LEWISTON ”“ According to age-old wisdom, a two-goal lead on the road is the most dangerous lead in hockey.

In the case of Biddeford, that would be a half truth.

Saturday, the unbeaten Tigers (10-0) led Lewiston by a deuce after the opening minutes, then spent the rest of evening defending that slim margin before ultimately skating out of the Androscoggin Bank Colisee with a 2-1 win.

Les Freres Fleurent, Brady and Trevor, each scored  within the first 3:58, while netminder Matt Roy stopped 28 of the 29 shot the Blue Devils (8-2) leveled at him.

In all, it was the sort of high octane contest one might expect from a clash between teams sporting the best records in their regions.

“The last minute was a little scary,” said senior defenseman Nick Fitzgerald. “They pulled the goalie, and anything could have happened. There were a lot of guys out there. A lot of bodies.”

Among them was that of winger Craig Anton, who was one of several Tigers who stepped in front of dangerous Lewiston shots in the final frantic minutes.

“It wasn’t a textbook block,” said Biddeford coach Rich Reissfelder. “Rolling on his back on a turtle shell. It did the job.”

Anton made an offensive contribution, too, when he sent Brady Fleurent on a clean breakaway during the game’s opening shift.

Fleurent finished the play, getting Lewiston netminder Cam Poussard to make the first move before sweeping the puck in to make it 1-0.

Coming as it did just 40 seconds into the game, the goal sent a shudder through the Colisee.

“They (the Devils) had the fans going at the beginning,” said Trevor Fleurent. “But the goal was a boost for us.”

The Tigers upped the lead to 2-0 when Trevor Fleurent slammed in a power play goal at the 3:58 mark.

“I just came off the bench,” he said. “I was the third guy in. Brady whiffed on the first pass, (but) he got it back to me in front. I got it through his (Poussard’s) armpit. That was good luck by Brady. He got it back to me.”

The Tigers might have had a chance to promptly increase the lead, but fell into penalty trouble, and spent much of the rest of the period killing off four Lewiston power plays.

In the second period, Derek Reny rolled in on a shorthanded breakaway, but was thwarted by Poussard.

Later, at 1:32 of the third period, Lewiston captain Joey Fournier netted a short-handed goal, to cut the Tigers’ lead in half.

The Blue Devils provided Biddeford with more than a few white-knuckle moments as they sought the game-tying goal.

However the Tigers routinely clogged Lewiston’s shooting lanes, and what shots did get through were flagged down by Roy.

“We’ve been working on our defense all week,” said Fleurent. “(Our coaches) teach us a good defensive game.”

The rematch between the teams will take place Feb. 6 at Biddeford Ice Arena. Meanwhile, the Tigers will next take the ice on Saturday, when they’ll visit Falmouth.

Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.