Boys hockey: Lewiston edges Marshwood co-op

LEWISTON — Two second-period scoring spurts propelled Lewiston past Marshwood/Noble/Sanford 4-3 in a boys hockey game at The Colisee on Saturday.

“We looked like we played together for a long time, just moving the puck well and making things happen,” Lewiston coach Jamie King said.

All four of the Blue Devils (9-4) goals came in the second period. Cody Dionne scored two of those.

“We realized we didn’t have a great first period, so we picked it up,” Dionne, who was Lewiston’s player of the game, said. “We came out strong and popped four on them.”

Lewiston changed lines, putting Colton Daniels with Dionne and Dylan Blue while putting Hayden Brown, Deano Scalia and Cam Plourde on a line.

Marshwood assistant coach Jack Garnhart said the Knighthawks (6-7) understood Lewiston had multiple players who can score.

“We knew they had depth,” Garnhart said. “If you look at their roster, they have a bunch of guys with 10 points and a bunch of guys with five or more goals. We knew there wasn’t one line we had to look out for.”

Garnhart said they weren’t ready for Lewiston’s speed.

After a scoreless first period, things opened up in the middle frame. Ayden Lockard’s wrist shot from the right circle put the Knighthawks up 1-0 two minutes into a period.

“He’s an incredible shooter,” Garnhart said of Lockard. “I tell him not to shoot from those angles and every time he scores, I just roll my eyes.”

Marshwood/Noble/Sanford goalie Ben Ott stonewalled Lewiston’s Colton Daniels on a breakaway at the 8:18 mark of the second. That kicked off a strong minute for the Blue Devils. Jacoby Olivera’s seeing-eye shot from the left point went top shelf 30 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1.

“Jacoby had a nice shot from the point and Austin Landry screened (Ott) and it went in — that kind of started us,” King said. “We had Jacoby at forward and we moved him back to (defense).”

Scalia rushed in and slid the puck past Ott for a 2-1 Lewiston lead at the 9:19 mark.

“He’s the spark plug,” King said of Scalia. “He has been struggling up and down all year, but he’s a freshman. He went down and made a nice shot, the rebound came right back on his stick and he popped it in.”

Dionne’s first goal came when he finished off a give-and-go play with Dylan Blue at the 13:30 mark.

Dionne called for the puck when he was at the red line then chased down the puck.

“I had to let Dylan know where I was at and he threw it to space, perfectly, right on my tape and I did the easy job of finishing it,” Dionne said.

Later, with time winding down, Dionne received a pass from Daniels before firing a shot into the goal for a 4-1 lead.

“Colton is a junior, me and Dylan are seniors, so we have been around each other for a while, so it’s easy to click,” Dionne said.

The Knighthawks didn’t go down quietly. In the third period, Brad Wentworth tipped in a Lockard shot from the point to get within two.

Wentworth scored again 95 seconds later, slipping the puck past the left leg of Lewiston backup goalie Will Routhier to get the Marshwood co-op within 4-3.

Lewiston starter Gabe Pomerleau (22 saves) returned to action after Marshwood’s two third-period goals and made a key save a short time later to maintain the lead for Lewiston. Ott (27 saves) made a diving save to keep the one-goal deficit a minute later.

Unlike in previous games the Knighthawks couldn’t complete the third-period comeback.

“We are really good at coming back,” Garnhart said. “Unfortunately, we give up a lot of leads early in the game, but we are one of the best third-period teams around. Last week, we came down from 4-0 to make 4-3 and had a chance to tie that game.”