LEWISTON — Many times in high school hockey, a goalie goes from being a young apprentice one year to a veteran mentor a year or two later.

It’s not that simple for the Lewiston/Monmouth/Oak Hill girls’ hockey team, however.

Meagan Gosselin got to ride along as a freshman goalie two years ago on a Blue Devils team that cruised all the way to a state title, with senior Paige Fontaine as the No. 1 goalie.

Fast forward to this season and the Blue Devils have another freshman goalie, but the path to a state title is one that looks impossible to trek. Yet Camree St. Hilaire is anything but a passenger on this year’s journey.

“This is a little bit of a different situation (than two years ago),” Blue Devils coach Ron Dumont said. “No. 1, Camree has experience, and I can’t just sit her on the bench for two years. And I don’t think Meagan would want that, either. We’re trying to find a happy medium.

“Sometimes it’s hard for a goalie or even a coach to evaluate how one or the other is playing,” he said. “So we pretty much have split them most of the year, give them an opportunity to hopefully steal a game for us or keep us in one. And I think, by and large, both of them have done a real good job.”

Playing goalie was easy for Gosselin two years ago, getting sporadic starts behind Fontaine, whom Gosselin said helped her settle in. Now she’s trying to do the same for St. Hilaire.

“I was really nervous,” Gosselin said. “And she always says she’s nervous, but I’m like, ‘You know what, you’ll get used to it. And don’t be nervous, there’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s just a game, shake it off at the end if anything bad goes wrong.'”

St. Hilaire called Gosselin a “big” mentor.

“Without her, I would be by myself and I would be struggling a lot,” St. Hilaire said. “It’s good. She’s a good goalie, and it’s great having someone to compare myself with, and trying to get better every day.”

That competition, which is very much a friendly one, has helped both goalies.

“I think it’s a situation where (Meagan) has never had to, for lack of a better word, look over her shoulder, but I think that’s a good thing,” Dumont said. “I think she’s come prepared to play, as has Camree. And I think it’s good for them to have that healthy competition, because that’s what drives you to get better and better.”

The two goalies have too much on their plates to be rivals. Shots have come in bunches all season against a Blue Devils team that Dumont said is in transition, and he has tasked his net minders with trying to keep games competitive.

“They’ve both been excellent in that they have to keep us in games, whether we win them or not,” Dumont said. “And that’s hard for a goalie. You want to win.”

Gosselin said it’s helped having St. Hilaire on the team, so she’s not the only one getting pelted with shots. The two have even split time in net during the same game, including during a 7-0 loss to rival St. Dom’s earlier this season. Gosselin got the start against the defending state champs before giving way to St. Hilaire to close out the game.

“It’s nice because you’re getting pounded with shots, and you’re going to let them in. It was nice to come out,” Gosselin said. “I just said, ‘Good luck,’ (to Camree) because they’re a good team.”

All of it has been an eye-opening experience for St. Hilaire.

“It’s been scary sometimes, like the first game I started, but it’s kind of exciting being a freshman and starting games as a varsity player,” St. Hilaire said.

Dumont was prepared from the start of the season to split time as evenly as possible between his two goalies, knowing both what he had in this year’s roster and what he had in his incoming goalie.

“I knew enough about her that I knew she was a kid that was pretty proficient coming right in,” Dumont said.

And St. Hilaire has continued to earn her coach’s initial trust.

“What’s impressed me the most about her is every day, practice or game, she goes through her goalie routine before,” Dumont said. “She’s constantly asking what time we come to the dressing room, she wants to time her warm-up and the goalie activities that they do. Whether she’s playing or not, she’s preparing for the game. Or whether she anticipates to play or not, she’s ready. That’s just an outstanding habit.”

St. Hilaire said she’s also learned preparedness from Gosselin, whom she said knows both the game and the opponents really well.

Dumont said knowing the opponent factors into which of his goalies will start a game, depending on whose style better matches up with the team on the other side of the ice.

“Meagan is more of a quiet style. She gets to her spots. She’s a butterfly goalie, and plays her angles. So her style is very quiet, it’s very smooth and silky,” Dumont said. “Camree, sometimes I’m not quite sure. She’s a hybrid. She battles and battles. She’s probably all of 100 pounds, and she’s just all over the place.”

This season has been about a team growing, and two goalies doing the same — together. Dumont said next season, when he expects to have both goalies back and an improved team, he might play the hot hand in net.

“I just got to pick the right one,” he said.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com