LEWISTON — A combination of a hot opposing goaltender and cold shooting nearly added up to a loss for Lewiston on Monday night, but Dustin Larochelle buried a chance when it counted to lift the Blue Devils to a 2-1 overtime victory in a Class A North boys’ hockey clash at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Larochelle received a 2-on-1 pass from Griffin Wade from left to right and buried it past Bangor goalie Derek Fournier five minutes into the eight-minute overtime to give Lewiston (8-1) the win.

Alex Robert rallied to get the Blue Devils to the extra session, beating Fournier from a tough angle on the right side with just over two minutes left in regulation. Jeromey Rancourt fed the freshman for the goal.

“You want to put pucks to the net when you’re down by a goal,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said. “(Alex is) a smart player. He’s good around the net, so he was able to pop one.”

After a scoreless first 40 minutes of the game, another freshman, Bangor’s Josh Sherwood, put the Rams (6-3-1) on the board first. Trevor DeLaite passed to Sherwood from the behind the net, and the first-year player slipped a shot between the left post and Lewiston goalie Jacob Strout.

The Rams came out flying in the game, putting the first shot on net and controlling the majority of the possession in the opening minutes.

“The effort was great, right from the start of the game,” Bangor assistant coach Mike Hersom said. “We said from the drop of the puck we needed to come out and be ready for that full-speed tempo. I thought we had a good start and we kind of carried it right through.”

The Blue Devils finally got a shot of their own on goal nearly four minutes in, then proceeded to dominate the shot count the rest of the way, finishing with a 46-11 advantage.

“We put a lot of pucks to the net, but they weren’t quality shots in my opinion,” Belleau said. “And we weren’t doing the little things right.”

When Lewiston did put quality shots on frame, they were gobbled up by Fournier, whose highlights included glove saves against Rancourt and Jean-Luc Dostie.

“We know we got Derek back there, so we want to try to clear out a lane and have a good look, and he definitely showed up tonight and had a great game,” Hersom said.

Despite owning the edge in shots and possession, Belleau said it was his team that got owned in the hustle department.

“We got out-worked. We didn’t come into the game mentally focused. We made a lot of mental mistakes,” Belleau said. “We established no forecheck until maybe the last five minutes of the game. We didn’t win puck battles on the boards. We didn’t win battles to loose pucks.”

What the Blue Devils did do was enough to secure a victory over a quality opponent.

“We didn’t play well at all in all my opinion,” Belleau said. “That being said, I thought Bangor … they came here and they worked their tails off. They knew they have a good goaltender, they knew they were going to ride him as long as he can go. Those kids worked their tails off, gave themselves a chance to win, and you got to compliment them for that.”

Belleau found positives in the game, with his team both securing a win and finding plenty to improve on if it wants to get another win when Edward Little comes to the Colisee on Saturday.

Bangor, meanwhile, has to dig deeper than the win column for positives, after coming up short in its upset bid.

“It’s tough to lose that game at the end,” Hersom said. “We know that Lewiston is a talented team, top to bottom. Even though we hate losing, it’s kind of an eye-opener for us. We can skate with them.”

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

LEWISTON — A combination of a hot opposing goaltender and cold shooting nearly added up to a loss for Lewiston on Monday night, but Dustin Larochelle buried home a chance when it counted to lift the Blue Devils to a 2-1, overtime victory in a Class A North boys’ hockey clash at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Larochelle received a 2-on-1 pass from Griffin Wade from left to right and buried it past Bangor goalie Derek Fournier five minutes into the eight-minute overtime to give Lewiston (8-1) the win.

Alex Robert rallied to get the Blue Devils to the extra session, beating Fournier from a tough angle on the right side with just over two minutes left in regulation. Jeromey Rancourt fed the freshman for the goal.

“You want to put pucks to the net when you’re down by a goal,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said. “(Alex is) a smart player. He’s good around the net, so he was able to pop one.”

After a scoreless first 40 minutes of the game, another freshman, Bangor’s Josh Sherwood, put the Rams (6-3-1) on the board first. Trevor DeLaite passed to Sherwood from the behind the net, and the first-year player slipped a shot between the left post and Lewiston goalie Jacob Strout.

The Rams came out flying in the game, putting the first shot on net and controlling the majority of the possession in the opening minutes.

“The effort was great, right from the start of the game,” Bangor assistant coach Mike Hersom said. “We said from the drop of the puck we needed to come out and be ready for that full-speed tempo. I thought we had a good start and we kind of carried it right through.”

The Blue Devils finally got a shot of their own on goal nearly four minutes in, then proceeded to dominate the shot count the rest of the way, finishing with a 46-11 advantage.

“We put a lot of pucks to the net, but they weren’t quality shots in my opinion,” Belleau said. “And we weren’t doing the little things right.”

When Lewiston did put quality shots on frame, they were gobbled up by Fournier, whose highlights included glove saves against Rancourt and Jean-Luc Dostie.

“We know we got Derek back there, so we want to try to clear out a lane and have a good look, and he definitely showed up tonight and had a great game,” Hersom said.

Despite owning the edge in shots and possession, Belleau said it was his team that got owned in the hustle department.

“We got out-worked. We didn’t come into the game mentally focused. We made a lot of mental mistakes,” Belleau said. “We established no forecheck until maybe the last five minutes of the game. We didn’t win puck battles on the boards. We didn’t win battles to loose pucks.”

What the Blue Devils did do was enough to secure a victory over a quality opponent.

“We didn’t play well at all in all my opinion,” Belleau said. “That being said, I thought Bangor … they came here and they worked their tails off. They knew they have a good goaltender, they knew they were going to ride him as long as he can go. Those kids worked their tails off, gave themselves a chance to win, and you got to compliment them for that.”

Belleau found positives in the game, with his team both securing a win and finding plenty to improve on if it wants to get another win when Edward Little comes to the Colisee on Saturday.

Bangor, meanwhile, has to dig deeper than the win column for positives, after coming up short in its upset bid.

“It’s tough to lose that game at the end,” Hersom said. “We know that Lewiston is a talented team, top to bottom. Even though we hate losing, it’s kind of an eye-opener for us. We can skate with them.”

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

Derek Fournier