LEWISTON — It went into the books as a tie Wednesday night, but it sure felt like a win for the Lewiston girls’ hockey team.

The Blue Devils rallied from two goals down and earned a 2-2 verdict with Winslow.

Sara Marden had both goals for Lewiston including the equalizer with 5:40 left in regulation. Then the Blue Devils (2-5-2) had to hold off the Black Raiders on two late power play chances and overtime.

“I think it’s a big milestone for us,” said Marden. “We’ve been working really hard at practice lately on new techniques and what we need to do. We have a lot of new players. We just need to step it up. All the new girls did what they needed to do.”

Winslow (5-1-2), ranked No. 2 in Eastern Maine, blanked Lewiston 4-0 earlier in the season.

Though the Black Raiders outshot Lewiston 40-21, the Blue Devils got a fine outing from goaltender Sara Turner, who finished with 38 saves and kept Lewiston in the game early.

“She hung in there,” said Lewiston coach Ron Dumont. “She played the game down in Winslow. I think she deserved another shot at them. She’s been working very hard. I’m really happy for her.”

Lewiston struck out on six power play tries in the game but had a prime opportunity after back-to-back Winslow penalties late in the third. Dumont called time out and talked strategy.

“We were getting some chances,” said Dumont. “What we needed to do was coordinate and pick up a rebound and get a shot on net. We set up the play we wanted, and it worked out.”

Dumont stressed that his players utilize the point. Marden got the defense moving with a pass or two back to the point. Then she fired after getting a return pass. It dinged off the post for a power play tally with 5:40 left.

“That was amazing,” said Marden. “I didn’t even know it went in. I heard it hit the post. I was kind of upset because I thought it bounced out. Then the ref pointed that it was a goal.”

Lewiston’s night wasn’t quite over. Two late penalties gave Winslow two chances on the power play. Jillian Grant had the best try with 2:32 left but Turner made the save. Winslow outshot Lewiston 8-1 in overtime but couldn’t get one past Turner.

“We definitely got our adrenaline running after that goal,” said Marden. “We knew we had to settle down and play like we knew how to.”

Lewiston showed it could stick with Winslow during a scoreless first period. Turner made a sprawling save on Emily Caron to keep Lewiston tied.

In the second, Winslow built a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by Jennifer Poulin. The first appeared to go in off a Lewiston player on the power play with 12:24 left in the second. Then Poulin wristed one in with 5:14 left from the right circle.

Lewiston got one right back seven seconds later when Marden finished off a Katie Bonawitz pass.

“Our key was to be consistent,” said Marden. “We had to keep plugging away at it. After that first goal, we knew we were back in it.”

Winslow had the better of the chances early in the third but couldn’t capitalize. It opened the door for Lewiston to battle back and produce the late equalizer.

“We’ve picked up two wins so far this year, and we’ve had some near misses,” said Dumont. “That’s part of the growing process. You obviously want to win, but at the end of the day, where our team is right now, a 2-2 tie makes me very happy.”

kmills@sunjournal.com