LEWISTON – Bangor defeated Lewiston twice during the regular season, including a 4-0 shellacking in Bangor in the Blue Devils’ final game of the season.
The Rams then went on to defeat Brewer in their final game, coming back from a 4-0 deficit in the second period.
Bangor coach Dan Kerluke on Monday said that those wins, no matter how emotional at the time, mean “absolutely nothing.”
“I talked with the kids today,” said Kerluke. “We all agreed that those wins meant nothing. All it says is that if we play well, we can beat them, but we have to play well.”
Lewiston, on the flip side, remembers those games well, and is using them to motivate itself going into the Eastern Class A final tonight at Cumberland County Civic Center.
“In the first game, we were far from the team we feel we are now,” said Lewiston coach Tim Smith. “In the last game, the feeling was there that maybe first place wasn’t necessarily on the line. We knew from the beginning of the year that Bangor was likely going to be the team to beat if we wanted to get to the state title game, and we are fortunate enough to get here for a chance to play them for that spot.”
Bangor’s hopes seem to be pinned one the top line of Nick Payson, T.J. Vanidestine and Dylan George, who all scored in the team’s overtime win over Brunswick on Saturday. Last year, Payson scored all eight Bangor playoff goals through two rounds before the Rams lost to Lewiston in the Eastern Class A semifinals. This year, Payson, George and Vanidestine have combined for eight of the Rams’ 10 goals in two rounds.
“Everyone knows that Payson is the best offensive player in the state,” said Smith. “Everyone knows he’ll get the points. It’s hard to keep a hard-working player like that off the score sheet. As far as matchups, we’ll have to wait and see what Bangor does, but we know in the past every time we put our third line out, the matchup that they went with didn’t include Payson.”
And while Lewiston doesn’t have any 60-point scorers (“We have a few with 30 or more, but none as high as 60,” said Smith), the three lines the Blue Devils do run all can do damage. In the team’s two playoff wins, one over Edward Little and the other a 2-1 squeaker over Messalonskee, each line has scored at least one point.
“Quite honestly, we have faith in all three,” said Smith. “The third line doesn’t see as much ice, maybe, but they are younger and have played great when they have played.”
Bangor knows that its first line has a giant target on its back.
“That depth is very important,” said Kerluke. “That second line had a big goal against Lewiston last time we played them. Obviously, they don’t have as much talent as the first line does, but any time they can produce, it gives this team a big boost.
And what about the players in big pads trying to stop all of this offensive production?
“(Aaron) Buzzell is a great goaltender,” said Smith. “Obviously he’s done well against us in the past. I think this year he’s allowed just one goal against us in two games, but we’ve tested him.”
The Blue Devils have yet to decide late Monday night which goaltender would get the start.
“Brian has come up big down the stretch for us,” said Smith, “and at the same time, Nick (Langlais) had a huge game in the win over Messalonskee. We feel both of them are capable to play in this game, but we haven’t decided yet.”
Kerluke and Smith both know that it might not be the prettiest of goalie-busting shots that eventually wins the game.
“Playoffs are always won with garbage goals,” said Kerluke. “It’s about working hard and outworking the opponents. I expect that our team is going to go into the game with their hard hats on (tonight).”
Should the two games scheduled for the Cumberland County Civic Center tonight be postponed due to inclement weather, the games will be rescheduled for Wednesday night, with Lewiston and Bangor being moved to the Colisee in Lewiston, while the other game, St. Dom’s vs. Cheverus, would move to Bowdoin College’s Dayton Arena.
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