The Saints are going to have to do it again and with more emphasis Saturday while relying on a young but battle-tested defensive corps. Indeed, it has been the Saints’ defense that has carried the team in the10 games since that loss to Thornton, allowing only 12 goals during that stretch.

“It’s definitely something we take a lot of pride in,” senior defenseman Cam Hainey said. “Coming into the season, our main goal was, defense first. That was going to have to be where our success came from.”

Hainey is the lone senior on the blue line, and one of only two veterans who began the season with varsity experience, alongside junior Will Desmarais.

“They were the only two with varsity experience this year,” St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette said. “It was another classic case of converting forwards to defense on their career. That plays into the fact that you have another two guys have puck-carrying ability out there, which helps you break out of the zone and keep pressure on the other team. But they’ve been big for us this year in terms of leadership.”

The Saints roll primarily four defensemen, with Hainey and Desmarais the clear leaders. Joining them on the back end this season are junior Zack DeBlois and sophomore Avery Jones, as well as freshmen Matt Chasse and Bryan Bonenfant.

“They’re good examples, Zack in particular, of guys who have paid their dues,” Ouellette said. “Zack spent two years on JV and got to move up the old traditional way. Not the fastest guy out there, but he’s a very smart hockey player.”

“We have a pretty good JV program,” DeBlois said. “We play a lot of really good teams, so I think that helped prepare me, summer hockey helped prepare me and we have really good coaches.”

Jones, meanwhile, is in as only a sophomore. His development this season took a bit more time, but with his size and reach, he’s fast become one of the top shutdown defenders in Eastern A.

“Avery is really developing into a classic defenseman,” Ouellette said. “He’s got the long strides and the long reach and he covers ice quickly. With his size, he has that strength to push people back.”

“I got a little taste of it last year, but this was a really big step,” Jones said. “They’re good role models, people to take after and play with on the ice.”

Hainey and Desmarais take their role as teachers seriously, knowing what they help achieve will only benefit future St. Dom’s teams.

“For the first couple of weeks, and through tryouts, we knew at least who our top four ‘D’ were going to be,” Hainey said. “Me and Will, we had to help them out, help them not be so nervous, get them comfortable and more relaxed. It’s worked. We knew we had to step up and be leaders.”

“I know the guys look up to Cam and I,” Desmarais said. “As long as we keep level heads and stay patient and go through the motions properly, they’ll pick up on it pretty well.”

Even Ouellette’s younger defensemen are gaining valuable experience this year as the Saints grow their stable of blueliners.

“We have some other guys, like Bonenfant and Chasse, who in some games have had to log significant minutes,” Ouellette said. “They’re freshmen, they’re role players right now, and if they give us a couple of shifts here and there to rest the other guys, that’s their role right now.”

But even if the majority of the younger players’ time is spent on the bench, Hainey remembers well that even that is an important part of learning the position.

“Going into a state championship, not everybody gets to do that your freshman year,” Hainey said. “They’re getting, they’re learning what to do in certain situations in the playoffs, in tight games. I think they’ll learn a lot from it.”

As for the newer players on the ice, the experience they’ve already gained through the regular season and three playoff games has shown up in spades.

“It’s just confidence. (DeBlois and Jones) had to play more minutes,” Hainey said. “They got more relaxed and didn’t have to get put into every tough situation, but they got into some and kind of eased their way in. Now that it’s playoffs, they’re more comfortable, they have confidence in themselves. We have confidence in them.”