HALLOWELL — The Lewiston girls hockey team functions a lot like the nation’s healthiest rivers do. It’s both swift and deep.
The Blue Devils rolled four lines with effectiveness and spoiled Winslow/Gardiner/Cony’s home opener by skating to a 9-1 win over the Black Tigers on Saturday night at the Camden National Bank Ice Vault. Freshman Leah Landry scored a pair of goals, one of eight different goal scorers for the Blue Devils, while sophomores Brie Dube and Madison Conley each had a goal and an assist in the win. Lewiston remained unbeaten on the season at 4-0-0.
Winslow/Gardiner/Cony dropped to 1-2-1, despite a 38-save effort from junior netminder Gabriella Chambers. Senior defenseman Gabby Benson’s first career goal was the only score of the night for the Black Tigers.
“One of our lines really played out of their minds tonight,” Lewiston sophomore defenseman Grace Dumond said, referencing the trio of Conley, Gemma Landry and Sara Robert, all of whom scored goals. “They move the puck incredibly well, and that really helps us. We had the idea of moving the puck around, making good passes and getting it in on net, and it ended up working out.”
Despite Chambers’ best efforts, the game came unglued for the Black Tigers late in the first period.
Lilly Gish and Landry scored goals just 23 seconds apart for Lewiston, taking an early one-goal lead and turning it into a 3-0 cushion with under two and a half minutes remaining in the frame. Both of the goals were redirected past Chambers — Gish’s point shot hitting something in traffic in the high slot and changing direction, while Landry camped out on the top of the crease and tipped Charlotte Cloutier’s centering pass from the right wing corner through Chambers’ pads.
“It settles things, and it helps the third and fourth line go out there a little more confidently,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “It helps settle the team down, and then you can roll through all four lines.”
Chambers tried giving the Black Tigers hope as the second period unfolded, stopping the first 13 shots she saw in the stanza before Katie Lemieux and Conley added goals less than three minutes apart to put things out of reach in the final minute prior to the intermission.
“She did good in the net,” Winslow/Gardiner/Cony assistant coach John Hinkley said. “They’re probably one of the toughest teams in the state, but the girls hung in there. They played hard and the other team knew they were in a game. That’s all we could ask for.”
There wasn’t much going on offensively early for the Black Tigers, who didn’t register their first shot on Lewiston goalie Camree St. Hilaire until the 4:43 mark of the second period. That came in the form of a dump-in by Benson from just outside the blue line and was an easy handle for the Blue Devil junior.
Benson did put the Black Tigers on the board just 51 seconds into the final period, but Lewiston answered with Dumond’s goal 24 seconds later. Landry added her two goals for insurance, sandwiched around Dube’s score midway through the period.
“Speed’s a big factor, especially in our top two lines and all of our defensemen are fast,” Dumont said. “It’s a very good advantage. The (spread-out scoring) has been pretty much what we’ve been doing, and I think that’s the way we like it.”
Travis Barrett — 621-5621
tbarrett@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TBarrettGWC
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