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AUBURN — Edward Little goalie Caden Westhoven was outstanding in his final regular-season game at Norway Savings Bank Arena.

Westhoven, one of nine Red Eddies celebrated on senior night, made 18 saves to earn his second shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory over Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester.

As he ate his pregame meal of chicken and rice, Westhoven knew the short-handed Red Eddies needed a stout performance from him. Senior forward Ben Poulin and senior defenseman Braydin Gatto both missed Monday’s game while serving a one-game suspension for taking major penalties during a 6-3 win over Falmouth on Saturday.

“I feel there was a little bit of pressure to need to step up, but, honestly … I know they got my back,” Westhoven said. “I got theirs; as long as I give it my all every day, I know they will give theirs, too.”

Westhoven was busiest in the third period, when he made eight saves and helped the Red Eddies protect a two-goal advantage.

Freshman Romeo St. Pierre factored in both of Edward Little’s goals. He dished a pass to sophomore Nolan Heath, whose shot went just underneath the crossbar early in the second period. Later in the period, the puck ricocheted off St. Pierre’s foot past Kings goalie Logan Rousseau (25 saves).

St. Pierre, who is 5-foot-1,  said he’s becoming more comfortable in his first season of high school hockey.

“I had (to) play (with) more contact,” St. Pierre said. “… I still need to play more physical, even though I’m a small guy.”

Slow start for both teams

Edward Little coach Kevin Smith said the Red Eddies came out a bit flat in the first period, and part of the reason was he had to jumble lines and defensive pairings to account for Poulin and Gatteo missing the contest.

“We had some guys playing with each other that don’t typically play with each other,” Smith said. “So the chemistry, I don’t think, was there. They started to get a little bit comfortable with each other as the game went on, but moving guys up and back — (Isaac) Jalbert playing (defense), playing forward, it’s tough to get into a rhythm. So there’s a lot of moving parts, but I think we settled in a little well.”

The Kings (8-6-1) have gone two straight games without scoring a goal. They suffered an 11-0 loss to Thornton Academy, the top-ranked team in the Varsity Maine poll, on Saturday and have lost three straight.

“We just didn’t compete, right?” Kings coach Jason Rouleau said of Monday’s rivalry game. “That’s what I told the guys. I said, in order to win games in general, whether it’s a rivalry game or not, you’ve got to be willing to compete, and they were unwilling to compete today. And it showed.”