LEWISTON — Shots were at a premium early on when St. Dominic Academy and Edward Little faced off in a Class A North boys’ hockey semifinal Saturday night. Each team scored on its first shot of the game, then the Saints finished strong for a 4-1 victory at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Gavin Bates ripped a shot from the left circle 1:14 into the game, and the first shot of the contest made it past EL goalie Devin Dumont.

The third-ranked Red Eddies (11-9) also converted on their initial shot, but that came nearly seven minutes into the first period. Matt Verrill’s attempt knotted the game up at 1-1, nonetheless.

Edward Little put just one other shot on St. Dom’s goalie Kyle Welsh in the first, and the junior stopped it.

The second-seeded Saints (11-7-1) only had five shots to their name in the first, but the fifth and final one was as good as the first one. Reese Farrell won a faceoff to the rigth of the goal, and Connor Samson took Farrell’s feed and flung it past Dumont.

St. Dom’s coach Bob Parker said he thought Welsh got off to a slow start in the game, and told him as such during the first intermission.

“We had a little talk between periods and he came up with some big saves,” Parker said of Welsh.

More shots came in the second for both teams, but Dumont and Welsh each stood their ground. There was also an increase in penalties — two apiece in the second. The Saints killed off a pair of penalties midway through the period, with just 45 seconds of even-strength time in between.

The Red Eddies were called for both of theirs in the final two minutes of the second. St. Dom’s called a timeout during the first one, with 68 seconds left in the period, with another goal possibly providing comfort in a low-scoring game. A goal didn’t come, but another EL penalty did, giving the Saints a two-man advantage heading into the third.

St. Dom’s couldn’t capitalize on the 5-on-3, and momentum started to shift in EL’s favor, EL coach Craig Latuscha said.

That momentum came to a precipice three minutes into the third when Jason Cote skated toward the St. Dom’s goal with a full head of steam. Then Welsh shut the door.

“Their goaltender played big when he needed to play big,” Latuscha said of Welsh.

Bates got that same head of steam three minutes later. He headed up the left side from the neutral zone, then cut across the front of the goal and beat Dumont while falling down.

Austin Roy put the game away less than two minutes later on a power play, with assists from Isaac Lapointe and Bates.

“Both guys were definite leaders tonight,” Parker said of Bates and Roy. “They stepped up in the crunch time. The game was kind of monotone for awhile. We were kind of playing cat-and-mouse with them. Those two guys stepped, lead the way.”

Edward Little had one last opportunity in the closing minutes and called a timeout between power plays with 4:33 to play. A comeback didn’t materialize, however, and the Red Eddies finished with just 13 shots — half of the Saints’ total for the game.

St. Dom’s now moves on to the regional final, where the Saints will face rival Lewiston in a rematch of last year’s regional title game.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com