St. Dominic Academy players celebrate a goal by Kristina Cornelio in the third period of a playoff game against Brunswick in Auburn on Tuesday.
AUBURN — It’s hard enough to sweep a regular-season series, never mind adding a third consecutive win over the same opponent in the playoffs.
The St. Dominic Academy girls’ hockey team found out quickly Tuesday that their third meeting with Brunswick was going to be no cake walk in their Northern Maine semifinal contest at Norway Savings Bank Arena.
A four-goal third period helped the Saints to a 6-2 victory over the Dragons, putting away a game that was tied after each of the first two periods. The final margin of victory was the third-smallest of the season for the Saints, who defeated the Dragons 11-1 twice during the regular season.
The victory puts St. Dom’s in the Northern Maine regional final at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday against the Greely Rangers at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
Kristina Cornelio carried the offense, finishing with five goals on the night to spark the Saints’ offense.
“It’s definitely different for us,” Cornelio said. “We knew what we had to do, the shots weren’t placed the best. Once we started getting some in, the floodgates just opened.”
Cornelio put the Saints on the board 1:36 into the game, crossing the ice and going top shelf on the backhand in the slot. Callie Samson picked up the lone assist on the goal.
“I had the puck on my stick and I was coming cross the slot and I didn’t want to waste anytime on my forehand for that perfect shot,” Cornelio said. “I just let it go and thankfully it found the back of the net.”
Midway through the first, Beth Labbe put the Dragons on the board, streaking in on Saints goalie Payton Winslow and slipping the puck past the junior keeper.
Brunswick continued the momentum on the power play two minutes later, as Bugsy Hammerton went off for interference.
The game remained tied going into the first intermission as Dragons’ goalie Marylyn Daniel made 17 saves in the period. She made 43 saves on the night.
“We knew we would get outshot, outplayed, we were just trying to play good defense in front of our terrific goalie,” Brunswick coach Dave Boucher said. “She definitely had her best game of the year. Being a senior, it’s great to end on that note for our seniors.”
Cornelio gave the Saints (19-0) a 2-1 lead early in the second when she went to the backhand once again 18 seconds into the frame.
It was the only goal Daniel would give up in the second. She stopped the next 12 she faced.
After serving a two-minute penalty for hooking, Jenna Brooks came out of the box, picked up the puck in the neutral zone, beat a defender in the offensive zone, went across the slot to get Winslow moving and lifted the puck under the bar with 28 seconds left.
It was the Dragons’ (9-11-0) first and only shot on net in the period.
Despite the game being tied, Saints coach Paul Gosselin was pleased with how the second period went.
“We carried the play quite a bit,” Gosselin said. “A lot of the play was in their zone, the second period we were in there most of the time. Their goalie did a fantastic job and our shot selection, we shot on her a lot. A lot of the stops she was making, she wasn’t moving.”
Cornelio broke the tie at the 6:40 mark of the third when Hammerton fed her in the slot. Isabel Frenette picked up the secondary assist.
Emma Theriault found the back of the net on the power play at 9:34 mark, six seconds into the power play. The Saints were trying all game getting shots from the point, with Theriault taking most of them.
Boucher was pleased to see his defense keeping shots from the point.
“We were trying to give them the outside shots and we felt like we had a better chance if we got the outside shots and get the rebounds,” Boucher said. “Our defense did a great job clearing rebounds and our forwards must have blocked six or seven shots from the point.”
The Saints went 1-for-2 with the man advantage while Brunswick went scoreless on their only opportunity
Boucher would use his timeout after the fourth goal to settle his players down and draw up a play.
The Saints meanwhile had other plans. Hammerton found Cornerlio again nine seconds after Theriault’s goal. The duo struck again with 22 seconds remaining in the game when Cornelio potted her fifth of the evening.
With the regional finals pushed back to Thursday due to more weather concerns, the Saints will have an extra day to rest.
“We were kind of worried at first when we heard our game was today,” Cornelio said. “We really didn’t want to play back-to-back. It’s good to have a day where we will be able to practice, get things together , regroup and hopefully be prepare for Thursday.”
The Saints defeated the Rangers 8-2 in the opening game of the season, and 3-2 in the second-to-last game of the year.
nfournier@sunjournal.com
St. Dominic Academy’s Kristina Cornelio, right, and Brunswick High School’s Jenna Brooks during their playoff game in Auburn on Tuesday.St. Dominic Academy’s Isabel Frenette, right, fires a shot on net past Brunswick High School’s Anna Webster during their playoff game in Auburn on Tuesday.
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