LEWISTON — When St. Dom’s swarmed the net in the opening minute and nearly scored on its first shot, it was a positive sign of things to come.

The Saints followed up the immediate momentum and struck twice in the opening minutes Wednesday against the defending Class A state champs from Waterville. St. Dom’s rode that strong start in a 4-1 victory over the previously unbeaten Purple Panthers. Waterville beat St. Dom’s in the state championship game last year, before the Saints moved to Eastern Maine.

“It definitely feels good, especially after losing to them last year,” said forward Alex Parker. “They’re No. 1 in the standings. So that’s a big win for us.”

The Saints (3-1) got two quick goals from Parker and Cam Brown. Though Waterville got within 2-1 in the first, the Purple Panthers were never able to mount a comeback. St. Dom’s added a pair of goals from Nate Bergeron in the second and third periods respectively.Will Desmarais had a pair of assists for the Saints.

“There are certain teams during the year that you say you have to get a split with,” said St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette. “Waterville is one of those teams who you can’t go through the regular season and get swept.”

Waterville (5-1) was playing without senior forward Nick DeBlois. The captain and one of the state’s best offensive players was forced to sit out the game after drawing five penalties in a win over Messalonskee on Monday. That hampered the Purple Panther offense, which was blanked on four power-play tries and didn’t get much momentum going until the final period.

St. Dom’s was also bouncing back from Saturday’s 4-1 loss against Thornton. With Lewiston coming up Saturday, the Saints are in the heart of a challenging stretch. Wednesday’s quick start was certainly a step in the right direction.

“Those two quick goals, and I think we almost had a third one there right at the start,” said Ouellette. “Hopefully we’ll start to play more games here on a weekly basis and get more of a flow and get some momentum.”

Moments after the Saints nearly scored on their first shot of the game, the continued pressure led to Parker’s tally just 1:32 into the game. Then at 6:38,  Brown burst down the left wing for a goal to make it 2-0.

“Back-to-back losses would have been tough to get by, especially with a game coming up with Lewiston,” said Parker. “So this was huge.”

The Purple Panthers got one of those back at 7:54 when Kyle Bishop scored with a wrister to the top of the net after Waterville won a face-off at the right circle.

The Saints nearly scored even earlier in the second. With a power play winding down, Parker burst in from the left side but was stonewalled by Waterville goal Ryan Cormier. Waterville had a power play late in the period but could muster little pressure. It’s best bid of the period came after a tripping call nixed that man advantage. Josh Gaudette had a near breakaway, but St. Dom’s netminder Shayne Curtis preserved the lead with a save.

The Saints made it 3-1 on the subsequent power play. Bergeron was staked out in front and redirected a shot on net. Cormier made the stop, but Bergeron got a second try and slipped home the rebound.

Waterville created some pressure in the third and even earned a power play for its efforts. David Cook got off a shot in the slot that Curtis stopped, and the Purple Panther’s frustration on the power play continued. Then with 7:39 left, the Saints made it 4-1 when Parker sent a pass from the right circle to Bergeron on the other side of the slot for a one-timer.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten back up to where we should be,” said Ouellette. “We still can execute better, but there were still some bright spots.”