Even as freshmen, Leah Landry and Eve Martineau showed they could be difference-makers.
Four seasons and a pair of standout careers later, the rivals are finalists for the Becky Schaffer Award as the top senior in Maine high school girls hockey.
Lewiston forward Landry and Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland defenseman Martineau join Scarborough goalie Ariella Swett as the trio of finalists for the award. The winner will be announced Monday during the senior all-star game and All-State award banquet at Family Ice Center in Falmouth.
Edward Little/Poland/Leavitt’s Eve Martineau, center, tries to get a stick on a shot by Lewiston’s Leah Dube, left, as goalie McKenzi Horton, right, gets into position to make a save during a Jan. 10 game at The Colisee in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
The award is named after former Yarmouth standout Becky Schaffer, who graduated in 2006 and died in 2011 in a hiking accident.
Both Martineau and Landry impacted their teams from day one of their careers.
“Leah is a great candidate as well, but those girls have stuck out since freshmen year with their will and drive,” Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland coach Dana Berube said. “Anybody that goes and watches Eve play, they have respect for her because if you like the game, you have to respect someone that plays that hard.”
Lewiston’s Leah Landry skates the puck down the ice while under pressure from Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland’s Alyssa Prosser during a game on Jan. 19 in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Landry led the Blue Devils with 31 goals and 24 assists in 19 games. She had two of those goals in Lewiston’s 3-0 state championship victory over Scarborough last Saturday.
Blue Devils coach Ron Dumont said Landry is an all-around player with an ability to shoot and pass the puck. She also makes players around her better.
“She’s the engine that drives the bus,” Dumont said. “She has played with some very good players, but she’s the engine that’s driving the bus. She can do a lot of different stuff in a lot of different ways.
“We were talking as coaches the other day, chit-chatting after the season ended: Some kids you see the same thing over and over, but you watch (Landry) in a game, you will never see the same thing twice. She scores different ways, and she goes out of her way to try something different. That works to her advantage because no one knows what she’s going to do next. She lulls you into this fault sense of security. It’s like a big bang; the shot is off.”
Dumont said Landry is good at creating her own opportunities.
“She’s a pretty tall girl and she uses that stick like a magic wand,” Dumont said. “The poke-checking she does is just amazing. She will leave the stick in a little bit and give a little poke-check and the puck comes bouncing her way. There’s a lot of subtle stuff she does that makes her the player that she is. ”
Martineau had 14 goals and 12 assists in 19 games. The Red Hornets only played three defensemen in most games this season, so Martineau was on the ice a lot.
“Eve is out there for every power play, every penalty kill. If it’s the end of the period or the beginning of the period, I want clean starts. She’s generally out there,” Berube said. “She pushes to the end; it’s a big workload. When we had (goalie) Manny (Guimond and 2020 Becky Schaffer Award winner), we used to be the bend, but don’t break team. We were able to give up 30 shots a game. This year, we couldn’t be that type of team; we had to be in your face and play in the other team’s zone as much as we could. We had a (second-year) goalie; we were not going to put her in that position.”
Berube said Martineau is a good leader.
“She’s the quarterback out there. During faceoffs, she’s always going up to players, encouraging them, reminding them of their responsibilities are,” Berube said. “As a coach, you want a leader that’s the perfect go-between between the coaching staff and her teammates.”
Swett had a 1.20 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage in the regular season. She played all four games in the playoffs, going 3-1 with a 1.50 GAA and a .954 save percentage.
“As I said in every interview, when she’s back there, she gives us a chance to win,” Scarborough coach Taylor Fowler said after the state championship game. “She knew Lewiston was going to score goals; they have great players, and they are great shooters.”
Lewiston and Scarborough haven’t had a Becky Schaffer Award winner since the Maine High School Girls Hockey Association started handing it out in 2018. Guimond is Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland’s lone winner.
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