Girls' hockey: One goal enough for Blue Devils to beat Red Hornets

Edward Little/Poland/Leavitt’s Taylor Caillier and Lewiston’s Sara Robert battle for control of the puck during Wednesday night’s matchup at the Colisee in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

LEWISTON — Lewiston/Monmouth/Oak Hill handed its adversary a power play midway through the first period, but it was the Blue Devils who took advantage of the situation Wednesday against rival Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland.

Sara Robert’s shorthanded shot trickled through Red Hornets goalie Manny Guimond and across the goal line 8:26 into the game, and the Devils made it stand up, earning a 1-0 win at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Lewiston/Monmouth/Oak Hill’s players did plenty of shooting, despite the low score, sending 44 shots Guimond’s way.

“In my mind, especially at this level, with a young team and everything, if they’re getting shots on net, you got a chance of putting one in,” Blue Devils coach Ron Dumont said. “To me, it’s just another lesson learned. Some nights they’re going in, some nights they’re not. When they’re not going in, you got to do what you got to do to ultimately get the win.”

Guimond made amends the rest of the night for her one lapse, stopping four shots during a Blue Devils power play that spilled over into the second period. The sophomore made 14 saves total in the first, then 14 more in the second, shutting out the Blue Devils in the middle frame.

“My biggest issue was that when the shots were coming in from the point, or from outside, I could see it from the bench. There was no screen,” Dumont said. “She was seeing everything, and she’s a good goalie. If she sees it, she’s going to stop it. We weren’t getting traffic up front.”

The Blue Devils were whistled for three more penalties in the second. The second one followed closely behind the first, giving the Red Hornets 1:14 of 5-on-3 hockey. They mustered one shot on goal with the two-man-advantage, and none while a single man-up.

“A bounce here or there on that 5-on-3 we had in the second, maybe things would be a little bit different,” Red Hornets coach Dana Berube said.

The Red Hornets (2-3-1) directed two shots on Blue Devils goalie Camree St. Hilaire during another power play later in the period.

The Blue Devils took their second power play of the game into the third period. They squandered much of their man-advantage just trying to get the puck out of their own zone and into the Red Hornets’ end, and Guimond stopped the three shots she faced to keep her team within striking distance.

“Manny played like she did her freshman year, and gave us a chance to compete,” Berube said.

The Red Hornets couldn’t get any more shots of their own the rest of the way. They instead assisted Guimond in keeping the Blue Devils’ shots out.

“I couldn’t have been more pleased with their effort defensively,” Berube said. “The game plan was to try to take away their defensemen, try to create that 3-on-3 down low, and for the most part we did a very good job with it.”

St. Hilaire stopped all five shots she faced to earn the shutout for the unbeaten Devils (7-0). 

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Edward Little/Poland/Leavitt’s Taylor Caillier and Lewiston’s Grace Dumond race to the puck during Wednesday night’s matchup at the Colisee in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Lewiston’s Brie Dube and Edward Little/Poland/Leavitt’s Caroline Tracy race after the puck during Wednesday night’s matchup at the Colisee in Lewiston. Lewiston’s Madison Conley watches the play from behind. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Edward Little/Poland/Leavitt’s Taylor Caillier and Lewiston’s Anna Dodge keep their eyes on the puck during Wednesday night’s matchup at the Colisee in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Lewiston’s Sara Robert manuevers the puck between Edward Little/Poland/Leavitt’s Taylor Caillier and Samantha Martineau during Wednesday night’s matchup at the Colisee in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)