BRUNSWICK — Round two of this season’s boys Eastern A high school hockey contest between rivals Brunswick and Mt. Ararat/Lisbon ended with the same score as back on Dec. 29 — 3-2 with the Dragons coming out top at Sidney J. Watson Arena on Thursday.

But, unlike the first time around when the Dragons scored all three of their goals on the power play, Brunswick ( 5- 4- 1) used an evenstrength goal, short-handed tally and power-play marker to score its goals, then held on as the Eagles scored twice in the third period to make it interesting.

“We were trying to get shots from anywhere, and getting shots low gave us some rebounds,” said Brunswick coach Mike Routhier, whose team is off another six days before visiting Messalonskee on Wednesday. Brunswick hadn’t played since a 5-1 loss to Lewiston on Saturday due to mid- term exams. “ We got a little greedy once up 3-0, with our defensemen pushing up a little bit too much. A lot of times, teams will pack it in, but in a rival game teams keep coming and Mt. Ararat did that.”

“We played well most of the time, even in the first two periods when we were down, and we came out hard in the third,” said Mt. Ararat/Lisbon coach Mike Bishop, whose squad dropped to 3-5 and hosts Gray-New Gloucester/Poland on Jan. 26. “Penalties didn’t kill us like last time, and we played (Eric) Stuckey on defense for the first time, knowing he could handle it.”

The Brunswick line of Dylan Towle, Kyle Woodruff and Ryan Maciejewski were dangerous throughout the game, with Dragons leading scorer Matt Brooks and defenseman Parker Wild out of the lineup (sickness). Towle had a goal and two assists, while Woodruff scored a key second-period short-handed goal for a 2-0 Brunswick edge.

“It is a pretty good connection despite not playing together much,” said Towle of playing with Woodruff.

The teams felt each other out for the first 10 minutes, with several icings slowing the flow of the game down.

Brunswick managed to grab a 1-0 lead by going hard to the net. Tyler Niven sent a wrister through traffic that Mt. Ararat/Lisbon goaltender Zach O’Connor turned aside, one of his 37 saves. The rebound came to Woodruff, who was pushed into the Eagles’ goaltender, with Towle gaining control and putting the puck into the open net.

Mt. Ararat/Lisbon took the first four shots of the second period, with Brunswick netminder Blake Alexander (20 saves) making his best stop on a chance by Jeremy Williams in tight.

Brunswick went on the power play, firing eight shots on O’Connor to no avail, but the ice was tilted throughout the rest of the period for the Dragons, who took 12 consecutive shots at one point.

While killing an Eagles power play, Towle blocked a shot, with Woodruff finding nothing but open real estate in front of him. He made a move on O’Connor before sliding the puck into the net for a 2-0 edge at 12:16.

Brunswick began the third period with the man advantage and quickly cashed in, with Dwayne Palmer roofing a shot from a severe angle for a 3-0 edge. Niven and Towle each picked up an assist.

“It was very important to get up 3-0, knowing we could put them away. I expected nothing less from Mt. Ararat to keep battling, and they did,” said Towle. “ They’re a hard- working, strong team, so them coming back doesn’t surprise me.”

The Eagles did battle back, getting a goal at 4:02 of the third period on a Williams breakaway, with Ben Bishop assisting.

Evan Tome scored off a face- off with 2:51 remaining to get the Eagles within a goal, and the frantic finish was set up.

But, Alexander made a nice stop on Stuckey with 1:06 remaining, and the Brunswick foursome of Towle, Maciejewski, Blake Bodwell and Niven killed off another Mt. Ararat/Lisbon power play in the final minute to preserve the 3-2 victory.

“This is a good win for us, and I feel we are a tough team to play against. when we are clicking,” said Towle.

Brunswick finished one for four on the power play, while the Eagles scored once on six tries with the man advantage.

Brunswick 3, Mt. Ararat/Lisbon 2
At Sidney J. Watson Arena

Brunswick – 1  1  1 — 3
Mt. Ararat/Lisbon – 0  0  2 — 2 

First period — 1. (B) Dylan Towle (Kyle Woodruff, Tyler Niven), 12:11.

Second period — 2. ( B) Kyle Woodruff ( Dylan Towle), sh, 12:16.

Third period — 3. (B) Dwayne Palmer (Tyler Niven, Dylan Towle), pp, 1:03; 4. (MA) Jeremy Williams (Ben Bishop), 4:02; 5. (MA) Evan Tome (Jeremy Williams), pp, 12:09.

Shots on goal — (B) 11-18-11 — 40; (MA) 7-6-9 — 22.

Saves — (B) Blake Alexander 20; (MA) Zach O’Connor 37.

Power play opportunities — Brunswick 1-4; Mt. Ararat 1-6.

Records — Brunswick 5-4-1, Mt. Ararat/Lisbon 3-5.

Next — The Dragons visit Messalonskee on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m.; the Eagles host Gray-New Gloucester/ Poland on Jan. 26 at 8:30 p.m.

sports@timesrecord.com