The Lewiston girls hockey team has been in this situation before, going into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the North. The past two years the Blue Devils entered the postseason with so much promise, only to be denied winning the state championship. 

This year’s squad knows there is no promise of winning the title this year, either, but that awareness of mortality and the memory of those previous playoff heartbreaks might help the Blue Devils be more mentally ready for a third try at the program’s third state title. 

“I believe that the two previous losses were really upsetting for all of us and have definitely motivated the team to want it so much more this year so we don’t have to feel that way again,” junior tri-captain Brie Dube said. “It may be tough to get to where we want to be in the end, but now we know that we have to rise to the challenge ahead, play our game, and not give up on our goal.” 

Two years ago the Blue Devils lost in the regional final to eventual state champion Greely/Gray-New Gloucester. The team entered the playoffs with only two losses, but that talented squad was also filled with youth.

Head coach Ron Dumont said that loss was disappointing, but he thought going into that season that the team was still a year away from making it to the state final. He also didn’t feel his team was the favorite against the third-seeded Rangers. 

Last year, however, the Blue Devils were a force, going 18-0 in the regular season without ever trailing in a game. Then they lost in the state final to Cheverus/Kennebunk/Old Orchard Beach.

Dumont again called the loss disappointing but not shocking, considering that the Stags had played Lewiston to one-goal games in a pair of regular-season meetings. The players, though, “were all very heartbroken and shocked,” according to Dube. 

“Last year, most of our first two lines had never played in a state championship game. It is even louder, more important and crowded than a regional championship,” junior tri-captain Gemma Landry said. “We came into that game nervous, unfocused and maybe even walked with our heads held too high after going undefeated that whole season.” 

It was a harsh lesson for the team. 

“I learned that no matter what the record is going into the playoffs, it doesn’t matter. Once playoffs begin it is a whole new game. Each game counts, and you can’t afford to lose one,” senior tri-captain Camree St. Hilaire said. 

After earning a quarterfinal bye, Lewiston opens the postseason Saturday (4 p.m.) against fourth-seeded Yarmouth/Freeport (10-9) at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.

This year’s Blue Devils received a welcome lesson in their final regular season game, which they went into with a 17-0 record. They had to rally to tie Scarborough, but that was fine for the players. 

Landry said the that game “gave me hopes that everyone would take this tie to heart and realize that there are going to be other teams that want to compete; that even though we haven’t lost, our record isn’t flawless. It shows proof that we have talent but we still need to work and play together to get places.” 

Working together has been a big emphasis this season. The team has more depth, according to Dumont, and that has made the scoring more spread out. 

The leadership has also been spread out this season, the three captains being more than Dumont has had in previous seasons. And each one represents a different position — St. Hilaire in goal, Landry at forward, and Dube on defense (after playing forward her first two seasons). 

Dumont said they have “such diverse personalities.”

“The three of us all bring something different to the table as leaders of the team, on and off the ice, and I think that is good because it makes a good balance in the end. It is also good having the three of us because it gives Coach three different people to rely on when he needs help from us,” Dube said. “Over the season we have gotten more comfortable in our roles, and it helped that we all had assistant roles last year to prepare us for this season.” 

The trio is part of a group of upperclassmen that Dumont said has experienced a lot of winning with their club teams, “so they don’t spend a lot of time ‘talking’ about what needs to be done, they just go out every day and know they need to put the work in to get there again.” 

There also hasn’t been much talking about previous seasons’ losses. Dumont said any discussion was short, and his expectation of the players is to only be concerned with whatever game is next on the schedule. 

Landry admitted there’s sometimes talk among the players about last year and, she said, “and how dreadful it was to lose that final game.” But Dumont pointed out that some of this year’s freshmen had sisters on the previous years’ teams, so they already have some sense of the pain felt by past teams. 

It’s a pain nobody wants to feel this year, but the team can’t completely escape those memories. 

“For the past two years we have come very close to winning. Each year, it doesn’t go our way,” St. Hilaire said. “This year, much like last, everyone talks about how the state championship should be ours. From hearing this around the community our team feels the pressure. We also put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Lewiston girls hockey hasn’t won a state championship since 2015. We all want to be the next team to put another year on the banner.”