HALLOWELL — Brunswick lost to Winslow/Gardiner/Cony/Messalonskee/Lawrence/Erskine/Maranacook in the regular season, and the sixth-seeded Black Tigers earned an upset in their playoff opener.

The Dragons avoided an upset this time.

The second-seeded Dragons defeated the Winslow co-op 8-1 in a Northern Maine semifinal Friday night at the Thomas College Ice Vault.

The Winslow co-op beat Brunswick 6-5 on Jan. 2.

“Yeah, we really looked at the loss as more of a one-off,” Solveig Ledwick said. “We did not play well in that game. We took, I think, a world-record amount of penalties in that game. And we lost despite scoring five goals, which is something that should not happen.”

Brunswick advances to face top-seeded Yarmouth/Freeport in the regional final on Wednesday.

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How did Brunswick win

• Sophia Sullivan scored for the Black Tigers scored on one of their few trips to the offensive end in the first period.

• Brunswick tied it in a 4-on-4 situation in the second period.

“In my opinion, 4-on-4 is a lot harder,” Brunswick’s Lauren Labbe said. “There’s a lot more ice, which means you can get gassed easier … There was a lot more time and space, but it just gasses you easier. But I think it helped us see the ice a little bit better.”

The Black Tigers got stuck in their defensive zone for most of the second period.

The Dragons finally scored a power-play goal in the third that broke the game open. Five of their seven shots in the third found the back of the net. Winslow had no shots.

They said it

“I’m really looking at this as nine little games, three periods each. We lost that first one, which we did not want to do. We want to kind of run the table here. So, yeah, we’ve got a big rematch with (Yarmouth/Freeport) on Wednesday, and they are going to be a great team. — Solveig Ledwick

“It wasn’t meant to be, and you know, that’s OK. I’m proud of my kids and getting back to the semifinals for I think the third year in a row. So to be 6-12 in the regular season and then to be in this game playing in our home rink was kind of special for us.” — Winslow coach Bill Boardman

Statistical Leaders

Brunswick: Lauren Labbe (four goals, one assist), Solveig Ledwick (three goals), Natalie Perham (goal and an assist).

Winslow co-op: Sophia Sullivan (goal), Zoey Gilbert (20 saves).

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