LEWISTON — As Mariah Vaillancourt skated toward the bench Saturday night, she was met by a familiar face — and a stare.

Vaillancourt, a freshman, and the Leavitt/Edward Little girls’ hockey team were getting a glimpse of their rivals from Lewiston in a preseason round robin tournament, and when the Blue Devils and Red Hornets meet on the ice this season, bragging rights will divide the two cities.

That rivalry intensifies for Vaillancourt and Lewiston senior Emily Turner, who had cast her gaze toward the freshman forward — her stepsister.

“When I was getting off the ice, she skated by me,” Vaillancourt said. “It was like, ‘We’re a good team and you’re going to have to work hard to beat us.’ She gave me that look.”

The round robin was the first time the two step sisters had played against one another. With two regular season games to come this year, the two are looking forward to meeting again.

“I think it will be a lot of fun,” Turner said. “We bicker back and forth already about playing against each other. So I think it will be interesting.”

Turner’s mother is married to Vaillancourt’s father. It has linked a pair of hockey families, despite the rivalry in between.

“We like to make fun of each other, not necessarily the teams, but we’ll say, ‘I’ll get you on the ice,’” Turner said.

When the two teams played in the round robin Saturday at the Norway Savings Bank Arena, it was a brief taste of what is to come for the two rival teams and sisters.

Turner and Vaillancourt’s paths crossed just briefly during the 20-minute game.

“We ended up on the ice at the same time on a face-off,” Vaillancourt said. “Then when we both got off the ice, we skated past each other. That’s the first time I really saw her.

“It was pretty cool. It was kind of exciting. I really wanted to beat Lewiston because of the rivalry.”

Other than in passing, there was little opportunity to engage the other. So there wasn’t a chance for a sisterly nudge of an elbow or tap with the stick to, as they say in the movie Slapshot, “let ’em know you’re there.”

“She’s usually on the opposite side of the ice,” Vaillancourt said. “But I probably would have if I had the chance.”

The two girls have very different hockey backgrounds but were inspired to play by older siblings.

Turner didn’t play hockey until she was a freshman in high school. She had played softball and soccer. She also was involved in cheering. It wasn’t until her sister, Sarah Turner, started playing for Lewiston, that the younger sibling picked up the game.

“I’ve always wanted to play hockey,” Turner said. “It was a matter of my Mom not wanting me to. She didn’t want me to get hurt. My sister started. The summer of my freshman year, I said I wanted to play.”

Sarah had been a goalie on the field hockey team. She was enticed to play by friends and teammates that played hockey.

“She tried it and she loved it,” Turner said.

Turner has been skating for the Blue Devils ever since and is excited about her senior season, especially when she realizes how far she has come as a player.

“I think I’ve improved a lot,” Turner said. “Before, I could barely even skate. I couldn’t even get out of my own way on the ice. Now I can do all that stuff.”

She’s hoping to go to the University of Maine at Farmington next year and study Rehabilitation Services and minor in psychology. She admits she’s going to miss playing hockey and may even explore competing on a club team.

For Vaillancourt, hockey has been a significant part of her life already. She started playing young and is fairly well-seasoned for a freshman new to the varsity level. Her brother, Aaron, plays for the EL boys’ team.

“I started getting into hockey when I was six,” Vaillancourt said. “My brother started playing, and I thought it would be a pretty good thing to try.”

Playing at the varsity level is new to her. It is taking some adjustment but she’s getting accustomed to the new experience.

“It’s kind of different,” Vaillancourt said. “We used to rotate three lines. In high school, you go out when the coach puts you out there.”

The two sisters talk hockey on occasion, asking the other how the season is going and what their respective teams are like. Though the Blue Devils and Red Hornets got an advance look at each other Saturday, both teams and sisters are anxious to see how they match up in a real game.

“I’m excited to see what the final score is going to be,” Vaillancourt said.

Both teams are expected to do well this season. The Blue Devils and Red Hornets each have most of their teams back and should not only earn playoffs spots but contend when the tournament comes around.

The Red Hornets defeated the Blue Devils in a thrilling overtime battle in the Eastern A semifinals last year.

“I’m excited, especially to see how our teams end up and how we’ll do,” Turner said.

kmills@sunjournal.com

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