LEWISTON — They’re curling. They’re yellowing. And they’re gathering dust around the edges.

Since 2002 (or 2000, depending on the color of your hockey blood), there has been no reason for anyone to take them down, dust them off or give them a good scrubbing.

They hang from the rafters, shadows over the ice at the former Central Maine Youth Center, ominous reminders of the glory days of the hockey programs at Lewiston High School and St. Dominic Academy.

One of these days, the high school hockey championship banners strung from the wooden catwalks at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee above Sections 3 and 4 will be updated. But for a span of nine seasons and counting — the longest drought for the two teams in their combined histories — they’ve hung there. Dormant. Waiting for an update.

This could be the season fans at both schools have been waiting for.

Title favorites

A loss by any other name, whether in the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship or not, is still a loss.

And for the players and coaches at Lewiston High School, the team’s most recent loss stings.

“Last year, going 15-2-1 (in the regular season) and then losing to St. Dom’s, of course we should be going into this season with a chip on our shoulders,” Lewiston head coach Jamie Belleau said. “We didn’t get the job done. If the players can’t play with a chip on their shoulders this year, that’s going to be a downfall of the program. There should be enough pride to want to go deeper than we did last year.”

Some sports programs adopt the mentality, after a tough season, that there is nowhere to go but up. It’s rare for a program like Lewiston hockey to adopt that mentality after such a successful season.

But with the school’s title drought at eight years and counting, that’s the effect the coaches are going for.

“I’d be lying if I told you otherwise. Our goal this year is to get to the state championship game and win it,” Belleau said. “Sure, it puts pressure on both programs, but given the depth, and the experience both teams have, we should be able to handle that pressure.”

The Blue Devils, owners of 20 state hockey championships, have come close to adding another number to their banner several times since last capturing the crown in 2002, participating in a handful of regional and state final games. Each time, they fell short of the ultimate prize.

Last year, the Maine Principals’ Association re-classified St. Dom’s into Eastern Class A, ending the possibility that Lewiston could meet its chief rival in the state title game. At the same time, the move added more fuel to the rivalry during regular-season meetings, and the inevitable playoff showdowns between the top programs.

Last year’s first round under the new format went to the Saints.

This year’s Blue Devils are largely unchanged from last year’s. With just two seniors in 2009-10 and an incoming high-end senior transfer, Lewiston appears loaded with talent.

“This is a similar situation to what I saw at EL, the second year we won a state championship,” Belleau said, referring to his successful, two-year run with the Red Eddies to the 2003 and 2004 Class A state titles. “We have 11 seniors here at Lewiston this year. That year, at EL, we had 13 on that team. It’s a luxury.”

It’s also a luxury, Belleau said, to have depth, helping the seniors remain on their toes.

“This past weekend (in a preseason game), we played two sophomore goalies, we played 16 total forwards including a freshman, a couple of juniors who had never played varsity and a a couple of sophomores, and we rolled seven defensemen. Never mind the 11 seniors we have, we have some depth, too. One of those juniors, who had never played in a varsity game, got a hat trick.”

That depth only serves to make the program stronger. And, if any of the seniors get complacent, Belleau said he’s unafraid to fill the roster position in any game with someone else.

“It’s a good problem to have, but it’s also the hard part as a coach, shuffling it all around,” Belleau said. “But the dynamics on the team are good, and they all seem to realize that we’re all working toward the same goal.”

Belleau also acknowledged that to win this season, among other talented teams across the state, the Blue Devils will again have to try and push through St. Dom’s.

“In addition to the fact that it’s been eight years since either team has won a state championship, this is a year in which both teams should legitimately be setting the goal to win the state championship,” Belleau said. “Both teams, given their depth and ability, will most certainly have a chance this year.

“Any time you have a corps of six or seven forwards with the talent St. Dom’s has, you have a chance to win,” Belleau added. “It will give them a chance in every game they play, every time.”

One step at a time

St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette, himself a state championship-winning player with the Saints, admitted that while every squad in Class A begins with state championship dreams, the Saints are focused more on the regional crown that would allow the team to play in the final.

“I think if you ask any team at the beginning of the year what their goal is, they want to win a state championship,” Ouellette said. “The first thing we’re thinking about, and just the reality of the situation, is playing for the division. If we can get through our side of the bracket, then obviously we’ll give ourselves a chance to win a state title. Unfortunately for both (Lewiston and St. Dom’s), we’re in each others’ way.”

In the mental game, the Saints have an early leg up on the Blue Devils. Last year, the Saints finished the regular season 10-8, in fourth place in Eastern Class A, and faced the daunting task of rolling through a pair of cross-town rivals in EL and Lewiston in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Mission accomplished, and then some. The Saints vanquished both foes on their way to an Eastern Class A regional showdown with Waterville, which wound up advancing to the state final.

This year, Ouellette has a large number of those same players returning.

“We’re fortunate to have on our roster quite a few guys with state championship and regional championship experience,” Ouellette said.

The Saints also played in the Class A final against Waterville in 2009 as representatives of Western Class A.

“Last year is last year, though,” Ouellette cautioned. “This year, (Lewiston) has a team with (11) seniors. They have all the buzz around them.

“But in the end, you can’t get caught just worrying about Lewiston, either,” he continued. “The fact of the matter is we have one of the toughest schedules in the state and we have to worry about all the teams on the schedule.”

The Saints will find it a bit easier to do that this season with an experienced roster.

“We should be thinking about it,” Ouellette acknowledged. “We’re returning 17 players, so I think we’re pretty deep in that regard, and I think we’ve done a good job in retaining players to be able to build that depth up.

“We don’t have one freshman on the roster, which is the first time we can say that in a long time,” Ouellette added. “That to me speaks to the depth we have returning from a year ago.”

Much like Waterville’s victory in 2009 allowed the Purple Panthers to tie Lewiston with an even 20 championships, Ouellette, the Saints and their fans are aware of the milestone number the next championship would make.

“We talk about the history, and I sure everybody is well aware of the history,” Ouellette said. “There’s no doubt people know that the next one is No. 25, too.”

Tougher road

Ouellette alluded to the tougher road along which teams from the Lewiston/Auburn area must travel in order to earn a Class A hockey crown now.

In the early days of competition, there often were only five or six teams, and deciding a winner was much more simple. Now there are 28 Class A programs in Maine.

In 2002, when Lewiston won No. 20, only four active teams had ever earned a state crown. That dipped to three when NYA left the MPA, and swelled again to four when Edward Little went back-to-back in 2003-04.

Since then, Cheverus and Biddeford have added their names to the growing list of champions, and Waterville tacked on its 20th in 2009.

“I hear people saying that high school hockey is down in Maine, but I would argue otherwise,” Belleau said. “People will say there is less talent overall in high school hockey, or that there are fewer high-caliber players. But I think what you’ll find if you look at the numbers is the opposite. There’s more consistency across the board in the talent level.”

Belleau said all you have to do is look at the numbers of his former players at Edward Little.

“We had a couple of players at Edward Little in their senior years get 100 points each in 27 games,” Belleau said. “Could you see that this year? Maybe. But probably not. To me, that means that the teams are playing on a more consistent level with each other.”

Also, Belleau said, it shows up in the variety of teams to have won a championship.

“It’s a reflection of the growth of the sport and the talent level across the state,” he said.

jpelletier@sunjournal.com