The Blue Devils fell behind early and struggled to keep pace with a strong Greely team. The two-time defending state champions scored twice in the first period and secured a 3-1 win over the Blue Devils.

“They’re a good team,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “They have three good lines. They plays fast. They’re always on the puck. We’re going to have to start working on playing a full 30 to 40 second shift — go, go, go.”

Courtney Sullivan scored twice to lead the Rangers (6-0). Jayme Morrison had the other goal for Greely. The Blue Devils (4-2) got a late tally from Bree Bergeron off a pass from Jordan Mynahan.

“We’re a team in transition in a lot of respects with new kids and everything,” Dumont said. “You always want to win, but they’re a good team. They always play clean and hard, and we needed that.”

The Blue Devils plays EL/Leavitt Saturday. The Red Hornets are ranked third, right behind the Blue Devils. So Wednesday’s matchup with Greely was a good tuneup for the rivalry game ahead.

Goaltender Meagan Gosselin was superb in net for the Blue Devils. She stopped 25 shots as Greely outshot the Blue Devils 28-10. 

“She played excellent,” Dumont said. “I can always count on her. My D did a great job. We’re playing only three D because we’re playing some kids that are new. The pace is a little quicker for them.”

Greely had the Blue Devils trying to keep up for much of the game. The Rangers were aggressive and always winning races for the puck. Greely moved it well and controlled play, limiting much of any counter attack from the Blue Devils.

“I thought we just kept a lot of pressure on them and kept it in their zone,” said Sullivan, a sophomore forward who scored 20 goals last year. “If they ever got it, we attacked them. We were able to keep it in their zone and didn’t seem to let them get a lot of shots on net.”

Greely’s first goal came just 4:09 into the game. Lauren Gervais pushed the puck ahead for Sullivan, who skated away from the Blue Devils zone for a breakaway.

“We just had a perfect opportunity for a breakout,” Sullivan said. “Lauren gave me a great pass. I had the perfect setup to move in.”

Greely made it 2-0 with 3:47 left in the period. Morrison fired a shot from the right side. Gosselin made the initial save, but the puck slipped away from her and rolled into the net.

The Blue Devils didn’t get their first shot until late in the period and produced a few chances. Corinne Laberge had the best try for the Blue Devils with a backhander early in the second. Greely controlled the rest of the period, outshooting the Blue Devils 12-2.

The Blue Devils created some offense early in the third. Mynahan had a bid off a Laberge pass, but the shot was saved by Greely goalie Nica Todd. Then Emily Bemis had a shot from the point that was knocked down by Todd.

Greely made it 3-0 with a power play goal with 10:28 left. Sullivan netted her second of the night off assists from Danita Storey and Bridget Roberts.

The Blue Devils got the final goal with 1:42 remaining. Mynahan set up Bergeron for a nice pass and goal to break up the shutout. It was just the fourth goal allowed this season by the Rangers.

“At the end, we changed a few things,” Dumont said. “We wanted to see what we could do. I’m proud that we got one goal. It shows what happens if you work hard, but you’ve got to do that pace the whole game. They think they’re trying, but the pace is so much quicker.”

kmills@sunjournal.com