AUBURN — Edward Little High School has been looking for that signature victory all season. 

Fifteen games into the season and the Red Eddies finally found that marquee win. Making it even sweeter, it came against crosstown rival Lewiston, a team the senior class hadn’t beaten during their time with Edward Little. It’s the program’s first win against Lewiston since 2006. 

The Red Eddies overcame a two-goal deficit, scoring four unanswered in the second period before holding on for a 4-3 victory over the Blue Devils on Saturday at Norway Savings Bank Arena. 

“Nothing’s better than beating your crosstown rival,” Edward Little coach Craig Latuscha said. “Nothing’s better than that. I wish it was in the playoffs instead of right now, but I’ll take it anytime. We haven’t beaten these guys in quite a few years. I’ve beaten them before, but we haven’t beaten them in quite a few years. It feels good today. It is what it is. It’s a stepping stone.”

A four-goal second period proved to be the difference for the Red Eddies, who clawed their way out of a 2-0 deficit. Edward Little entered the second period on the penalty kill for 1:22, the result of its third penalty in the opening 15 minutes. The Red Eddies killed off the penalty and lit the lamp in the first two minutes of the period. 

Liam Benson found Ryan Raby with a feed in front of the net and Raby went glove side past Lewiston goaltender Jacob Strout for the goal. Edward Little’s first goal of the game came on its first shot of the second period. 

A fortuitous bounce helped the Red Eddies (8-7) pull even with 7:41 left in the frame. A slap shot from the point off the stick of Branden Dyer deflected off Lewiston’s Joey Frechette in front of the net and popped up over Strout’s near-side shoulder and into the net. 

Cade Chapman gave Edward Little its first and only lead of the contest, and provided it with a cushion by scoring two goals 1:33 apart. His first was one Strout would like to have back. With 4:47 left in the period, Chapman floated a shot on net from the neutral zone that Strout couldn’t handle as the Red Eddies grabbed a 3-2 lead. 

“We let in one goal with a breakdown in defensive zone coverage and we obviously had a goal from the neutral zone and that took the wind out of our sails,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said. “You have to appreciate who you’re playing. It’s a rivalry game and you have to take your hats off to EL. The kids worked extremely hard. They outworked us in every asset of the game tonight. They beat us on one-on-one battles on the boards, they beat us to the puck.” 

Strout’s night ended after Chapman’s second of the night, a shot that was much harder than his first. With an open lane, Chapman rocketed a shot from the top of the right circle to put Edward Little in front 4-2. 

“I just walked in and I saw the bottom-left corner,” Chapman said. “I shot it as hard as I could and hoped it went in.” 

Nick Hawk relieved Strout with 3:14 left in the second period. Strout finished with eight saves on 12 shots. Hawk stopped all six shots he faced.

Lewiston (9-5-1) made things interesting with 3:29 left when Brendon Croteau netted his second of the game to pull the Blue Devils within 4-3. 

But the Red Eddies wouldn’t be denied of their first victory over Lewiston in nine years. Edward Little goaltender Devin Dumont made five of his 21 saves in the third period to preserve the victory. Dumont is one of four seniors on the roster. 

“It feels good for the seniors because the seniors have never beaten this team,” Latuscha said. “I’ve been here for 13 years. I’ve beaten Lewiston High School before. These seniors have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this program. To beat them in their final game, maybe, against Lewiston, that’s something they’ll never forget.” 

Said Dyer: “It’s like a weight off my shoulders. From kids moving there because ‘they’re better’ and stuff. It’s just a huge weight off my shoulders knowing that we’re finally an elite program and we can compete with those teams.” 

While it ended well for Edward Little, it sure didn’t look good in the first period. The Blue Devils scored twice in the first as the Red Eddies spent most of it on the penalty kill. 

Cole Ouellette gave the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead 2:11 into the game on their first power play opportunity of the game. Ouellette snuck a shot past Dumont with a slap shot from the point. 

Croteau made it 2-0 late in the first when he caught Dumont out of position after the Edward Little goaltender came out of his net to try and freeze the puck. The puck ended up along the sideboards, where Croteau swung a shot on net that went through Dumont’s legs. 

Some words of encouragement from Latuscha between periods helped the Red Eddies refocus. 

“Coach gave us a nice pep talk and I have to give him a lot of credit because it really gave us some confidence,” Dyer said. “We just went out there and performed. We got some dirty goals. It doesn’t matter how they go in the net as long as they go in the net.” 

Dumont stopped 11 of the next 12 shots to pick up the win. 

Despite losing two of their last three, the Blue Devils aren’t about to press the panic button. 

“Our boys are going to have to get better,” Belleau said. “We believe in them. We’ve played some good hockey. This is high school. You have ups and down. We have a down right now. We have to respond and get ready for the next game.”