AUBURN – There’s a difference between one-sided and ugly.

The Leavitt/Edward Little cooperative girls’ hockey team’s 5-0 triumph Saturday over Winslow at Norway Savings Bank Arena was a resounding mismatch by every statistical measuring stick except the scoring column.

Credit Winslow senior goaltender Jessica Cain for keeping the neon numbers from escalating out of control. Cain made 60 saves.

“She was in there fighting the whole time. She really made a lot of good saves, and their team was fighting hard defensively,” Leavitt/Little coach Shon Collins said. “The girls kept working hard. When it was 2-0 after the second period, I think they were a little frustrated, but they kept plugging.”

Taylor Landry and Paige Landry each collected two goals for Leavitt/Little, which scored three times in the third period to put it away.

Mariah Vaillancourt had the other Red Hornets goal. Emma Martineau and Haley Frohlich each logged a pair of assists.

The victory ended a two-game skid for the Red Hornets, who dropped only four regular-season games on their charge to the regional title game a year ago. Greely and Scarborough downed Leavitt/Little by identical 2-1 scores.

“This was good to get us back on the right track,” said Paige Landry, one of only three Red Hornets seniors.

Leavitt/Little matched that week-and-a-half of scoring output in under three minutes against Winslow. It took Cain’s 22 stops to keep the disparity at 2-0 after one period. Paige Landry and Taylor Landry scored the goals early, in a 58-second span.

Paige Landry notched the initial tally after the Red Hornets won a faceoff deep in the Black Raiders’ zone. Cain saw the ensuing shot but couldn’t prevent it from squeezing between the pads. Martineau picked up an assist at 1:18.

“It was a lot of teamwork. We have been working on us being a line and rotating the puck and just working together,” Landry said. “Emma fed me a really pass for my first goal, first shift, and then we got a lucky one at the end.”

Cain simply fell victim to a splendid individual play on the second goal. Taylor Landry flagged down a pass from Frohlich behind the net. She zigzagged for a moment and froze the Winslow defense before completing the wrap-around with a flick of the wrist.

Leavitt/Little had opportunities to widen the lead. Taylor Landry nicked the post with one bid, then was robbed by a sliding Cain on the follow-up.

Meanwhile, Winslow couldn’t muster more than a few seconds of uninterrupted possession. The Red Hornets had the only two shots on goal during the Black Raiders’ lone power play of the opening period.

Martineau hustled back to break up a 3-on-2 and stifle Winslow’s only significant opportunity against Leavitt/Little freshman goalie Savannah Shaw.

Cain stoned, smothered and swept aside 21 more shots in the second period. Leavitt/Little’s best chance came off the stick of Vaillancourt, who tipped in the puck during 4-on-4 action with 3:01 remaining. An official’s whistle already had stopped play, however, and there was no goal.

“There were so many times it was right there in front of the net,” Paige Landry said. “Overall, we just kept working and stayed strong.”

Vaillancourt’s frustration continued when she clanged the crossbar in the first 30 seconds of the final period. Her patience was rewarded in the form of a goal assisted by Taylor Landry at the end of that possession.

Jordyn Dorval, Hillary Libby and Paige Veilleux tirelessly deflected shots for Winslow, which dressed only 11 skaters besides Cain.

Veilleux finally broke the Raiders’ drought without a shot on goal, charting the course when Winslow won a faceoff after a Leavitt/Little. Shaw alertly kicked it wide to preserve the Red Hornets’ second shutout of the season.

“We’ve had a couple of tough games and it’s nice to get a win, especially the way we controlled the puck in the offensive zone,” Collins said.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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