High school hockey notebook: Leadership leads to wins for Kings

Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester’s Will Keach as he streaks up the ice against St. Dominic Academy last season at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn. Keach is one of eight players on the Kings’ recently formed leadership council. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

The Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester boys hockey team has gotten its house in order, so to speak.

Coach Jason Rouleau said the team formed a leadership council earlier this month around the time of its game against St. Dom’s on Jan. 10. The Kings have been on a roll since.

They have won five in a row — the 3-1 win over St. Dom’s was the third victory.

“We got together, and we wanted to make a strong push,” Rouleau said. “We got things in order in the locker room, and it’s paying dividends on the ice.”

The leadership council includes the three team captains and five other players. Each school is represented on the council. The captains are William Keach (Leavitt), Hunter Bussiere (Poland) and Parker Pelletier (Gray-New Gloucester). The other players are Max Thibault (Leavitt), Forrest St. Laurent (Oak Hill), Talen Langevin (Poland), Breck Langevin (Poland) and Eli Gosselin (Oak Hill).

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence when we formed the counsel and got together, decided, ‘Hey, we need to play to our potential and we want to have a good season,’ we started playing well and to our potential,” Rouleau said.

The five-game winning streak has boosted the Kings to the top team of the Class B Heal point standings.

They have outscored their opponents 37-6 in those five games. That includes a 14-0 win over Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse and an 11-2 win over Gorham.

Rouleau said the entire roster is pulling its weight.

“I think we have had a number of contributors step up,” Rouleau said. “On the blue line, I think the four defensemen who play on a regular basis have all stepped up their game, whether they are on the leadership counsel or not. Our goalie, Ian Guerin, has continued to play really strong between the pipes. From a forward perspective, you can look at our stats, and we have many forwards who are contributing.”

Rouleau mentioned the team’s top three leading scorers: Keach is ninth in the state for all of boys hockey with 13 goals and eight assists in 10 games, Connor Boulay has 10 goals and eight assists, and Brody Emond has seven goals and 10 assists.

Rouleau said Bussiere is getting into the flow since returning from an injury.

After Saturday’s game with Kennebunk/Wells (3-7), the Kings play Brunswick/Freeport (4-6-1) on Feb. 2 and then two games against Greely — No. 2 in the Class B South Heal points — on Feb. 3 and Feb. 8. Rouleau said the team is focusing on itself and wants to be the hardest-working team on the ice.

“We are going to keep focusing on the things we do well — which is to put a lot of pressure on opponents in the offensive zone and continue playing strong defense in our own end,” Rouleau said. “We will continue to prepare the way we have been preparing — whether it’s Greely or Kennebunk/Wells, Brunswick or any other team.”

Lewiston/Oak Hill goalie Tatum Hunt deflects a shot by a York/Traip/Marshwood/Noble player into the corner last month at The Colisee in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

HUNT SOLID IN THE CREASE

The Lewiston/Oak Hill girls hockey team is 6-1 in its past seven games, and during that stretch, the Blue Devils (8-7) have gotten solid goaltending from first-year starter Tatum Hunt.

Hunt only allowed 12 goals in that stretch, and three of the wins were shutouts.

Hunt gives credit to the team around her for the recent success.

“It’s a mindset, going in the game with a good mindset and having a team that’s positive before the game in the locker room brings it out of the ice,” Hunt said after Wednesday’s 3-2 win over St. Dom’s. “It’s good to have a good team surrounding you.”

In the first eight games of the season, Hunt allowed 43 goals and the Blue Devils were 2-6.

Hunt said she’s more confident playing the position after spending the 2022-23 season as a defender.

“I am just staying confident in myself, staying confident in my team,” Hunt said. “Working hard, going to practice, and putting in your all in every game.”

Teammate Kylie Dulac said she has noticed Hunt’s improvements this season.

“She was very confident today,” Dulac said after the win against St. Dom’s. “I am proud of her. She has definitely improved on her glove side. At the beginning, I felt like that was one of her weaknesses, but she has definitely progressed with her glove side. She had a few great saves that were blindsided that she caught in her glove.”

Lewiston began its current 6-1 run on Jan. 5 with a 5-3 win over Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland (6-8). The Blue Devils face their rivals again on Wednesday after hosting Greely/Gray-New Gloucester (1-13-1) on Saturday. Lewiston ends the season at home against Falmouth/Scarborough (7-6) on Feb. 3.

LEWISTON BOYS HIT A SKID

After starting the season 5-0, the Blue Devils have gone 3-4 in the past seven games.

The first loss came when Lewiston (8-4) ran into a hot goalie, Michael Zaccaria, who made 44 saves in Portland/South Portland/Deering/Waynflete’s 2-1 victory on Jan. 5. The Blue Devils outshot the Beacons 45-17 in the game.

Lewiston bounced back with two wins over Messalonskee and Thornton Academy before losing 1-0 to Falmouth on Jan. 15. The Blue Devils earned a 5-0 win over Biddeford/Old Orchard Beach/Massabesic on Jan. 17, but have since lost two straight, a 3-0 defeat to Bangor on Jan. 19 and a 4-1 loss to St. Dom’s on Wednesday.

“You go against (Thornton Academy), Bangor, St. Dom’s, Biddeford — throw them in there — every other day, we just hope to get back on track,” Lewiston coach Jamie King said after Wednesday’s game. “Like I said, on Saturday, we have Marshwood on senior night. Hopefully, we will get a W there.”

Marshwood/Noble/Sanford (6-6), coming off a 4-2 win over Fryeburg/Lake Region/Oxford Hills on Wednesday, face Lewiston at The Colisee at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Knight Hawks have had wins over Falmouth and Edward Little this season and lost in overtime to St. Dom’s.

CLASS A WIDE OPEN AGAIN

With the final month of the regular season fast approaching, no team in Class A boys hockey has established itself as the clear team to beat.

The top two teams in the Varsity Maine poll — No. 1 Bangor and No. 2 Thornton — lost to Class B opponents this week. The Rams suffered a 2-1 setback to John Bapst/Hermon/Bangor Christian/Deer Isle-Stonington on Wednesday, while the Golden Trojans lost 4-1 to Cheverus/Yarmouth, on Thursday.

No team in Class A has fewer than two losses this season. Bangor and Thornton are both two-loss teams, and each team’s other losses were to Lewiston.

Edward Little is the hottest team in Class A right now, going 4-0-1 in the past five games. Falmouth — second in the Heal Points — has won three straight and is 8-5 on the season.

The previous two state championship games have featured two five-seeds and a seventh-seeded team vying for the title. Neither No. 1 seed in the previous two state tournaments has made the state final.