AUBURN — St. Dominic Academy put its second loss of the season in the rearview with a bounce-back game against a rival Wednesday night. The Saints scored three goals in the second period to down Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland 4-0 in a Northern Maine girls’ hockey game at Norway Savings Bank Arena.

The Saints (15-2) fell to top-ranked Greely for the second time this season Monday. A matchup with a rival and co-inhabitant of Norway Savings Bank Arena got the Saints back on track two days later. Freshman defender Emma Theriault scored the lone goal of the opening period, weaving through the offensive zone before firing off a shot from the left circle four minutes into the game.

“We’ve scored a lot of goals this year, and it’s not just our forwards,” St. Dom’s coach Paul Gosselin said. “My defensive corps can score as much as my forwards can.”

The Red Hornets (8-7-3) weathered the storm in the opening period, holding off a 13-shot barrage from the Saints.

“That wasn’t the strategy we went into it with,” Red Hornets coach Shon Collins said of his team’s conservative, defensive approach. “We had told the girls be more aggressive, to the point where if we’re making mistakes, we want mistakes being too aggressive.”

The pelting finally took its toll in the second period. Isabel Frenette started the Saints’ scoring in the period. Her shot from the slot squirted under goalie Sarah Hammond five minutes in. Bugsy Hammerton made it 3-0 less than three minutes later, missing wide left before collecting her own rebound and wrapping a shot around the right post.

Lexie Kesaris — another defender — finished the scoring in the period with just over a minute left, with an assist from Callie Samson.

“We knew that EL would come to play,” Gosselin said. “Most teams battle hard the first period, and we’re pretty resilient, so we kept plugging away and put three in.”

The Red Hornets ventured out of their own end more in the third period, and with that were able to keep the Saints from setting up shop there. St. Dom’s was held to nine third-period shots after combining for 31 in the first two periods.

“I was very happy that we did come out in the third, played beginning to end, and actually generated a couple chances,” Collins said.

Payton Winslow picked up her seventh shutout of the season, stopping all 12 shots she faced, after giving up seven goals against Greely.

Hammond made 36 saves on 40 shots faced.

“She was the No. 1 star of the game I thought,” Collins said of Hammond. “She faced a lot of rubber tonight. She was very solid. She gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you ask out of a goaltender.”

The Saints finish their regular season up Saturday night when they host Lewiston. The Red Hornets’ regular season is done, with the KVAC championship game coming up against Lewiston on Monday, then a regional quarterfinal against visiting Brunswick on Wednesday.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com