LEWISTON — Every winter Cooper, Daxton and Drew St. Hilaire played hockey together as brothers, and like any kids on a backyard rink or a frozen pond, there were occasional visions of winning a championship. 

It wasn’t until this past summer, however, that any thought of playing together on a team even came into their mind, with Drew being three years older than his twin brothers. 

“You know, working out and stuff, you think about it like, ‘OK, they’re going to be freshmen, I’m going to be a senior, if they make it there’s a chance we’ll end up playing together,” Drew said.

Added Drew: “I think we kind of knew we would play with each other at one point, but we didn’t think — you know, we dreamed of it, but you got to work for it, you never really think you could get there until you do, and it’s just kind of eye-opening.” 

Though not unprecedented — for instance, Mike, Dave and Dan Boucher suited up together for a few games in the early 1970s — three brothers playing together for the Lewiston varsity team is a rare occurrence.

To make their season together even sweeter, the St. Hilaires trio’s final game together will be Saturday’s Class A boys hockey state championship (6 p.m., at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee).

“I think it was right after (the semifinal win), I hugged (Daxton), and I was like, ‘We’re going to do it,'” Drew said. “It’s something special for me.” 

“I remember being a young kid in the stands watching (the championship teams a few years ago). They got these great players on the ice,” Daxton said. “I’ve always wanted to be there.”

If it wasn’t for Drew, there’s a possibility that Daxton wouldn’t have made the Blue Devils’ varsity roster. Drew played forward his first three years at Lewiston, but moved back to defense this season. That meant one more available spot at forward, where Daxton plays.

“But he still had to earn that spot, and there was nothing given to them,” Drew said.

“I didn’t know he was playing D until a couple days before (the season), so I kind of got excited because it kind of opened up a spot for me,” Daxton said. 

“I thought I had a decent amount of chance (to make varsity), but as practice kept going I thought maybe someone might edge me out, but I kept working at it,” Daxton added. 

Cooper said he also thought he had a “pretty good chance” at making the varsity team as a defenseman, “but there’s other sophomores and seniors that tried out, too, so I had to work my hardest to grab a spot on the roster.” 

Drew’s position switch made the odds of that a little more difficult, but now that they’re both blue-liners, Cooper said, “it’s pretty cool because we get to hang out a lot more because we’re on the same team. And he’s a D, I’m a D, so it’s fun to interact when we’re on the bench.” 

This season has been “quite the experience,” Drew said. 

“I think of them as much younger than I am, and driving to school on the first day with them in the truck was kind of an experience, and bringing them here (to the Colisee) was something else, but it’s awesome, I love it,” he said. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

All three have contributed on the score sheet for the Blue Devils this season. Cooper’s first varsity goal even came in the same game that Daxton scored his second goal. 

“It was pretty cool, but we wanted Drew to score really bad,” Cooper said, “but he didn’t do it.” 

The St. Hilaires have been particularly productive late in the season. Cooper and Daxton’s dual scoring game came in the fourth-to-last contest of the regular season, and Drew and Daxton both recorded points in each of the Blue Devils’ final three games before the start of the playoffs.

Then, in Tuesday’s semifinal win over South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport, Daxton scored and Drew assisted on a goal.

There’s one game left for the brothers to all record a point in the same game, and while the trio would obviously like for that to happen, there is a more important goal to achieve on Saturday. 

“We’ll try to do that, but do our jobs as well. Help the team,” Daxton said.

“When you get to this point, it’s more like get the puck to the back of the net,” Drew said. “It doesn’t matter how it goes in, or who scores it, you just want to get that goal.”

A state championship would mean a rare accomplishment for the St. Hilaires, beyond just the three brothers. Their cousins, sisters Camree and Bailee, won the girls hockey state championship for Lewiston a few weeks ago. Even having a chance for the hockey-playing kin to all win titles in the same season was never even something that was considered when they were all growing up next door to each other, but now the pressure is on — playfully. 

“They were kind of like, ‘If you guys don’t win it …'” Daxton said. 

“Bailee is their age, Camree’s my age, so they’re a little bit closer with Bailee and I’m closer with Cam,” Drew said. “But (Camree) texted me, she goes, ‘You need to pull through with it or you’re going to hear from me.'” 

“Five people winning state championships would be pretty cool,” Cooper said. 

Now Saturday just needs to get here. The brothers say that waiting for the title game has been difficult since winning Tuesday’s semifinal.

“You don’t really want to do much except play in that game,” Daxton said. 

“You just sit in class and think of scenarios,” Drew said. “You get all jittery and it’s like, ‘OK, when’s it going to come?’ This week’s flown by, last week flew by.” 

Drew said it will be a bittersweet game for him, being his last high school game, and a much-too-quick end to his one season playing alongside his brothers.

“Win or lose, you still got to cherish the moment, no matter what happens in that game,” he said. 

Sun Journal staff reporter Nathan Fournier contributed to this report.

« Previous

Boys hockey: Greely claims third straight Class B South title

Next »

Boys hockey: Travis Roy finalists take center stage in Class A title game