LEWISTON — In the case of the Lewiston and Leavitt/Edward Little girls’ hockey teams, familiarity breeds respect.

It also should make for a memorable Monday night when the No. 2 Blue Devils and No. 3 Red Hornets collide in an Eastern Class A semifinal at 8:10 p.m. at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

The game was postponed 48 hours due to the blizzard.

“If you count the (preseason) round robin, this will be our fourth time with them,” Leavitt/Edward Little coach Shon Collins said. “We’ve seen a lot of each other.”

“I think we need to work hard,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont chimed in. “They don’t quit. They have a lot of confidence coming out against us.”

The rivals split during the regular season. Leavitt/EL scratched out a 3-1 win on Dec. 8 at Auburn’s Ingersoll Arena. Lewiston tasted revenge in a 6-1 triumph on its home ice Jan. 2.

That offensive explosion earned the Devils the right to host the most meaningful game of all. Total goals were the second tiebreaker after the two 14-4 clubs finished in a dead heat for the second spot in Eastern A behind Greely.

Each team flaunts one of the top players in the state. Taylor Landry has scored more than 100 goals in three seasons for the Red Hornets. The Devils, though a bit more balanced, are led by Erica Lemieux.

“Obviously (Landry is) a threat. But we can’t lose our focus, because she’s also very good at moving the puck to her teammates,” Dumont said. “We were victimized by that in the first game. We were getting to her, but she was dishing it off.”

Emma Martineau, who centers the Red Hornets’ second line, scored the game-winner in the December meeting. Landry tallied twice, including an empty-netter to close it out.

Lemieux, a sophomore, had a hat trick in the rematch. Sam Cote, Corinne Laberge and Natalie Rousseau also scored for the Devils.

“My motto is if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Yes, in the first game we made some mistakes, but it wasn’t like we got shellacked,” Dumont said. “We’ve worked on a few things. Certainly we know their strengths.”

Three of the Red Hornets’ six seniors — Shelbea Russell, Sydney Nadeau and Shaylin Collins — are standouts on the defensive corps. Sophomore Danica Nadeau has provided a spark at both ends of the ice. Tori Sanford, one of six Leavitt players on the roster, has been solid in her second season as the starter in net.

Amanda Grenier has emerged as an offensive threat to complement Landry.

“We know we need other girls to step up and contribute,” Collins said. “If it’s one player against five, it can be really difficult for one player to get loose. We need other girls to make themselves available for passes.”

Since its loss to Leavitt/EL, Lewiston has won 12 of its last 14 games. Four of the Devils’ six shutouts came in the final six games.

Senior netminder Brianna Lajoie turned away 26 shots in Lewiston’s previous win over Leavitt/EL.

“Other than two empty-net goals, she’s given up 18 goals in 18 games. I have no complaints there,” Dumont said. “I always feel with our defense and our goalie, if we keep it to two goals we should have a chance to win any game.”

Lewiston won the inaugural Maine Principals’ Association girls’ hockey title in 2009. Edward Little lost in the regional semifinals a year ago.

Tonight’s winner will face either No. 1 Greely or No. 4 Brunswick in the Eastern A final Wednesday evening at Portland Ice Arena. The state final is Saturday in Lewiston.

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