Caleb Labrie made sure of that.
The latest installment of the Lewiston High School/St. Dominic Academy rivalry went the way of the Saints on Saturday night. Labrie netted a hat trick in the second period as St. Dom’s skated to a 5-2 victory over the Blue Devils at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
It was a night of redemption for Labrie, who took three penalties in the third period of a 2-1 loss to Falmouth on Wednesday. His first two tallies came as a result of getting behind the defense on breakaways. The first gave the Saints (10-2-1) a 2-0 lead three minutes into the second period when Adam Poulin found Labrie left all alone. Labrie beat Lewiston goaltender Jacob Strout five-hole for the goal.
“I definitely take the blame fully for the loss against Falmouth,” Labrie said. “That was 100 percent my fault, a couple dumb penalties at the end. Especially as a senior, I have to be able to step up and I told the team I would tonight and I think that I came through.”
The second came a minute after the Blue Devils climbed within 2-1 following a power-play goal by Jonathan Sturgis. Berube found Labrie unmarked and the senior had enough time to think where to go with the shot before lifting the puck past Strout over his glove-side shoulder.
“It’s poor execution,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said of the defensive breakdowns. “Not to take anything away from the talent of that team, we know what they do, we know how fast they are and if you don’t execute the game plan and be prepared for those types of things, you can get exploited and they exploited us at least there times, and that was the difference in the game.”
Labrie completed the hat trick less than a minute later with the help of Berube. Labrie left a pass for Berube, who fed him along the near-side boards. With a head of steam, Labrie carried the puck into the zone and found the net with a backhander to the left of the cage for a 4-1 advantage with 6:19 left in the second.
“That’s what Caleb can do,” Ouellette said. “The kid’s got a great shot, he’s a sniper. When he’s on, he’s as dangerous as anybody can be out there and he was certainly on for that challenge.”
The Blue Devils clawed within 4-2 with 3:50 left in the second period as Brendon Croteau took a pass in front from Jeromey Rancourt and beat St. Dom’s goaltender Kyle Welsh to his left.
Lewiston had two separate 5-on-3 opportunities in the third period, the longest being for 40 seconds. But the Blue Devils couldn’t muster any offense and finished the third period with just two shots on net.
“A lot of our guys had active sticks and were taking away lanes and taking away second chances,” Ouellette said. “It wasn’t like they found many rebounds either. It was an all-around effort.
The third period featured seven penalties.
Berube sealed the game with an empty-netter with a minute left. The senior captain factored into all five of the Saints’ goals in his first game with different linemates.
“It was the first time Caleb, Adam (Poulin) and I played together this year and we’ve had a lot of practice together,” Berube said. “Being with them, getting to know them, knowing where they are at all times, it was easy to come up against Lewiston knowing where they are. We’ve been friends all year. It’s easy to play with them.”
Berube gave the Saints a 1-0 lead 5:24 into the opening period, dangling through the Lewiston defense before going near-side post for the goal. It was a lead the Saints wouldn’t relinquish.
Welsh, who didn’t play in St. Dom’s first meeting of the season with the Blue Devils, finished with 25 saves, shaking off a collision with Rancourt while attempting to play a loose puck early in the third period.
Strout, who also didn’t appear in the first meeting, made 15 saves.
The loss snapped Lewiston’s three-game winning streak.
Comments are no longer available on this story