LEWISTON  — One shot and one quick deficit.

That’s how the evening started for the Lewiston boys’ hockey team Saturday night. But it ended in a much more convincing fashion.

The York Wildcats, among the top teams in Western B, scored on their first shot midway through the opening period. Lewiston simply shrugged off that early deficit and scored seven unanswered goals in a 7-1 victory.

“York’s a premier powerhouse in Class B,” said Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. We knew we’d have our hands full. Having them get off the bus and pop one in on us, we responded well.”

After a Patrick DeBlois goal tied it in the first, Lewiston overwhelmed York in the second. The Blue Devils scored twice and poured on 18 shots. Lewiston then added four more goals in the third.

“The game can be really easy when we’re skating,” said Belleau. “It’s a puck possession game. We were able to get the puck in deep in the second period. We established a forecheck, and they had a hard time breaking out of the zone. We were getting a lot of pucks to the net because of that.”

After that first York shot, the Wildcats were held to just four more in the first and managed just two in each of the last two periods. Lewiston goalie Evan Bourassa didn’t have a ton of save opportunities but still made a stop on a Conor O’Brien break in the third.

“That’s about as good as we’ve played all year,” said Belleau. “We played very good in our defensive end and limited their quality shots. We took care of the neutral zone better than we have and our forecheck was the key. We put the puck in deep and we put pucks to the net. We got a lot of goals from rebounds and kids crashing the net.”

York (6-4-2) scored on its first shot of the game. O’Brien came out of the corner and flipped a wrister from the left circle to the top of the net at 8:01.

“It was hard to comeback,” said Lewiston forward David Cusson, who had a goal and an assist in the second. “We’ve been through a lot already this year. We’ve learned to face adversity. We knew that if we worked hard good things would come. That’s how we came back.”

That lead only lasted until Lewiston’s next power play. After coming up empty on the first try on the man advantage, the Blue Devils tied it with 5:08 left in the first. DeBlois blasted a shot from the left point, set up by the passing of Ryan Lemelin and Desmond Gagne.

The Blue Devils (8-3-1) built the lead in the second. At 4:31, York had trouble controlling the loose puck in the crease. Goalie Jared Pasternak was down at the left post with the puck behind him. His Wildcat defenseman couldn’t control the puck and under pressure by Cusson, the puck went in.

“It was in between the kids skates and I put in it while crashing the net,” said Cusson. “That’s the main thing for us this year. If we’re not going to get the clean goal, we’re going to go after it and get it right in front of the net.”

Pasternak made a nice stop on Lemelin with 4:25 left and then flashed a pad save on a Cusson shot from the slot, but Cam Marquis was staked out at the left post to put in the rebound with 3:46 left in the second.

“We started picking it up and getting some momentum,” said Cusson. “Everybody started working together.”

The Blue Devils made it 4-1 just 41 seconds into the third. A shot from the point hit the post, but Devin Beland was there to put in the loose puck from the right side. Matt Poulin backhanded one in front with 5:53 left. Lemelin added a late power play goal and DeBlois finished the game off with his second of the night.

“We came out the played pretty well in the first,” said Belleau. “Certainly, we didn’t have the intensity we had in the second and third. Overall, I take the three periods. I’m really pleased with the way the kids played.”

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