Ariana Vallee is congratulated by her coach after Lewiston won the North Region final on Thursday night at the Colisee.(Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

LEWISTON — Patience has been pounded into the heads of the Lewiston girls’ hockey team all season long, but Thursday’s North regional final was the first time that the Blue Devils were forced to practice what they were being preached.

Lewiston fell behind for the first time all season, but the top-seeded Blue Devils broke a third-period tie with two goals against third-seeded St. Dominic Academy in a 5-3 win at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

The Blue Devils advance to Saturday’s state final against South champ Cheverus/Kennebunk/Old Orchard Beach at 4 p.m. at the Colisee. Lewiston won both regular-season meetings by one goal.

“They were just pushing, pushing, and towards the end of the second period there they kept going back and forth,” Lewiston coach Ron Dumont said. “You know, the whole point was the patience part. We had to get it through to them, and I think the break between second and third, going in at least tied, helped a lot because then we could just set them all down, take a deep breath.”

Sara Robert broke the tie with an unassisted goal with 10:10 to play. Linemate Gemma Landry helped by pulling Saints defender Emma Theriault away from the slot, allowing Robert a free shot at St. Dom’s goalie Madyson Boulet.

“It was really helpful, and Gemma knows me, so I’m lucky I get to play on a line with her,” Robert said. “And Emma also knows me really well, so she’s blocked all my shots this game, so having Gemma pull her away made the biggest difference.”

Leah Landry scored the dagger with 5:14 remaining, finishing off a 2-on-1 with Brie Dube.

“It was critical. I mean, at 4-3, we’re still not out of the woods, and it can sway momentum so quickly,” Dumont said. “I think their ability to play at a quick pace and whatever, that was a great play between her and Brie.”

Avery Lutrzykowski gave the Blue Devils (20-0) their first deficit of the season by opening the scoring with a shorthanded goal just over seven minutes in. Bella Webster found Lutrzykowski behind the Lewiston defense in the neutral zone, then Lutrzykowski did the rest by twice deking goalie Camree St. Hilaire on a breakaway.

Robert tied the game 9:24 in, but Lutrzykowski re-gained the lead for the Saints (14-5-2) exactly two minutes later when her shot from the top of the right circle went off St. Hilaire, then up, and over the goalie and in.

“Probably the best game (Avery has) played. She was just in a different zone,” St. Dom’s coach Paul Gosselin said. “She was covered extremely well, and she still managed to get free and get some goals. And if it wasn’t for Camree playing well, I think she would have had a few more.”

Gemma Landry re-directed a Robert shot past Boulet with 39.9 seconds left in the first to tie the game 2-2 after one period.

“It’s always nice to gain momentum, and when they answer real quick it doesn’t allow that to happen, so it kept things pretty even,” Gosselin said.

Dube gave the Blue Devils their first lead 6:40 into the second by finishing off a right-to-left pass from Leah Landry with a shot just inside the right post.

St. Hilaire made a trio of saves on second-period breakaways, but the Saints were able to score soon after Emma Roy was stopped on the Saints’ third such try. St. Hilaire pounced on the first faceoff, but Lutrzykowski won the next faceoff back to Gigi Ouellette, who fed Bugsy Hammerton in the slot, and Hammerton fired through traffic to tie the game 3-3 with 4:30 left in the frame.

The Saints were held to just one shot on goal for much of the third, but they put three on net during a power play that started with 3:23 left.

“You always want an opportunity in the end with an extra person. You know, we had some good looks, but just couldn’t connect,” Gosselin said.

“I was kind of lucky that they took the timeout (to start the power play),” Dumont said. “I was kind of hoping for that, not so much for rest, but to diagram — we changed the forecheck on the penalty kill, different than what we normally do, just to have more layers. And they did a real good job with it.”

St. Hilaire made 12 saves in the win, while Boulet turned away 25 shots.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

St. Dominic’s Bugsy Hammerton and Lewiston’s Sara Robert mix it up in front of the Lewiston bench during Friday night’s North Region final at the Colisee in Lewiston. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

Lewiston’s Leah Landry holds off St. Dominic’s Emma Theriault during Friday night’s North Region final at the Colisee in Lewiston. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

Lewiston’s Brie Dube takes the puck down the ice with St. Dominic’s Isabella Webster in pursuit during Friday night’s North Region final at the Colisee in Lewiston. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

Lewiston’s Sara Robert charges down the ice with the puch as St. Dominic’s Bugsy Hammerton keep track of the play form behind her during Friday night’s North Region final at the Colisee in Lewiston. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

Lewiston fans cheers after the girls team scores a goal during Thursday night’s North Region finals at the Colisee. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

Lewiston celebrates after scoring a goal during Thursday night’s North Region finals at the Colisee. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)