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LEWISTON — After a weekend loss to Messalonskee, the Thornton Academy boys hockey team was looking for a bounce-back game Wednesday. The defending Class A state champs found it at The Colisee against Lewiston/Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse.

“Our approach was just coming at them full speed,” Thornton senior forward Jake Skillings said. “Don’t let your foot off the gas.”

Skillings scored the first two goals, and the Golden Trojans didn’t let up on the way to a 5-1 win.

Thornton Academy (2-1) and Lewiston/Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse (1-1) are ranked third and fifth, respectively, in the latest Varsity Maine poll.

“It’s an early season win, too. You can tell (with) some sloppy play out there, but I thought it was good resilience,” Thornton coach Jamie Gagnon said.

The Golden Trojans overcame what Gagnon called disconnected passing by using their speed and physicality to collect loose pucks and pressure Lewiston, often regaining possession in the process.

Skillings was the first to break through with 20.2 seconds left in the first period, shortly after a faceoff in the attacking zone and a pass from fellow senior captain Trent Lesieur.

Skillings scored his second goal at 6:46 in the second period with an unassisted shot from the right side.

Lewiston struggled to maintain possession and create chances during the first two periods, outside of its four power-play opportunities. The visitors were able to steal a short-handed goal at 8:00 from junior Ryan Gagnon’s shot that squeezed between the left pipe and Blue Devils goalie Kai Stockford (37 saves).

“It just gets everybody going and (helps us) realize that we can just keep playing, no matter how many guys we have,” Skillings said.

The Golden Trojans continued to accelerate on offense, with Dominic Martin and Brennan Tabor scoring within 21 seconds of each other early in the third. At the other end of the ice, the defense continued to block Lewiston shots, and those that got through were stopped by junior goalie Cole Fernald (18 saves).

With 7:02 remaining, Lawson Mayer put Lewiston on the board with a well-placed shot from the right side.

“They smothered us up,” Lewiston coach Sam Cloutier said. “We need to do a better job of getting the puck deep and not trying to go through people on our blue line and through the neutral zone. When you turn the puck over on your blue line, or their blue line or in the neutral zone, it typically results in a lot of odd-man rushes, and that’s what happened tonight. We turned the puck over in spots that hurt us badly, and TA took advantage.”