LEWISTON — Starting with the puck at his own goal line, Alex Parker began churning his legs. He’d rest for short amounts of time, put on another burst and glide some more.

Along the way, there was a stickhandle here, and duck there — perhaps even a spin.

This all while carrying the puck. Through five opposing players. The length of the ice. In a regional semifinal game.

The fact that Parker, a four-year varsity letter-winning senior and captain of St. Dominic Academy, didn’t score or even earn an assist on the sequence is of no consequence. The fact that he did it at all, in a tight game, and provided an emotional lift to his team, and to its fans, is of utmost importance. That intangible is what continues to make Parker a constant threat to any team standing in the opposing bench.

“He’s a threat whenever he’s on the ice,” Lewiston coach (and Parker’s uncle) Jamie Belleau said. “It’s easy to forget about him, that he’s out there, when he’s not on the puck, but that’s when you get into trouble.”

“He’s a very strong kid, and he has such a great desire to win,” St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette said. “He’s been to several big games before, and he’s won them. It’s that attitude, that ability to push forward and work hard for the win that’s really great about him.”

Parker has two state title to his credit in soccer and another in baseball. He’s played in a state title game for the Saints’ hockey squad, too. But it’s the one trophy missing from the case.

“Playoffs are playoffs, no matter what the sport,” Parker said. “The atmosphere is the same … being in those big games, late in close ones, that’s made me definitely more comfortable out here. There is absolutely one missing though. I’m going to do all I can, and the team’s going to do all it can, and I’m hoping in a week, we’ll have one more to add.”

Parker is hard to peg. Literally. Not a tall player, nor an overly-wide-framed player, he is a rugged dart on skates with soft hands and a knack for making people miss.

“He anticipates the play well, and he sees things develop really well,” Ouellette said. “It’s guys like that who end up being points leaders, because they are in the right place at the right time.”

And lead Parker has. His 37 points were best on a very balanced St. Dom’s team this season, a team predicated on speed and systems. His ability to study the game and execute on the ice using the knowledge he’s gained makes him even more dangerous.

“You see a lot of drive from him. He’s a great kid, and he’s such a smart player,” Ouellette said. “He’s the kind of player who I can ask to go draw something up on the board, and he’ll remember what it looked like six weeks before. He loves the systems side of the game. He’s really a student of the game.”

“I’m not the biggest guy on the ice. I’m not the fastest guy on the ice. I don’t have the hardest shot,” Parker said. “I think where my strength is, is knowledge of the game, knowing where to be and trying to read the play and be one or two steps ahead of where the puck is going to be.”

His studies have helped create one of the top players in Maine. His ability to shoot and score, in addition to his ability to find an open teammate, help in that endeavor. But it’s his ability to disguise which he intends to do that makes him dangerous.

“He does a great job hiding whether he’s going to pass the puck or shoot it, and you have to be prepared for both scenarios,” Belleau said. “The players on the ice always have to be aware of where he is, but not over-emphasize that, because that’s when he can burn you by finding the other players you leave alone. If there’s a breakdown in coverage, he’ll find it. That makes him a threat every time he’s on the ice.”

Parker admits he’s more inclined to pass than to shoot. But if the time is right, he’ll uncork a shot of his own. And it’s usually on target.

“As a sophomore, I played alongside my brother and another senior, Ben Randall,” Parker said. “I was basically told, ‘Look who you’re playing with, set them up and they’re going to put it in.’ So that’s the kind of player I became. But now that I’m an older player, yes, I’ll get my fair share of assists, but I know I’m going to be relied upon to put the puck in the net.”

With nearly four years of varsity playing experience under his belt, a promising baseball season rapidly approaching and decisions regarding future sporting and academic ventures on his plate sooner rather than later, Parker has plenty to keep him distracted. But Tuesday, none of that will matter. He’ll lace up his skates, slip on the traditional black and white jersey that so many of the area’s top hockey players have worn over the past 60-plus years, and he’ll play, like he always does, as if it’s his last game. The difference this time? It might be.

“I’d be lying if i said I hadn’t thought about it,” Parker said. “The playoffs, it’s special. It’s not about scoring the goal, or making the big hit, or setting up a teammate to get an assist. It’s about winning the game, getting to the locker room and realizing, ‘Hey, our team has another day to live.’ That’s what I’m hoping for (Tuesday).”