AUBURN — Two of the state’s boys’ hockey powers showed their relative inexperience when they clashed Wednesday night. Falmouth took advantage of St. Dominic Academy’s slow start by jumping out to a big lead, then watched as the Saints whittled down that lead multiple times before holding on for a 7-5 victory in a Class A tilt at Norway Savings Bank Arena.

The Yachtsmen (2-1) went ahead 4-1 with less than a minute to play in the first period, but the Saints (0-2) set the wheels in motion for a comeback as Isaac Lapointe made it 4-2 with 12 seconds left before the first intermission.

Henry Norris, twin brothers Reece and Robbie Armitage, and Josh Noyes all scored for Falmouth in the first period. Noah Toussaint put St. Dom’s on the board 10 minutes in to cut in half a 2-0 Falmouth lead.

“I honestly don’t know why they came out slow, but it could be anything,” said St. Dom’s assistant coach Richard Paradis, who took the media’s questions after the game in place of head coach Bob Parker. “We just got to fire them up a little more.”

The Saints showed that fire in the second period, as they looked to level the shot count after trailing the Yachtsmen in that category, 17-7, in the first period. They got some help from a Falmouth penalty, as Austin Roy scored on the power play to make it 4-3 midway through the middle period.

“We’re very young, and that’s a sign of a young team, when you give up leads you shouldn’t give up,” Falmouth head coach Deron Barton said. “The only way you can prevent that with a team like this is just, you play them. The young guys got to see minutes.”

While the Yachtsmen are comprised primarily of sophomores and juniors, it was a senior in Noyes who helped keep them ahead. Noyes notched his second of the game with just over two minutes left in the second to regain the two-goal lead, then did the same thing twice more in the third period.

“That’s a breakout game for him,” Barton said of Noyes. “I don’t think he had four points all last year, never mind four goals in one game. He’s really matured into a leader. He paid his dues and played a lot of JV time and saw very limited varsity time last year. Hats off to him. He’s stepping up like a senior should.”

Noyes’ linemates also were integral in the victory, as junior center collected four assists and junior right winger Henry Norris added a goal and two assists.

The Saints best chance at tying the game came with four minutes left in the second period, but Ryan Lutrzykowski’s shot from between the circles rang off the crossbar.

“It’s tough. I think we hit a couple crossbars today,” Paradis said. “We’ve had a few bad bounces. Switch those the other way and it’s a different game.”

Lutrzykowski scored a pair of third-period goals to cut the Falmouth deficit to one on two different occasions, only to have Noyes create breathing room soon after.

“We just couldn’t get that tying goal into the net,” Paradis said. “The main thing is, we’re just proud that they came back from 4-1, came within a goal a couple times. That’s all we’re looking for out of them right now. It’s just a work in progress.”

Gavin Bates showed the Saints’ never-quit attitude by stopping Hogan Tracy’s empty-net breakaway attempt with 30 seconds left in the game. Bates stopped Tracy’s shot at the last second before Tracy crashed into the net.

Both goalies were active, as Ridge Servidio made 24 saves for St. Dom’s, while Spencer Pierce stopped 22 Saints shots.

St. Dom’s played its second difficult opponent in as many games to start the season, as the Saints faced the 2014 Class A state champion (Falmouth) after losing to the 2015 Class A state champion (Scarborough) in the season opener. Both teams beat St. Dom’s for the title.

The Saints will be in search of their first win next Thursday when they travel to face Cony/Hall-Dale/Monmouth.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com