BIDDEFORD — In a high-stakes match Sunday morning, the Lewiston/Auburn Fighting Spirit bested the Maine Wild, 3-5, in a critical match as both teams jockey for playoff position. 

The Wild, currently ranked sixth of seven in the Coastal Division, put up an admirable fight against the Fighting Spirit, currently ranked third in the Coastal Division, behind the New England Stars (No. 2) and the Long Beach Sharks (No. 1). 

Despite the range in rankings, both goaltenders are relatively on the level. Wild’s Brandon Daigle saved 27 of 32 shots on goal (84.38 percent), while Lewiston/Auburn’s Tyler Friel saved 27 of 30 (90 percent).

L/A’s Shayne Plummer set the crowd off by scoring late in the first period of the game, assisted by Thomas Kuntz and Caleb Labrie, beginning shouts to the tune of, “Want to sink it? Call 1-800-Plummer.” 

The Fighting Spirit gained a further lead shortly into the second period, Dylan Vrees scoring with an assist by Kyle Secor. Maine’s Nick Fort, assisted by Kyle Sikora, answered the call late in the second period to put Maine on the board, 2-1.

 L/A all the way to the start of the final period, when Jonathan Donaghey netted the Spirit’s third goal, assisted by Sedrick Simons and Vrees. 

Sikora reappeared for a melee goal that began the third period turnover, assisting Ryan Gilboy to score after Zach Gagne squeezed the puck from L/A’s Walker Hamilton, reviving Maine, 3-2. Maine’s next line of offense put another goal past Friel, Jacob Branson scoring, Cameron Campbell and Tucker Twardosky assisting.

Much like the Patriots that Sunday, Maine came back to even the score to much applause and childlike wonder from fans. Alas for Maine, L/A’s Plummer scored, assisted by Kuntz with six minutes on the clock. The game wrapped up when Hamilton, beyond the blue line, assisted Kuntz for the final goal, a deflection screened from Daigle’s view.

“They battled so hard. We’ve been playing a lot better the last couple weeks.. It’s wearing on them a little bit. If we play like this, we’ll get our share of wins coming down the stretch. I say to them after, keep your heads up,  you guys battled and that’s all that matters,” said Maine Wild head coach Jack Lowry. 

Rod Simmons, Lewiston/Auburn Fighting Spirit’s head coach and owner said of the match, “It was a good win, especially in a three game weekend. We showed that we were tired at times, but being young people we’re going to make mistakes and as long as we learn from them it’s good.”

Looking ahead to playoff season, Simmons picked recent successful strategies, like budgeting the team’s energy, to work on and replicate. Simmons said, “out of the weekend, I like the consistency where we’re at. I want to try to peak at the right time and if we can build off this weekend, the fact that we can play three games in a row with some consistency can be a positive.”