BRUNSWICK — Mt. Ararat did not catch Leavitt/Edward Little on a good day, nor in a good mood.

The Red Hornets fell for the first time in a regular-season contest to York a week ago, and then to Cheverus in the second game of a holiday tourney Wednesday. Friday, they wanted to get back on track.

Mission accomplished.

Shelbea Russell and Taylor Landry each scored three goals and Tori Sanford stopped all three shots she faced as Leavitt/EL raced past Mt. Ararat 7-0 in their girls’ hockey game at Sid Watson Arena on the campus of Bowdoin College.

“We wanted to see how they would respond to some adversity,” Leavitt/EL coach Shon Collins said. “We had a hard time finding the net against York, and then Cheverus, it was our second game of the day while they were playing their first, and we had a hard time finding our legs. But this was big for the girls, for their confidence.”

“This brings our team back together,” Russell said. “This game really helped with our communication and our teamwork.”

Russell was the beneficiary of some of that improved teamwork. A defender by trade, Russell found more ways to jump into the play Friday than she has most of the season.

“My head was up a lot more today, so I could see the ice, I could see lanes that I took,” Russell said. “Also, I could see lanes people could pass to. I could make a lot more passes, and so I got a lot more rushes.”

Landry, meanwhile, is used to seeing her name on the score sheet. The Red Hornets’ leading scorer, she drew a lot of the Eagles’ attention Friday, allowing her teammates to be more open.

“If you have someone at Taylor Landry’s level, you have to spend one or two players just to shut her down,” Mt. Ararat coach Ron Hutchins said. “Then the whole line becomes useless because their focus is on her.”

If there was a dagger to be found among the Leavitt/EL goals Friday, it was likely the team’s fourth strike of the contest, late in the second frame. Trailing 3-0 with an offensive zone faceoff, Hutchins called the Eagles’ (0-8) lone timeout to set up an offensive zone draw. In fewer than 30 seconds, the Red Hornets went the other way and Landry popped in her second of the game to run the visitors’ lead to 4-0.

“We’re pleased with the fact that we were able to compete with this team,” Hutchins said. “What’s frustrating is when you come in between the second and third period and the shot count is 17-2. We just need to create more offense. If we can create more offense, the team will feel better, and it will change their motivation.”

Landry and Russell scored 62 seconds apart in the first period to open up a 2-0 lead, but Eagles’ goaltender Alison Nolan — who’d never played hockey, never mind goalie, prior to this season — held tough.

“Our goalie never watched hockey until four weeks ago,” Hutchins said. “There we were, the night of our first game, pointing to our new sophomore player and said, ‘Here, try these on,’ and gave her a set of pads.”

Russell’s second in the middle period gave Leavitt/EL (8-1) some breathing room, and Landry’s goal late in the period sent the Red Hornets on their way. Abby Roy netted the team’s fifth goal 1:35 into the third on a feed from Emma Martineau, Landry finished her hat trick 33 seconds later on a rebound, and Russell earned hers on a breakaway on a power play with 6:46 to play.

“Allowing the defense to see the lanes, it gives us more options,” Russell said. “We can bring it up, we can rotate the puck more and it doesn’t allow the other teams to mark up on just one person.”