killed four penalties, two in the third period. They’ve allowed only six goals with a man in the penalty box all season.

One goal was enough, again, and sophomore Lemelin provided that formality with 2:26 remaining in the opening period. Mathon notched the assist.

“Getting the first goal is important in any game, but it’s very big for us,” Belleau said.

McDonough deposited the insurance goal from the left circle at 8:08 of the second, Zac Racine assisting.

Poussard was at his best in the second period, beginning with his robbery of Charlie Frye on a breakaway. The sophomore also was a central figure in Lewiston’s dismissal of a 5-on-3 along with penalty-killers Cody Dussault, Brown, Mathon and Robbie Leeman.

Leeman nearly gave Lewiston an insurance goal, two men down, but Brunswick goalie Jack Wise slid to his belly and snuffed out that close encounter just as the first penalty expired.

Lewiston attempted only two shots in the third period, but Mathon put one of those Wise for a power-play tally at 10:52. McDonough and Scott Ouellette furnished the assists.

“We don’t overlook anybody. That’s a team we wanted to beat,” said Belleau, “and now we can get ready for Bangor (Saturday).”

The Dragons tested Poussard with only five shots in the final stanza.

Second chances against Bangor and Waterville are sandwuiched around a game with Edward Little at the end of Lewiston’s regular-season slate.

“We’ve got a tough schedule. If you look at our cross-over games, it’s not easy,” Brown said. “But we usually start to click about the beginning of February.”