Facing Yarmouth/Freeport/Gray-New Gloucester in Saturday’s high school girls’ hockey season opener at Travis Roy Arena, it was clear the now-sophomore unit hasn’t missed a beat.

Brooks scored five goals and assisted on two others, while Labbe and Sage combined for five more points in a 7-2 Dragons win.

Brunswick (1-0) will face defending state champion St. Dom’s on Wednesday at Norway Savings Arena in Auburn, while the Clippers (0-1) play host to Mt. Ararat/Morse on Tuesday.

Leading 2-1 in the second period after Clippers standout Katie Clemmer put the hosts on the board, Labbe potted a pair of goals 1:07 apart for a 4-1 Dragons lead. Brunswick had a chance to up its advantage during a 5-on-3 power play later in the middle frame, and though the Dragons failed to score, Brooks tickled the twine seconds after the advantage had come to an end to make for a 5-1 contest.

“It feels good to get things going,” said Labbe, who had two goals and an assist. “We know where each other are and have played together for a while. The flow in the second period was good. For us, it is about keeping the pace up.”

“They move the puck well and are unselfish,” said Brunswick coach Dave Boucher, who talked about the second period surge. “That was a key moment for us. They stopped the 5-on-3, and they played well during the penalty kill, but we were able to score.”

Clemmer gave the Clippers some hope, scoring with 16 seconds remaining in the second period to bring the hosts to within three goals, 5-2.

“Clemmer is exceptional and had a battle with Jenna out there,” Boucher said. “She doesn’t have as much support around her like Jenna does.”

“We just need to put the puck in the net,” said Yarmouth/Freeport/Gray-NG coach Megan Vaughan. “Their top line is good and know how to find each other well. We were out of position at times, which makes it hard to defend. We didn’t have our full team tonight, so we expect to get better.”

Brooks scores

Brunswick jumped out to a 1-0 lead 3:03 into the game. Defenseman Colleen McKearney sent a pass to Brooks, who worked her away around a defender and beat Yarmouth/Freeport/Gray-NG goaltender Isabelle King on a breakaway.

In the other crease, Dragons keeper Marylyn Daniel made two stops on Clemmer and managed to find a hard wrist shot from the point off the stick of Sophie Newberg to keep Brunswick on top through 15 minutes.

Brooks, off an assist from Labbe, made it a 2-0 Brunswick advantage 1:53 into the middle frame.

But, the Clippers answered, with Clemmer skating out of the corner and sending a shot underneath the crossbar at 3:43. Newberg picked up an assist.

Labbe answered 35 seconds later, finishing off a setup from Brooks and Sage, and Labbe’s goal from Brooks at 5:25 made for a 4-1 Brunswick lead.

Brooks made it 5-1 with five minutes left in the period, with Anna Webster earning an assist.

From there, the Clippers controlled the period, firing six straight shots on Daniel’s goal before Clemmer hammered a rebound home.

“Our goaltending was good tonight,” said Boucher of Daniel, who had 21 saves. “Marylyn stopped Katie several times tonight.”

Any hope for a Clippers comeback ended on a pair of goals from Brooks 44 seconds apart early in the third period.

“Jenna leads this team by doing those types of things, playing hard on both ends of the ice,” said Boucher, who feels his team needs to develop a strong second line to compete with the stronger teams. “We are not as strong on the second line like we were last year. We have new players who are being asked to play that second line position instead of the third. We are getting there.”

King turned aside 13 Brunswick shots. Neither team scored on the power play, as the Clippers were 0-for-2 and the Dragons 0-for-3.

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