LEWISTON — Desmond Gagne didn’t have a great deal to show for his efforts except maybe a few aches, pains and bruises.

His shot was saved. His body crashed into the boards. It was all part of being a penalty killer, and Gagne and his Lewiston Blue Devils did their thankless job at that moment.

“We were trying to keep them on the other side,” said the junior forward. “If the puck comes near you, you had to get it out. The puck came on my stick, and I just went.”

Lewiston started the game with a bang. Sam Cloutier finished off a Blue Devils rush just 25 seconds into the game. Surging and riding that wave of momentum, Lewiston kept charging while St. Dom’s tried to regroup and settle in.

Then came a Lewiston penalty. Then came another. All of a sudden, the Saints had the chance they needed to right the ship and counter the Blue Devil momentum.

“You hear the old adage that special teams are important in the playoffs,” said Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau. “Whether you have a man advantage or are a man down, you can build some momentum whether you score a goal or kill it on a man down situation.”

Cloutier was whistled for high-sticking and Matt Therrien was sent off for tripping. That gave the Saints a two-man advantage for 1:22. A tying goal there just might alter the direction of Tuesday’s Eastern A final.

“We had to dig deep,” said Gagne. “Coach told us we were going to face adversity on the way, but we had to do it as a team.”

Instead, that power play lasted less then a minute. St. Dom’s was held without a shot in the early going of the power play. Then Gagne stole the puck, outskated two defenders and burst in alone with 7:45 left in the period.

“I was trying to keep it on my backhand,” said Gagne, who had the wind knocked out of him during the collision with the boards but bounced right back up. “I didn’t lift it enough to get it in.”

Gagne had the backhander saved by Saints goalie Grant Carrier. Still, Gagne was able to draw a tripping penalty. It sent him flying hard into the end boards, but it also nullified the five-on-three power play.

“It was a good opportunity,” said St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette. “Unfortunately, we didn’t take advantage of it. It certainly could have changed the way the first period went down.”

Lewiston finished the opening period up 1-0 and then added two more early in the second to build a 3-0 advantage. The Saints didn’t get a taste of momentum again until an Alex Parker goal with 44 seconds left in the second. That came just after St. Dom’s only other power play in the first two periods ended.

That set the tone for a strong third period for St. Dom’s, but the Saints couldn’t overcome the early deficit.  The Saints had only one other power play the rest of the game. It came with 39 seconds left and the Blue Devils iced the game with a Ben Wigant empty-netter.

“The way we played in the third, I’m really pleased with my guys and how they played till the end,” said Ouellette.

kmills@sunjournal.com